Yellow Wallpaper By Charolotte Gilman example essay topic

Settler Hour 5 2/15/00 Modern Lit. Essay #1 In the early twentieth century a writers work usually represented ones surroundings. In the stories "Araby" by James Joyce and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charolotte Gilman there are examples of their immediate surroundings taking affect in there writings. In most cases a person becomes what there surroundings are because that was the way they were raised. A person's family, friends, neighborhood and every day things will shape and mold ones morals and character. In "The Yellow Wallpaper" the narrator is also the author.

Charolotte Gilman writes about her struggle with insanity. The story takes place in a house in the countryside. Johns plan was to get his wife away from all the hustle and bustle and have her relax. John who was a doctor and another doctor gave her a prescription of exercise rest and absolutely no writing.

They believed (along with society) this was the best thing for a person in this condition. John never came out and said she was going insane he just said she was stressed and needed rest. He actually told her not to think about her condition it would only make things worse. So for the few weeks they were up there she tried to follow his prescription except for when she would secretly write.

It was a favorite passion of hers that gave her a break from societies daily stresses. In this time period women didn't have as much say as they do now. Both her brother and her husband told her that this was the best thing for her recovery. She couldn't say no when her husband was telling her not to write. I believe because of her surroundings that her husband put her in she went insane much faster. The fact that she couldn't write and didn't really have anyone to talk to drove her to start hallucinating about the women in the wall.

The wallpaper in the room became one of her fetishes. "There are things in the wallpaper that nobody knows about but me, or ever will". (Narrator, 534) It wasn't just a small fed dish at the end but a large portion of her day would be spent contemplating about the walls colors and designs. She even believed she could smell the wallpaper, throughout the whole house and even in her hair. Her mind started comprehending her as the woman in the wall.

The woman was stuck in the wall night after night just like her being stuck in the house. "The faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out". (Narrator 534) Many times her husband stayed in town for long periods of time, which gave her plenty of time to do nothing. She couldn't write which is a great way to channel your feeling and thoughts. This was a feeding ground for the disease (insanity) to get worse. This time period didn't have much knowledge about insanity or how to treat it.

In today's day and age we know all the symptoms and how to treat it. This is partly due to Charolotte Gilman and her struggle. The doctor that had treated her has actually changed his method of trying to cure insanity. It's a known fact now that interaction with others and demonstrating artistic skills help in cases like these. She was isolated and couldn't express her self to others. When she tried to tell John that she better in body but not in her mind he cut her off and told her never to speak like that again.

"So of course I said no more on that score, and we went to sleep before long". (Narrator 535) She knew what helped her and what hurt her. She said a few times that she wanted to go home. The narrator even thought to herself "I think sometimes that if I was only well enough to write a little it would relieve the press of ideas and rest me". (Narrator 531) Todays cures come from listing to patents and seeing what works and what doesn't.

If they used these methods back then there would be a good chance she would have never started and her room would still have yellow wallpaper.