Response To 'The Yellow Wallpaper'

Words: 598

Pages: 3

Open Document

Nten Nyiam
Ms. Tiabo
Writing Processes, Band 5
28 October 2015

The Yellow Wallpaper Literary Response

Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses imagery, quotations, and implications to compare the confinement and detainment of the narrator and the freedom of her husband in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator and her husband, John, are staying at a manor they had rented. The narrator suffers from an anxiety disorder, which her husband calls “temporary nervous depression.” He tells her to get as much rest she can and to refrain from any form of intellectually stimulating work and to avoid anything that sparks creativity. The narrator listens to her husband and is forced to a large room on the top floor. She eventually becomes obsessed …show more content…
As the time to depart the manor gets nearer, the narrator decides to tear the wallpaper and believes she has set the trapped woman free. At the sight of his wife crawling around and tearing off bits of the wallpaper, John faints. The narrator is forced to stay in a confined environment throughout the story as shown through the quote, “… He said that after the wallpaper was changed it would be the heavy bedstead, and then the barred windows, and then that gate at the head of the stairs, and so on… There are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people.”(Gilman) This quote, not only, shows that the house layout is intended to be confined and disengaged from the outside world, but provides the reader with insight about how the narrator lives. The narrator (throughout the span of the story) has to stay inside of this house, but more specifically in her room. The windows in the “big, airy room” are barred,

The Yellow Wallpaper Response

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, illustrates a woman who must put aside her own feelings and thoughts, because society has had a great influence on her and has made her believe that her husband is in charge and whatever he says goes, she has no right to question his authority. “And she is all the time trying to climb through that pattern-it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads” (Gilman 775). Society has a disapproval of women expressing themselves. So women have…

Words 209 - Pages 1

The Yellow Wallpaper Response Research Paper

Kaitlyn Wallace Mrs. De la Garza English 1302 29 January, 2024 “The Yellow Wallpaper” Reader’s Response “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story about a woman’s descent into madness. The tale is set in the 1890s, which was a time before women’s suffrage when men, especially husbands, had a say over everything, including their wives and what they do. This is something that is explored in the passage. The story starts with the narrator and her husband moving into a new…

Words 522 - Pages 3

yellow wallpaper

"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman has many times been seen as a victory for the feminist movement. It has exposed the mistreatment of women by those in the medical community. It has revealed the sexism that was still rampant in the late 19th century. It has also, in a way, given women a voice and forced the public to recognize the seriousness of these issues. Gilman's intent in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was, "...to save people from being driven crazy." She seems to have done…

Words 2019 - Pages 9

The Yellow Wallpaper

In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman uses feminism to portray a society where males dominate over females. An inequality is shown towards women as they are displayed as weaker individuals in situations in relationships and outside forces. Later on in the story, the male and female roles change as the relationship between the inequalities of the two characters in the story. Gilman’s use of feminism sets the stage of the story as masculinity reigns over femininity in how the plot progresses…

Words 594 - Pages 3

Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper Notes/Research Documents http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/index.html Dr. L. Kit Wheeler’s Website of Literary definitions Manuscripts from the Gothic period of art likewise have strange monsters and fantastical creatures depicted in the margins of the page, and elaborate vine-work or leaf-work painted along the borders. The term has come to be used much more loosely to refer to gloomy or frightening literature. Contrast with horror story, Gothic literature and Gothic novel…

Words 8493 - Pages 34

'The Yellow Wallpaper' Analysis

English 3.8 Rebecca Hoverd 13OA WTC Hypothesis: The author of The Yellow Wallpaper portrays insanity as a form of rebellion against the society the narrator lived in. Since reading and studying Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, I have concluded that Gilman has portrayed insanity as a form of rebellion against the society the narrator lived in, that is America in the nineteenth century. Through analysing two critical essays on Gilman’s purpose of the text and the…

Words 1882 - Pages 8

Yellow Wallpaper Symbolism

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a fictional narrative detailing a woman’s subsequent stay in a house that her husband, John Doe, had rented out for the summer. She is diagnosed with a “temporary nervous depression” by her husband who is introduced to the reader as a physician and does not believe that her condition is legitimate. The narrator’s hysteria worsens as the story progresses in a horrific manner, bringing to life the yellow wallpaper that is layered on the walls of…

Words 1098 - Pages 5

Essay On Realism In The Yellow Wallpaper

gives us the progression of what might logically happen in the mind of a mentally ill woman. At first, the woman just thinks that the wallpaper in her room is ugly. Then she starts to get agitated with the wallpaper because she can’t seem to find a pattern to follow. The woman eventually gets to the point where thinks that there is a figure trapper in the wallpaper, trying to get out. “The faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get…

Words 915 - Pages 4

Gender Exclusion In Fences And The Yellow Wallpaper

Society has a way of “shutting” people out of everyday activities based on superficial differences. The idea of exclusion can be dictated by gender, race and even class. In the playwright, Fences, and the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, both authors portray a story that involves a form of exclusion. In these pieces of literature, the authors’ use of literary themes and devices addresses the issue of race and gender exclusion that was predominant during their time. Fences by August Wilson, is…

Words 976 - Pages 4

Critical Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper

Critical Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper is a fictional narrative, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which reflected real life societal themes. The author used her personal dealing with postpartum depression to help convey the biased social attitudes directed towards women. The narrator’s fascination with the multiple shadows can be viewed as a symbol of the meaning of her story, indicating that it extends past that isolated case. Gilman’s narrative criticizes not only…

Words 445 - Pages 2