1. The Yellow Wallpaper: The wallpaper is, as the title suggests, the chief symbol in this story. What does it symbolize, and how does it work as a symbol? What details about the wallpaper seem significant? How does the narrator 's attitude toward and vision of the wallpaper change, and what is the significance of those changes? I think the wallpaper symbolizes the internal battle that the narrator is feeling within herself. I think it works as a symbol because the crazier that the narrator feels the more interesting or terrifying the wallpaper becomes. The narrator reflects her feelings onto this wallpaper, it’s almost as if this wallpaper has become a part of her. I think the details that are important about the wallpaper that seem significant …show more content…
They looked all the detail even the things that the men overlooked. They started at the beginning and continued to look until they had figured out what had happened and why it had happened. The men were simply looking for evidence, while the women were looking for the story. It was the story that led the women to take evidence that could have convicted Minnie. The jury decides based on evidence and a confession. They didn’t have either so they couldn’t convict her. I think I agree and disagree with the verdict. It was clear that this man was abusing this woman in some way shape or form; however, I didn’t agree with how the women went about hiding the evidence they found. I think that it has a lot to do with the time period. I don’t think self-defense or insanity pleas were used the way they are now. It was clear that this woman suffered a great deal at the hands of this man and that she only did what she thought was necessary.
3. The Country Husband: Why, if Shady Hill is still the same old peaceful suburban neighborhood he 's lived in for years, does Francis begin to see his neighborhood as a trap? What has changed Francis 's perspective on Shady
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She used to live one way and now that she has to live another way she has decided that she wants to try new things. She begins to focus on herself instead of taking care of her family and their needs. She lost her child, and now her husband is a completely different person due to his accident. She started to see the world differently and I think that it shows through her hobbies. I think her hobbies show that she could feel differently about her husband. She used to take care of him, but now that he’s at home, she may feel like she needs time for herself. I think her hobbies shows that she’s more interested in taking care of herself and making changes that will eventually better her life. I think the conflict between the two shows greatly in their hobbies and interests. The accident clearly reversed their roles that they played in the family. Their differences in hobbies and interests show how much they have changed and it takes an effect on their marriage. They became two completely different people, they switched roles, and it eventually destroys their
In Alan Brown’s article “The Yellow Wallpaper’: Another Diagnosis”; Brown discusses why Charolette Perkins Gilman published The Yellow Wallpaper as well as another diagnosis on the character in The Yellow Wallpaper. In the article it is explained that Gilman published this short story as a reflection of her own life. Gilman battled depression and sought out help from expert neurologist. The neurologist had suggested that she rest and be confined to her room. This experience lead to the creation of The Yellow Wallpaper. Being confined to a room like the character in The Yellow Wallpaper is enough to drive anyone to insanity. Brown had a different idea on why the character lost her mind and began to believe she was seeing figures in the wallpaper.
The wallpaper in her bedroom is a hideous yellow. "It is a dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in others" (pg 393) The wallpaper is symbolic of the sickness the author has by the end of the story. Yellow is often a color associated with illness. It’s been suggested that she herself was clawing at the paper during moments of insanity. But there are many times when she is sane, and sees the marks on the wallpaper, and she writes about how others who had spent time in this room tried to remove the paper as well.
Haney-Peritz, Janice. "Monumental Feminism and Literature 's Ancestral House: Another Look At 'The Yellow Wallpaper '." Women 's Studies 12.2 (1986): 113. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
All through the story, the yellow wallpaper acts as an antagonist, causing her to become very annoyed and disturbed. There is nothing to do in the secluded room but stare at the wallpaper. The narrator tells of the haphazard pattern having no organization or symmetrical plot. Her constant examination of and reflection on the wallpaper caused her much distress.... ...
Likewise, in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the wallpaper is used as symbol of the character’s imprisonment within the domestic sphere. Throughout the story, the wallpaper becomes the narrators’ imagination and appears as a female figure. The narrator’s husband, John, who has a higher
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," is the disheartening tale of a woman suffering from postpartum depression. Set during the late 1890s, the story shows the mental and emotional results of the typical "rest cure" prescribed during that era and the narrator’s reaction to this course of treatment. It would appear that Gilman was writing about her own anguish as she herself underwent such a treatment with Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell in 1887, just two years after the birth of her daughter Katherine. The rest cure that the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" describes is very close to what Gilman herself experienced; therefore, the story can be read as reflecting the feelings of women like herself who suffered through such treatments. Because of her experience with the rest cure, it can even be said that Gilman based the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" loosely on herself. But I believe that expressing her negative feelings about the popular rest cure is only half of the message that Gilman wanted to send. Within the subtext of this story lies the theme of oppression: the oppression of the rights of women especially inside of marriage. Gilman was using the woman/women behind the wallpaper to express her personal views on this issue.
“Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman was analyzed by many perspective readers and writers. In my research paper I analyzed work by Ann Oakley and Karen Ford. These two authors had similar but yet different arguments. During my review process on both articles, I found that there can be many interpretations of any literary work. When you typically see topics written about women, you tend to see biased explanations. Reading these from a female standpoint you would go on to assume the writer will only defend what is morally right.
The yellow wallpaper itself is one of the largest symbols in the story. It can be interpreted to symbolize many things about the narrator. The wallpaper symbolizes the mental block mean attempted to place on women during the 1800s. The color yellow is often associated with sickness or weakness, and the narrator’s mysterious illness is an example of the male oppression on the narrator. The wallpaper in fact makes the narrator more “sick” as the story progresses. The yellow wallpaper, of which the writer declares, “I never saw a worse paper in my life,” is a symbol of the mental screen that men attempted to enforce upon women. Gilman writes, “The color is hideous enough, and unreliable enough, and infuriating enough, but the pattern is torturing” this is a symbolic metaphor for restrictions placed on women. The author is saying subliminally that the denial of equality for women by men is a “hideous” act, and that when men do seem to grant women some measure of that equality, it is often “unreliable.” The use of the words “infuriating” and “torturing” are also descriptions of the feelings of women in 19th century society.
...he wall, he thinks about his rejected opportunities and his unbearable regret. As he sobers with terror, the final blow will come from the realization that his life is ending in his catacombs dying with his finest wine. The catacombs, in which he dies, set the theme, and relate well with the story. Without the yellow wallpaper in the short story, the significance of the wallpaper would not mater, nor would it set the theme or plot. At night the wallpaper becomes bars, and the wallpaper lets her see herself as a women and her desire to free herself. She needs to free herself from the difficulties of her husband, and from her sickness. The settings in both, set up the elements of the stories and ads to the effect in both of the short stories.
...lor that made the woman despise it so very much. By being able to understand the various meanings behind the wallpaper the reader is able to fully comprehend the narrative behind the entire story and why her mental health keeps diminishing. The ending of the story reveals that the woman no longer only saw the woman in the walls at night; she began to believe that she actually was said woman.
On my first reading of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", I found the short story extremely well done and the author, successful at getting her idea across. Gilman's use of imagery and symbolism only adds to the reality of the nameless main character's sheltered life and slow progression into insanity or some might say, out of insanity.
Imagery in literature brings a story to life for the reader. It draws the reader in and surrounds them with the environment of the narrative. The use of imagery will make the reader fully understand the circumstances under which the characters of a story live. In "The Yellow Wallpaper", by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator of the story often describes the wallpaper, each time giving more details. The vivid descriptions allow the reader into the psyche of the narrator, which illustrates her ever-deepening mental illness. The imagery presented in the wallpaper through the narrator's words show her descent into insanity coupled with her desire for independence.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman explores the oppression of women in the nineteenth century and the constant limitation of their freedom, which many times led to their confinement. The short story illustrates male superiority and the restriction of a woman’s choice regarding her own life. The author’s diction created a horrific and creepy tone to illustrate the supernatural elements that serve as metaphors to disguise the true meaning of the story. Through the use of imagery, the reader can see that the narrator is living within a social class, so even though the author is trying to create a universal voice for all women that have been similar situations, it is not possible. This is not possible because there are many
The first example of an element of fiction used in The Yellow Wallpaper is symbolism. One symbol is the room. There is are bars on the windows to make the reader feel that the narrator is more than likely staying in psychiatric holding room than a room where she can get over her anxious condition. In most sanitariums, there are bars on the windows. The narrator’s husband went against her wishes to stay in the room downstairs with open windows and a view of the garden and put her in a barred prison cell contributing to the theme freedom and confinement. The second symbol is the bed. The bed is big, chained, and nailed to the floor. The reader could say the bed symbolizes sexual repression because a bed is where it happened during the 1900s and with a bed of such large size being nailed and chained down can represent sexual repression.
The way Gilman describes the wallpaper tells of what the narrator's mind is thinking, 'and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide.';(Gillman 206) She doesn't think this on the conscious level but more on the unconscious level. When the narrator writes, '(The designs) destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.';(Gillman 206) She is speaking of her state of mind subconsciously, the narrator is on the brink of losing her mind at this point. Gillman writes, 'There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down. '(Gillman 207) She was explaining how the wallpaper is like a 'watchdog'; or a guard of some type, watching her every move, naturally making her nervous.