has anyone read "the yellow wallpaper?"

it's by charlotte perkins gilman.

i'm wondering if maybe someone can help me out writing an essay on this. here's the question:

different critics claim differing themes for charlotte perkins gilman's "the yellow wallpaper." for example, some reviewers suggest that the theme is the agonizing process by which one becomes completely manic-depressive. Others argue that gilman uses this story as a metaphor to explain the social inequities between men and women at the turn of the last century. discuss your position about the theme of this story, making certain to support it with evidence from the literature itself.

well...what i plan to write about john and jane and their 'lifestyle.'

john is afraid of being looked down upon in society so he doesn't allow his wife to do things women aren't supposed to do even though he cares a lot for her. why is he afraid to be looked down upon? is it because he's 'weak?' does john feel depressed inside because he's 'forced' to be like the men in the 19th century and not be able to be himself?

jane is his sister. she accepts the way women were treated. does she feel sad, emotionally, for living the way she does because society 'forced' her to be like this?

that's what i pretty much have. if anyone can contribute, much will be appreciated.

no 1st....

i've read it, but too long ago to contribute anything meaningful..

however, what you have already is good..

make it the bones of the essay...and flesh it out with stuff from the story to back up your opinion...

it seems like you already have answered the question, now for the proof...

what did they say and do to make you think that stuff?

what background info does the author give to support this stuff?

etc.

what type of society did the characters live in?

how did this social climate affect the author and thus, her subjects...

thanks, are2. right now i'm heading out to work so i'll be thinking it over. right now, i'm in the process of reading the story once more to find sources and to quote etc etc etc.

i need to make a rough draft for peers to read this thursday. yay.

damn...i think i will have problems trying typing an introduction for this. damn i need to think a lot at work today for this.

i always hated the intro the most...

develop the essay first if you can

use a rough outline prepared by your initial comments..

a suggestion....

you could divide the paper either into 2 character discussions

with a couple paragraphs per character...their position in society (support)and how they feel about it (support) and then tie the 2 character studies together in another paragraph..

once oyu've written the paper (rough draft)

you'll know exactly what you're talking about

then you can make a thesis statement...

a broad statement roughly illustrating the point of the paper

and then elaborate on that point slightly and boom theres an intro...

okay..hope it helps....no problem, i haven't written a paper in so long and i used to be really good at it...

thanks a bunch!

They always ask such boring fucking questions. For me the story worked because of how long it takes you to figure out she's lost it (the "unreliable narrator" issue). I get a glimpse of both of those themes suggested in the boring question, but I don't like to dwell on them...the story is a story and has already done its job as soon as you finish.

I'm not sure I made my point very well...eh...good luck in your essay.

Post your essay on here some of us will be able to give you tips on it

thanks; i will. i know for sure i'll need help on this. i plan to type it up later today. and it has to be between 800-1000 words.

My intro as of now:

So what happens when someone lives in a society in which people must live the way they are told to because of an unwritten law? To live a life that is obviously false to everyone outside your home on purpose doesn’t sound moral, does it? Would you refuse to live like this and decide to rebel against such an unwritten law with chances of being looked down upon by everyone? In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” there are two people who are living like this. The main character’s husband, John, and his sister, Jane, were trapped living in this society. John was clearly being treated with respect among other men while Jane was being treated like any other woman in the 19th century. But how did they feel emotionally?

_________________________________________

Here's what I have so far:

So what happens when someone lives in a society in which people must live the way they are told to because of an unwritten law? To live a life that is obviously false to everyone outside your home on purpose doesn’t sound moral, does it? Would you refuse to live like this and decide to rebel against such an unwritten law with chances of being looked down upon by everyone? In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” there are two people who are living like this. The main character’s husband, John, and his sister, Jane, were trapped living in this society.

How did they feel emotionally? John was clearly being treated with respect among other men while Jane was being treated like any other woman in the 19th century—like dirt. Let me enlighten you to why this is so. At the turn of the century, and many years before, Men were the dominant ones while the women were there to do such things as take care of their husband like servants and must obey them and their rules. Women didn’t have any rights.

[insert new paragraph here]

too many questions...

the intro is a statement of purpose..

in other words, instead of presenting those questions as the focal point of the essay, present those questions and give a brief (!!) answer of those questions...

people are someitmes given a standard that they must live by in their society. this ideal is not always in the best interest of the individual..... a person denying their true nature on the basis of what society dictates can be a devastating blow to the mental health of the indivdual, especially if they are not able to live up to the expectations of their friends, family and neighbors...imagining ourselves in such a position is nightmarish...certainly one could not expect an individual to continue such a charade throughout the course of their lives...our two main chracters in the yelloww are in such a dillemna....on the surface, things are well, as the charade is maintained...but they're feelings, below the surface, are not so well...

blalblabla

just some suggestions..

same goes for the paragraph..

you are answering questions given to you in the assignment..

present your opinions as statements, and support thwm...

do not present the questions in that form..

present them as ideas, and fill out the statement with your opinion (the questions answer)...remeber...you are proving a point (your own opinion about the meaning of the story) you are not attempting to engage the reader in a discussion..

but keep going, it sounds okay...

