A Yellow Wallpape Essays

A Yellow Wallpape Essays A Yellow Wallpape Essay A Yellow Wallpape Essay Essay Topic: The Yellow Wallpaper I find â€Å"A Yellow Wallpaper† disturbing because of the author’s grim exploration of the dark underside of women’s subjugation in society. Gilman’s macabre attack on the story’s theme shocks readers to the kind of reality most women are faced with. On the outside, it may appear as John is genuinely concerned about his wife’s well-being but his affection turns out to be problematic and laden with hidden political underpinnings. John, along with the protagonist’s brother and Jennie all look down on her because of her unstable condition. I noticed that it is so easy for the other characters to assume that the protagonist is not mentally sound just because she is experiencing excessive emotional stress. According to the story, she has just given birth at that time. It may be that she is undergoing post partum depression which is why she is always weepy and lonely. Add that to the fact that she is kept in complete isolation and inactivit y. The curative prescription of her husband is definitely bizarre and insane to say the least. Why would you prescribe a mother, who is already suffering from sudden fits of melancholy, with prolonged confinement and passivity? That will only exacerbate her gloom a thousand times over.   Happiness is supposed to be the best medicine yet John prevented her from doing the thing she desires the most- writing. (pg 286) Despite her husband’s strict prohibitions she kept writing in her journal all the same. If anything, it is the only reason that kept her from losing her sanity. Just like a friend, the journal kept her company during all those silent and dark moments of alienation. Moreover, her journal entries give solid proof to the lucidity of her mind. Her accurate descriptions and informed narration give testament to her healthy and sound judgment. Just because the protagonist is emotionally vulnerable it is convenient for the society and the people around her to question he r sanity. Gilman demonstrates that women are misconstrued as immediate victims of madness and hysteria because of their biological make up. I also like the way Gilman also used symbolism to expose the anonymous and almost nonexistent life that women are made to undergo. The nameless protagonist shows that many women are stifled from achieving their own persons. Thus, they are oftentimes disregarded as unknown faces in society. Just like the woman lurking behind the wallpaper pattern, females are taken as shadows which blend seamlessly against the background.   The protagonist’s lack of name or identification suggests her missing identity. She never had a life of her own except from the secondary existence of a wife and mother. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why is the wallpaper colored yellow? What symbolisms does the yellow color represent? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why are there severed heads of women within the pattern of the wallpaper? What do they stand for? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How did the use of journal writing as a form of story telling advanced the theme of the story?