Examples Of Oppression In The Yellow Wallpaper

Oppression and oppressive acts have been weaved into everyday life in the United States throughout much of its history. One specific time in American History where oppressive acts took place was during WWII, specifically Japanese Internment. Japanese Internment was when the Japanese living in the United States, two thirds of them being citizens, were forced to evacuate their homes and were then put into camps. The struggles of the oppressed during these times are highlighted throughout the article, “Home Was a Horse Stall.” Another example of oppression happening in history is found the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by women’s right activist, Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In the story, a woman is oppressed by her husband, also her doctor,

Oppressive actions never fail to lead the victims to a feeling of loneliness. In both writings, the result of their specific acts of oppression left the sufferers isolated and alone. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” John’s continual actions force his wife to be in a state where she feels as if no one has her back. Part of the wife’s treatment is to not interact with anyone and is if she is to interact with anyone they know the state of mind that she is in and how she is unable to do anything. By not interacting with anyone but herself, the wife seems to have not had an enjoyable time when John sets up a Fourth of July get together with some family members: “Well, the Fourth of July is over! The people are all gone and I am tired out. John thought it might do me good to see a little company...Of course I didn’t do a thing. Jennie sees to everything now. But it tired me all the same” (Stetson 650). The way John normally treats his wife forces her to take a the backseat approach to everything. In other words, she feels as if she is unable to perform tasks like she was once able too. This interaction with some family reassures the wife that she is alone and that everyone around her virtually controls her life. Similar feelings of isolation in the “Yellow Wallpaper” appear in the article, “Home Was a Horse Stall.” These Japanese Americans were singled out from the rest of the country. This resulted in them feelings as they were living on their own and nobody cared what ended up happening to them. After the tragic events at Pearl Harbor, these Japanese Americans were singled out from everyone else and unwillingly sent to specific camp locations, leaving them isolated from everyone and everything else in their lives. The camps that they were sent to were similar to the room that the wife from, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” was trapped in. In these places of space, lived a sense of loneliness and forced to