preview

Equally The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis

Decent Essays

Robbie Batson explores how “it is unusual to say the least to open a book and the first line is about the main character waking up as a large insect. “Quite relatable to Gilman’s story-based upon her own experience- which is a “rest cure” to mental illnesses according to the New England Magazine. Both texts explore absurdity; a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless, including that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe. Absurd is the recurring theme along with isolation, being a significant purpose of the stories portraying the characters of Gregor Samsa and Jane as being locked away from the outside world making them feel diverse to the normalcy in society.
In both …show more content…

At her worst Gilman reduced to crawling into closets and beds. The yellow wallpaper nevertheless was unnerving at the time of the story being published nevertheless shocking to many readers (even to this day), exploring how the short story epitomises absurdity through her endeavour of escaping. After interpreting the authors to have possibly revealed aspects of their life, a conclusion which can be uncovered is that absurdist is not a concept which has been manufactured by the novelists, but it practically exists in real life as it is a depiction of the writer’s experiences they felt in their own …show more content…

“When he heard his mother’s words, Gregor realized that the monotony of family life… not a soul has addressed a word to him, must have addled his brain in the course of the past two months.” Kafka displays Gregor as finding life pointless, especially, family life, firstly, because they struggle to accept him in his changed form. The alienation from the people around makes him realise the absurdity in his life and how others aren’t the same as himself. The lack of empathy coerces him to perceive an inhumane world due to his detachment from contributing to his absurd existence. His physical way of not being able to get up, as he can’t control his legs the same, can put society at fault for keeping him unaided. The yellow wallpaper is similar as it presents Jane being imprisoned by John (her husband) for her mental illness, “there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people” which is Gilman’s way of not letting Jane normalise with the outside world. In spite of the fact, society could be held as much responsible as the narrator’s husband as they can be linked as associates for not doing anything. Either way, the absurdity is realised as both individuals have to live without being appreciated by means of society.

Get Access