‘I Do’ Reflection by Morgan McDonagh
My narrative ‘I Do’ aims to highlight the constraints of class distinctions and critique the impact of
societal expectations in a manner that echoes and reinterprets the progressive societal commentary
made by Kate Chopin throughout ‘The Awakening’. The form of my piece, beginning at the end,
subverting traditional narrative form and structure, is intended to resign the reader to the suicide of
the protagonist and instead shift their focus to the reasons which drove him down this bleak path.
This positions the reader to understand the purpose of the narrative and the suffocating nature of
societal constructs.
The same sense of entrapment and isolation experienced by Chopin’s character Edna Pontellier is
reflected throughout my narrative but in a contemporary setting, through the lens of a male
perspective, in order to construct a new, but still authentic critique of abstract social constructs. I
symbolically incorporated the engagement ring as an object which was ‘bought only to facilitate my
acceptance of defeat,’ in order to reveal the protagonist’s perception of marriage as vacuous and
oppressive. Although I initially intended to solely focus on the institution of marriage, throughout
the drafting process my narrative began to shift towards a broader commentary on the impact of
class distinctions and the pressure of societal expectations in general. Setting my story in a small,
bleak English city in the 1980’s was a deliberate compositional choice to enhance the underlying
sense of hopelessness. To this end, I also employed accumulative language such as, ‘Marry her. Have
a child or two. Continue making tins,’ to vividly encapsulate the monotony of working class life.
The development of character and voice was influenced by another text from Module C,
‘Metamorphosis’. The ironic detachment with which Kafka explored macabre topics was something I
attempted to emulate in my protagonist’s existentialist philosophy, which subverts normative
tendencies towards romanticism. An example of this is the unflattering depictions of the
protagonist’s girlfriend, which is intended to be slightly confronting for the reader as, ‘the sex was
average and the conversation was dry.’ The cruel, disengaged tone and conjunction of simplistic
clauses reinforces the cynical disposition of the protagonist. Stark juxtapositions are also used
throughout my piece to accentuate my protagonist’s ironic detachment, such as when he makes, ‘a
polite request that the city be burned to the ground’. Inspiration for the development of my
character and his voice was also drawn from French existential literature, particularly ‘L’Etranger’ by
Albert Camus which was intertextually referenced in my narrative, contributing to an exploration of
how lofty intellectual philosophies could interact with working class realities in practice.
Heavily influenced by my reading of various texts in Module C, I have crafted my piece deliberately
and effectively in order to shed new light on modern values. Through the musings of an intelligent,
nihilistic protagonist, my story captures the oppressive influence of societal expectations and the
reality of the ways in which a working class background can discourage individuals and instil a deepseated sense of hopelessness.
PREMISE (basic idea) of the narrative (so the reader understands what you’re discussing)
OVERALL INTENT/ PURPOSE of the narrative
THEMATIC/CONCEPTUAL CHOICES
SPECIFIC RESEARCH into other time/places
INFLUENCES ON THE WRITING
EXPLANATION OF SPECIFIC LANGUAGE CHOICES/STYLISTIC FEATURES/STRUCTURE chosen
QUOTED REFERENCES TO OWN WRITING