Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happyness
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” said the founding fathers of the United States. For the past 241 years Americans have pondered on these words, and many would say that this phrase has become the cradle of the American Dream. However, it is difficult to give an accurate description of the American Dream for it is not something that can simply…read more
The Yellow Wall-Paper
The Yellow-Wallpaper to me is such an interesting text, as the ending is so satisfying but at the same time so vague and left so much to audience interpretation. From the face value of what we can see from the ending, Jane is driven into madness due to the influence of the wallpaper and her […]
More on The Yellow Wallpaper
When I was writing my essay about confinement in ‘The Yellow Wall-paper’, I sort on went on this tangent so I thought it would be a suitable idea to just continue that stream of consciousness… In addition to being confined to the nursery, and desperately wanting to mold herself to become the ideal mother and […]
An Exploration of the Different Ways in Which Gilman and Carter Depict Patriarchy
The Yellow Wallpaper and The Bloody Chamber express feminist ideologies through their depiction of female characters in victimized situations. In The Yellow Wallpaper through the perspective of the narrator, the audience is able to feel the emotions and constraints applied … Continue reading →
Was the Ending of ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ Satisfying?
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, there are many interpretations of the aspects of this short story –…
Coming to consciousness in the yellow wall-paper
Another post on readings we’re doing in Arts One: this week we discussed a couple of works by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Our Androcentric Culture and “The Yellow Wall-Paper.” I gave a lecture on these works this week, and you can see the slides here if you’re interested: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wall-Paper” and related […]
Names in The Yellow Wallpaper
There’s so much ambiguity surrounding The Yellow Wallpaper; so many possible interpretations of this work that is steeped in symbolism….
Self-Repression in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’
An element of the (female) gothic that is very evident in The Yellow Wallpaper is the recurring theme of repression. In one sense, the main character, through her confinement to the room with the yellow wallpaper, is being forced to repress … Continue reading →
Remaining Men Together
In Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, the narrator is afflicted by a rare form of insomnia which prevents him from getting any sort of sleep unless he experiences an extreme rush of emotion. At first, he frequents various support groups to get this rush, including one for testicular cancer survivors called “Remaining Men Together.” As part of […]
Gilman and Mental Illness
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is praised for accurately describing one woman’s terrifying and slow descent into madness from her own perspective, no less. She unknowingly describes her unusual symptoms, too distracted by the ugly wallpaper around her to reflect what’s actually happening to her. But what actually is happening to her? Gilman writes with such conviction that … Continue reading Gilman and Mental Illness →