The short stories “The Rocking Horse Winner” by and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by are stories that involve a character with a mental illness that leads to unsettling events. Although these two stories share a common aspect of both mentally ill characters, the reason for their illness is quite different. In the story “The Rocking Horse Winner” the main conflict is with Paul, the son. Paul tells his mother he is lucky when she points out that her father is unlucky. Paul believes he is lucky because he doesn’t lose at the Derby. However, when Paul is told he lost, he starts to show signs of hallucination and illness. It only becomes worse, leading Paul to become mute and silent. By the time he learns that the horse, Malabar, that he placed his bet
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a 19th century, journalist from Connecticut. She was also a feminist. Gilman was not conservative when it came to expressing her views publically. Many of her published works openly expressed her thoughts on woman’s rights. She also broke through social norms when she chose to write her short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” in 1892, which described her battle with mental illness. These literary breakthroughs, made by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, help us see that the 19th century was a time of change for women.
Throughout history people have always seemed to follow what notions that were considered "cool". Though I doubt that "cool" was the word used to describe these notions they were still there in some form or another. One of the greatest farces ever committed in the name of these popular perceptions was medicine. At that time, medicine that was on the cutting edge seem to have always involved some sort of noxious chemical or a typically atrocious diet. Not to mention the fact that ninety-nine percent of the doctors were men. Women's notions were immediately discounted on the bases of the preconception that women were not meant for such enlightened thoughts. No, men really knew what was best and women were meant to stand by what their husbands' said. This brings one particular husband to mind and how he was responsible for his wife going completely and utterly insane. His name is John and he is the husband to a woman who was diagnosed with a temporary nervous depression, meaning a slight hysterical tendency.
Are all mothers fit for motherhood? The concept of motherhood is scrutinized in the stories “The Rocking Horse Winner” and “Tears Idle Tears”. In “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H Lawrence the mother, Hester, unpremeditatedly provokes her son into providing for her through gambling. In the story “Tears Idle Tears” by Elizabeth Bowen, Mrs. Dickinson disregards her son’s emotions and puts more emphasis in her appearance than her son’s wellbeing. Hester and Mrs. Dickinson both were inadequate mothers. Both the mothers were materialistic, pretended to love their offspring, and their dominance hindered their children’s progress in life.
“The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story about a young boy, Paul, who has the supernatural ability to choose a winning race horse. It is not clear how the boy has this ability but he hears his mother’s voice echo in his mind saying that they are poor and so he sets out to change that. Paul takes on the stress of his mother’s greed. This short story relates to the obsession of wealth which what motivates the characters aside of neglect, faulty sense of value, opportunism and deceit. Paul believes that there is more money to be made and thus goes on a frenzy to win more, but consequently dies after falling off his rocking horse due to convulsions of a fever.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is the story of a woman spiralling into madness whilst her physician husband refuses to acknowledge that she has a "real" problem. On the other hand The Black Cat by Edgar Alan Poe is about a man who is initially fond of cats however as the plot progresses he becomes an alcoholic making him moody and violent, which lead him to torture and kills the animals and eventually also his wife. In Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Black Cat," symbolism is used to show the narrator’s capacity for violence, madness, and guilt .The recurring theme present in both these stories is that the main protagonists claim that they suffer or have been taken over by a form of madness. In this essay I shall examine the various symbolism used by the writer's to represent madness.
“When Dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off…” (Walls 115).In Jeannette Walls memoir, The Glass Castle, Walls enlightens the reader on what it’s like to grow up with a parent who is dependent on alcohol, Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, was an alcoholic. Psychologically, having a parent who abuses alcohol is the worst thing for a child. The psychological state of these children can get of poorer quality as they grow up. Leaving the child with psychiatric disorders in the future and or being an alcoholic as well.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s "The Yellow Wall-Paper," does more than just tell the story of a woman who suffers at the hands of 19th century quack medicine. Gilman created a protagonist with real emotions and a real psych that can be examined and analyzed in the context of modern psychology. In fact, to understand the psychology of the unnamed protagonist is to be well on the way to understanding the story itself. "The Yellow Wall-Paper," written in first-person narrative, charts the psychological state of the protagonist as she slowly deteriorates into schizophrenia (a disintegration of the personality).