Originally posted by Are2

too many questions...

 

Yeah, I also thought there were too many questions. I plan to change it and stuff in a few.

people are someitmes given a standard that they must live by in their society. this ideal is not always in the best interest of the individual..... a person denying their true nature on the basis of what society dictates can be a devastating blow to the mental health of the indivdual, especially if they are not able to live up to the expectations of their friends, family and neighbors...imagining ourselves in such a position is nightmarish...certainly one could not expect an individual to continue such a charade throughout the course of their lives...our two main chracters in the yelloww are in such a dillemna....on the surface, things are well, as the charade is maintained...but they're feelings, below the surface, are not so well...

 

I'm not that good at writing so uhh...yeah. Haha...

ya i read that story, its kinda fucked up when you realize it actually happened, and the mental help the lady recieved was being locked n a fucking room before going insane. one thing to remember when you are writing you paper is that it is an extremely feminist story, and there are at leats 20 or 30 metaphors in it that relate to feminism, and male supremacy. ill see if i can find my notes on it and post em.

blee blah bloo...

Originally posted by YinzerXpress

ya i read that story, its kinda fucked up when you realize it actually happened, and the mental help the lady recieved was being locked n a fucking room before going insane. one thing to remember when you are writing you paper is that it is an extremely feminist story, and there are at leats 20 or 30 metaphors in it that relate to feminism, and male supremacy. ill see if i can find my notes on it and post em.

20-30 metaphors relating to feminism and male supremacy is a shit load. i just hope i can find a decent amount of information for my paper. thanks.

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nope, never

I had to read that and do a presentation on it a couple of years ago. The presentation was supposed to involve active discussion of all class members in a creative fashion, and effective enough so that the purpose of the story was understood.

Instead, our group opted to get stoned before class and do something retarded, so what we did was bring props, write down a bunch of things to stand for elements in the story, put them in a hat, then had students pick them out and act out a scene in the book with their new roles. What this meant was that instead of having yellow wallpaper, we had a dead buffalo or a jar of human eyeballs, and shit like that for specific characters and elements of the story. So somebody had to act out a dead buffalo in the corner of the room, while the woman character, now a bodybuilding wrestler lady, had to get freaked out at it.

It was so fucking hilarious seeing all these confused people, having no idea what to do, wearing obnoxious props, acting out parts of the story but still making it clear what their retarded character was, because the rest of the class had to figure it out by the end. Oh man, did I cry myself stupid that day... the teacher was gonna give us a C- because it was the most pointless, off-topic discussion ever, but it was so goddamn entartaining she had to up it up to a B. Gotta love liberal arts classes at fine art schools. Beer,

El Mamerro

haha. that's ferny. this shit is going to be quite difficult for me. booo

complete nonsense, ranting, and not staying on topic!

So what happens when someone lives in a society in which people must live the way they are told to because of an unwritten law? They try to deal with it, of course. To live a life that is obviously false to everyone outside your home on purpose doesn’t sound moral, does it? In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” there are two people who are living like this. The main character’s husband, John, and his sister, Jane, were trapped living in this society. John was clearly being treated with respect among other men while Jane was being treated like any other woman in the 19th century—like dirt. Let me enlighten you to why this is so. At the turn of the century, and many years before, Men were the dominant ones while the women were there to do such things as take care of their husband like servants and must obey them and their rules. Women didn’t have any rights.

Now here’s John, a physician and a loving husband who takes care of his sick wife. He does not allow her to do things that would make her get more ill. What was it that John didn’t want her to do? It’s obviously something that would jeopardize his reputation. He did not allow her to write. Women in the past were not permitted to write stories, poems, or anything of that nature. John was afraid that if his wife was able to write, then word would spread around town like an epidemic about how he can’t control his wife. The reason why he doesn’t let her to write is because he thought that writing made her ill. To care so much about a woman in the 19th century is absurd. So lets assume that you’re not allowed to have such deep feelings toward your wife. John loves his wife. He takes care of her. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Do you think people outside know about this? I don’t think so. So now John is has to hide it. He has to not show or tell anyone about this. Doing so would make him be the black sheep in the community. So when John is out working or at the bar, he has to talk to his friends differently from how he would talk to his wife. He leads a false life, a life that he possibly doesn’t want to live. How does John feel about this? Shouldn’t he feel depressed? I think so. To live a life you don’t want to live is enough to make me feel sad.

man this is going to get destroyed tomorrow by my peers. oh well. heh. all i need now is a paragraph on jane and a closing paragrpah on this crap.