Who is the best looking? Who is the richest? Who is the most popular? People are always quick to judge others, but sometimes people take their judgments to far and form stereotypes on certain individuals. All Muslims are terrorists. All Women are to stay in kitchen. All homosexuals are evil. Falling victim to one of these common stereotypes can have a devastating effect on one’s lifestyle. Scared to go back out in public, stereotyped people live a life full of depression and isolation. The main characters in “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Paul’s Case” are two individuals who fall victim to common 20th century stereotypes and succumb to a life of isolation and depression.
Stereotypes can alter the way people live. In both novels the main characters were the subject of a stereotype and became depressed. The main character of “The Yellow Wallpaper” battled through a frequent stereotype that women should only stay in the house. She has no say in the even the littlest details of her life and is unable to stand up for herself without seeming disloyal. The main character is getting over an illness and thinks she is free to do what she wants. Contrary to her belief, her husband, a physician, disagrees and commends her to stay inside the house. The main character says, “Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good, But what is one to do?” (Gilman 437). The main character knows she is stereotyped as a woman and acknowledges there is nothing she can do. Much like the main character of “The Yellow Wallpaper” the main character in “Paul’s Case” became depressed after he was stereotyped as a homosexual. Paul’s homosexual leanings make his life difficult causing him to have with no close friends and no...
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...ereotype and dealing with the consequences of it. As the result of the stereotypes, depression and isolation were reoccurring themes throughout both novels, leaving the main characters to contemplate how to set themselves free. Although they chose different ultimatums, each main character came up with a final plan to break free from their stereotyped lifestyle. If only the main characters in each novel were able to preach the message, never judge a book by its cover, may their lives and stories have been different.
Works Cited
Gilman, Charlotte. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Lierature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 11th ed. Longman, 2010. 436-47.
Cather, Willa. “Paul’s Case.” Lierature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 11th ed. Longman, 2010. 491-505.
Cather, Willa. "Paul's Case." Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R.S. Gwynn. New York: Addison-Wesley, 2002. 194-213.
The greatest similarity is between the female protagonists of each story. Each woman is desperately searching for freedom, but not allowed to have it. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the female protagonist depressed. To treat her sickness, she is sent with her husband to live in a haunted mansion that is supposed to make her better, but it only mak...
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Literature and its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 3 rd ed. Ed. Ann Charter and Samuel Charter. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2003. 182- 193.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper'" Ed. Catherine Lavender; The College of Staten Island of the City University of New York, Fall Semester, Oct. 1997. (25 Jan 1999) http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/whyyw.html
Perkins Gilman, Charlotte. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. 637-49. Print.
Gilman, Charlotte P. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Sundance Introduction To Literature. By Joseph F. Trimmer. N.p.: Thompson Wadsworth, 2007. 1089+. Print.
Cather, Willa. “Paul’s Case.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter 6th ed. New York: Norton, 2000. 198-207.
Gilman, Charlotte. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Literature a World of Writing: Stories, Poems, Plays, and Essays. Ed. David Pike, and Ana Acosta. New York: Longman, 2011. 543-51. Print.
“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.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 2011. Print.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Norton Introduction To Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th Ed. New York, Norton, 1998. 2: 630-642.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Literature for Composition: Reading and Writing Arguments about Essays, Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 8th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 765-75. Print.
Wagner-Martin, Linda. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. 981- 982.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper" The Harbrace Anthology of Literature. Ed. Jon C. Scott, Raymond E. Jones, and Rick Bowers. Canada: Nelson Thomas Learning, 2002. 902-913.
------. "The Writing of 'The Yellow Wallpaper': A Double Palimpsest." Studies in American Fiction. 17 (1989): 193-201.