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37.
In the psychological community, "insanity" is a legal term and is in no way psychological (Strickland 330). The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology defines "insanity" as "A legal and social term for a mental disorder that causes people to be judged incapable of managing their own affairs and not responsible for their actions." (Pettijohn 144). He continues to say that ".. the term is no longer a correct synonym for a psychotic disorder or any other form of abnormal behavior [in psychology]" (Pettijohn 144). In the time period of "The Yellow Wallpaper", insanity was a valid term for what the women of the time were sometimes said to be. In "The Yellow Wallpaper", the narrator's misunderstood illness and treatment cause her descent into madness.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a picture of women’s life at that time. The story is a gothic horror tale, in which Gilman tried to convey her life to the readers. This story takes place in 1892, which is a century ago. It is story about a mentally troubled young woman named Jane. Even though it is a fictive story, it is still semi-autobiographical. Gilman had the same condition “Nervous Breakdown” as Jane in the story, and her doctor advised her to “’Live as domestic a life as far as possible,’ to ‘have but two hours intellectual life a day,’ and ‘never touch pen, brush, or pencil again’ as long as you lived’”(Gilman 1). It almost sounds like taking somebody’s life away without killing them. Gilman was lead by her husband just like Jane in the story, and never found him to be wrong, no matter what he says. It was maybe because of
The Yellow Wallpaper as a Guide To Insanity "There comes John, and I must put this away- he hates to have me write a word" (p659). As evident by the above quote, Gilman places the narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper" as secluded as she could be; she is placed in a large house, surrounded only by her husband and by little help (Jennie), when it is unfortunately clear that her relationship with her husband is based on distance and misunderstanding: "It is so hard to talk with John about my case, because he is so wise, and because he loves me so"(p 663). Gilman further confines her narrator as it becomes clear that the poor soul has absolutely no one to talk to; that is, no one who can understand her. The narrator is cornered by her loved ones, she is isolated from the world under her husband-doctor orders, she is thus physically confined to her shaky mental realm. The next aspect of the narrator that zooms us into her state is her tone: "I really have discovered something at last..
Depression is an illness often misunderstood by the individual and their family. One symptom of depression is isolation and in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Doris Lessing’s short story, “To Room Nineteen” the protagonists feel trapped and unfulfilled in their ordinary lives causing them to become depressed. The emotional and physical battle both these characters undergo reveal many striking similarities, despite the origin and breaking points of their provoking thoughts and actions. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Doris Lessing’s short story “To Room Nineteen,” both protagonists experience isolation from the world and people around them.
Throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells her readers the story of a woman desperate to be free. Gilman’s use of symbolism is nothing short of brilliant in telling the story of a new mother suffering from postpartum depression and fighting her way through societies ideas of what a woman should be. When her husband, John, also known as her physician, tells her nothing is wrong with her mind, at first she believes him because she knows that society tells her she should. However, with her husband’s misdiagnosis, or attempt to keep his wife sane for the sake of their reputation, comes a short journey into madness for his wife, Jane. Jane’s downward spiral, as one may call it, turns out to be not so downward when the reader
Hester, Paul’s rocking horse and the whispering of the house represent greed, selfishness, and love. They also reveal the character’s real feelings and thoughts of neglect, detachment, greed and selfishness. These symbols convey a theme and make the characters in the short story. The Rocking-Horse Winner is a tragic story where Paul dies trying to gain his mother’s love and compassion. The mother was just interested in the money he was winning in the derbies. The story conveys a major them of materialism and shapes the characters through the symbols.
Many people forget about the most important things in life, like family and enjoying life