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The Power Struggle in The Yellow Wallpaper The story "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story about control. In the late 1800's, women were looked upon as having no effect on society other than bearing children and keeping house. It was difficult for women to express themselves in a world dominated by males. The men held the jobs, the men held the knowledge, the men held the key to the lock known as society - or so they thought. The narrator in "The Wallpaper" is under this kind of control from her husband, John. Although most readers believe this story is about a woman who goes insane, it is actually about a woman’s quest for control of her life. The narrator is being completely controlled by her husband. The narrator's husband has told the her over and over again that she is sick. She sees this as control because she cannot tell him differently. He is a physician so he knows these things. She also has a brother who is a physician, and he says the same thing. In the beginning of the story, she is like a child taking orders from a parent. Whatever these male doctors say must be true. The narrator says, "personally, I disagree with their ideas" (480), and it is clear she does not want to accept their theories but has no other choice. She is controlled by her husband. Control is exemplified later in the story in the choice of rooms in which she must stay. She has no say whatsoever in this decision. She is forced to stay in a room she is uncomfortable with. This is the bedroom in which John has trapped her; this room is not a room in which she wants to be. The windows are barred and the bed is bolted down. This is a subliminal clue of control. And there is the horrible yellow wallpaper. "I n... ... middle of paper ... ... the wallpaper no longer oppresses her. As time goes on, she gains confidence and control over both and ultimately dominates them. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Rediscoveries: American Short Stories by Women, 1832 - 1916. Ed. Barbara H. Solomon. New York: Mentor, 1994. 480-496. Delamotte, Eugenia C. reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism Vol. 37. Ed. Paula Kepos. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1991. Works Consulted Treichler, Paula. "Escaping the Sentence: Diagnosis and Discourse in 'The Yellow Wallpaper'." Rpt. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism Vol. 37. Detroit: Gale 1991. 188-194. Shumaker, Conrad. "Too Terribly Good to Be Printed: Charlotte Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper'." reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism Vol. 37. Ed. Paula Kepos. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1991. 194-198.
The narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” knows she is sick, but the men in her life do not think she is seriously ill. Her husband, John, and her brother are both physicians of high standing, so she does not know what to do when they diagnose her as being perfectly healthy. Even though she does not agree with their remedies, she has no say over them. She admits with discomfort, “So I take phosphates or phosphites-whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and airs, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to “work” until I am well again”(Gilman 956). Although she would know if she was sick and what would make her feel better than anyone else, she is forced to go along with her husband’s elaborate plan for her path to recovery.
The pattern on the wallpaper represents to the narrator and to the reader the male-dominated society that is depriving the narrator of her freedom. For the narrator, on a personal level, the pattern on the wallpaper represents the actions of her husband, doctor and her husband's sister to keep her locked in the room and idle. While these people are ostensibly attempting to aid the narrator, they are in effect imprisoning her i...
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wall-paper." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Eds. Nina Baym, et. al. Shorter 5th ed. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999: 1656-1669.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." In Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters, Eds. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997. 230-242.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Literature and its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 3 rd ed. Ed. Ann Charter and Samuel Charter. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2003. 182- 193.
...op occupational illness prevention programs by having a written plan with specific procedures. This needs to be communicated to all employees and employees will know the hazards that exist to prevent injuries (Bernardin & Russell, 2013). The plan can involve management where they can be in charge of the program, and they can train employees on hoe to follow and report hazards to their immediate supervisor. Evaluate workplace conditions by conducting a survey on equipment, materials, machinery, and daily operations (Bernardin & Russell, 2013). Then evaluate current illness and injuries within the organization. Then develop and action plan and keep reviewing it to see if it is working. Communicate with employees and it is important that they know how the injury and illness plan works. It may be beneficial to designate someone to monitor the programs progress.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Norton Introduction To Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th Ed. New York, Norton, 1998. 2: 630-642.
Monuments give people that have accomplished a significant thing credibility in what they have done. In many cases those people have done something heroic and extraordinary to achieve a monument in their name and honor. If you were to do something heroic and special wouldn’t you want to get a monument granted in your honor? Sometimes monuments aren’t just to honor those who have done something, but maybe someone who had passed away. Maybe they died in a tragic accident and their family wanted to honor their life in a memorable way. Monuments are extremely valuable and important in our nation. The Fort Amanda Park located right here in Lima, Ohio has a significant historic past. During the 1812 war, General William Harrison called most of the
Hedges, Elaine R. Afterword. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1973: 37-63. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism 9. Detroit: Gale: 1988.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Inside Literature. Ed. R. S. Gwynn and Steven J. Zani. New York, New York: Longman Publishers, 2007. 144-158.
"Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper'?" Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, edited by Thomas J. Schoenberg, vol. 201, Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=mill30389&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CH1420082945&it=r&asid=fa503d396619394dc49024ab2704723f. Accessed 30 Oct. 2017.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Booth, Alison and Kelly J. Mays, eds. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. New York: Norton, 2010. 354-65. Print.
In conclusion, people should not take down confederate memorials as they are part of the history. They remind us of the cost of freedom and equality; they force us to remember the ignominious truth of the past; they serve as a mighty tool to educate the racists. We need them to avoid recommitting the same
"Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper"—Writing Women." EDSITEment: The Best of the Humanities on the Web. Web. 05 Mar. 2011.
The woman behind this work of literature portrays the role of women in the society during that period of time. "The Yellow Wallpaper" written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a well written story describing a woman who suffers from insanity and how she struggles to express her own thoughts and feelings. The author uses her own experience to criticize male domination of women during the nineteenth century. Although the story was written fifty years ago, "The Yellow Wallpaper" still brings a clear message how powerless women were during that time.