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John is completely blind to his wife's needs. In fact, he is being completely selfish in this situation because he is placing himself over his wife's needs. This fact, on top of everything else, allows us to see how easily oppression could transform into anger.
Oppression, repression, and rage emerge as important aspects of "The Yellow Wallpaper." The narrator in this story represents countless women who suffered at the hands of uninterested and uneducated doctors. The story follows the course of madness through stages and reveals the delicate workings of the human psyche. Survival is an instinctive characteristic and the narrator does what she can to preserve herself before going over the edge. Gilman demonstrates the yearning for independence in a rather hopeless situation and, as a result, emphasizes the need for understanding before medication. In addition, she also demonstrates how doctors do not always know best. Perhaps one of the most compelling pieces of writing regarding "the Yellow Wallpaper" is Gilman's essay, "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" In this short piece, Gilman admits to suffering from a "severe and continuous nervous breakdown" (Gilman). She admits to experiencing this for about three years before seeking the help of a professional. This physician, the "best known in the country" (Gilman), told her nothing was wrong with her and recommended bed rest. Gilman attempted this regimen for approximately three months before coming "so near the border line of utter mental ruin that I could see over" (Gilman). This woman had to save herself. She had to go against what the doctors were telling her and do what she felt was necessary for her to survive. Gilman did recover from her illness but it was not from the assistance of helpful doctors. "The Yellow Wallpaper" demonstrates the helplessness and...
When Johnson suggests rage, we can see it emerging through the narrator's behavior in tiny pieces, or segments, of a "fit" of tearing the paper from the wall. Rage gives way to madness in this story. As much as the narrator attempts to free herself, she is unable to do so within the same four walls. She literally scratches herself free. Her story serves as a warning for those who refuse to take seriously the requests and needs of others. More than anything, "The Yellow Wallpaper" represents a time in history when women were neglected and terribly mistreated as a result of a lack of concern.
Works Cited
Perkins-Gilman Charlotte. "The Yellow Wall-paper." The Heath Anthology of American
Literature. Vol. II. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company. 1990.
-. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" City University of New York Online. http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/whyyw.html Site Accessed November 30, 2009.
Haney-Peritz, Janice. "Monumental Feminism and Literature's Ancestral House: Another Look
at 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" 1989. Gale Database. Site
Accessed November 30, 2009.
Johnson, Greg. "Gilman's Gothic Allegory: Rage and Redemption in 'The Yellow Wallpaper'."
Studies in Short Fiction. 26.4 (Fall 1989): 521-530. Rpt. In Short Story Criticism. Ed.
David L. Siegel. Vol. 13. Detroit: Gale Research, 1993. Site Accessed November 29,
2009.
Wagner-Martin, Linda. "Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper': A Centenary." Charlotte Perkins
Gilman: The Woman and Her Work." Sheryl L. Meyering, ed. Ann Arbor: UMI Research
Press. 1989. Gale Database. Site Accessed December 30,
Works Cited
Perkins-Gilman Charlotte. "The Yellow Wall-paper." The Heath Anthology of American
Literature. Vol. II. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company. 1990.
-. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" City University of New York Online. http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/whyyw.html Site Accessed November 30, 2009.
Haney-Peritz, Janice. "Monumental Feminism and Literature's Ancestral House: Another Look
at 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" 1989. Gale Database. <http://www.infotrac.com> Site
Press. 1989. Gale Database. <http://www.infotrac.com> Site Accessed December 30,
Sandra Cisneros's "Eyes Zapata," Zakaria Tamer's "Sheep," Nawal al-Saadawi's "In Camera," Hanan The predominant similarity between Sandra Cisneros's short story, "Eyes of Zapata," and Nawal al-Saadawi's "In Camera," is that both narratives deal with the oppression of women who fail to conform to the limited roles that society constructs for their gender. Such oppression takes many forms in each of these tales. In Cisneros' story, the protagonist is ravaged by both
Did Bertha not subscribe to the "cult of true womanhood" in which a real woman was believed to be without any sexual feelings, to be responsible for the man's sexual behavior, to be religious, obedient to her husband, and to provide a serene haven for him? After all, the man had to do business in a dangerous and corrupt world and needed rest and regeneration in a serene and
This is why wars are fought with bloodletting, why torture takes place, and why neither violence nor war is limited to the physical carnage of the battlefield. Nordstrom 59) The early death of Clifton's mother, as a result of having to powerlessly rely on a liar and a letch who could not provide for his family, is the ultimate example of self-inflicted violence, as is Gillman's character resorting to an expression
English Literature: Literary AnalysesTitle of the story: The Yellow WallpaperAuthor: Charlotte Perkins StetsonThesis of the StoryThe story �The Yellow Wallpaper,� written by Charlotte Perkins Stetson, is about mental illness, treatment for married women, and freedom of thought and expression that bring ups and down in their emotions. The writer has offered various symbols like the diary, the yellow wallpaper, and day and night light to symbolize the story and the
Sean O'Faolain was an Irish writer who often used the relationship between society and individual characters to show his readers how the Irish struggled with adjusting its conservative past with a modern present. O'Faolain's stories do not leave the reader with the satisfaction that things will be better. His protagonists have all been shunned from society and experience all sorts of loss. O'Faolain shows how these characters overcome their realities
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