Inside The Closet - Original Writing

Superstitions are a mysterious part of any culture, and those mysteries greatly influence mysterious writers. Edgar Allen Poe, one of the most famous mysterious authors, use the many mysterious encounters he faced as an asset for his short stories. A major influence was his time in Charleston, South Carolina, where he learned of the many superstitions and rituals of both the blacks and the whites of the area. His interests in horrific rituals like premature burials and zombication (which mainly involves voodoo, familiar to the Lowcountry Gullah culture) helped him to write horrific short stories, like “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Poe’s gory and eerie setting of the house itself and the off-putting characteristics of the Usher siblings expressed Poe’s knowledge of paranoia and interest of the “living dead,” which comes in the weird rituals of the Gullah culture.

1. “It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.” In this quote the author is referring to the rose bush by the prison as being a symbol of the sweet moral lesson offered by Anne Hutchinson, a woman who preached to the Puritans without the male-dominated permission of the Puritan church. Like Hester Prynne, Anne was punished. She was sent to the prison. No matter how small an action is, the culture of a society can respond in rage, loathing disgust, even fear. It is behavior that is learned and passed on through religion and community. In colonial Puritan society people were socialized to be very strict and religious and to punish anyone who behaved in a way that was considered improper. Any kind of sin had an exaggerated evil in the Puritan’s eyes, especially ones regarding marriage and sex. Hester Prynne and Anne Hutchinson are both character representations of women who stood up for the rights of women to live their own lives in a strict society.

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman written in the 1890s both reflect gender roles of this time, specifically women’s roles. In these stories both of the women are oppressed by their marriages, and by the end of the stories both wish to be rid of their husbands. Also, in both of these stories these women experience mental illnesses, mainly depression. These illnesses were looked at as something minor during this time, was it because psychologists were uneducated, or because as women their mental stability did not really matter? These stories connect so well because of their work to bring to the surface the reality of gender roles in the 1800s. Even though these stories were fictional their ideas were very real. By comparing how men and women were treated during this time, and how they are treated more equally now, it shows that with time American has come a long way.

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” Jim Rohns quote highlights the basis of Debra Oswald’s play Gary’s house, and also Miroshav Holubs poem The Door. This essay will explore the notion that change causes people to shift their thinking and actions after significant catalysts. Gary’s House illustrates many of the issues and predicaments confronted by the characters and how their alteration in behaviour can have a beneficial outcome for them or others around them. The concept of "The Door" is based on the idea of taking risks and embracing change. The poet uses persuasive techniques to encourage and provoke the audience to take action.

The essay, "Why I wrote the Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was written primarily for the purpose of explaining the meaning and reasoning behind her semi-autobiographical short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper". Before stating these reasons, Gilman explains that she had been suffering from a "severe and continuous nervous breakdown tending to melancholia--and beyond" (Gilman, 1913). After three years of this torment, she decided to go see a specialist in nervous diseases. The doctor she went to was named Dr. S. Weir Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell advised Gilman to be put to bed and to apply the rest cure, along with living a domestic life with limited amount of intellectual interaction and to never "touch pen, brush, or pencil again" (Gilman, 1913). As intimidating as this sounded, Gilman took the advise of her doctor, and followed his every suggestion for about three months. She had reached a point of almost complete mental ruin at the end of these three months, that she had to cast aside the specialist's advice. Instead of following his instructions, she began to work again. Ultimately, this is when and where "The Yellow Wallpaper" was written.

In The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman discusses the oppression men have towards women through the story of a nameless narrator during the 19th century. In the story, the unknown narrator, a woman, is telling her struggle for freedom and her fight to escape from the subordination in her marriage with a physician. In the story, the narrator suffers an illness that prevents her from doing things she likes such as writing. Throughout her illness, the narrator slowly becomes aware of her situation and then starts to fight to change her living condition with her husband. Through the use of two major symbols established throughout the text, Gilman brings awareness of women’s struggle to end their oppression by men and their fight to change the way society is dominated by men. In addition, the symbols used by Gilman underline the way women suffrage awareness slowly began to spread during the 19th century.

Identity can be defined as the fact of being whom or what a person is. Internal and external factors shape a child’s concept of their own identity. These factors include the environmental setting, family, community, and the media. In the novel Room by Emma Donoghue, the 5-year-old narrator/protagonist Jack learns his identity through exploring the familiar space he occupies, the close relationship between he and his mother, and watching television. It is clear that Jack faces many challenges, which lead him to discover how his identity is shaped; this is evident through the exploration of him forming personal attachments to his mother, the room he lived in, and the problems he encounters to the new outside

It has been days. I stumble, foot over foot to the crack of sunlight that beams into the car. I feel the train rock back and forth, side to side as we tumble over the tracks to a “better life.” A better life. More bread. They care about us. I hear the screech as the cars stop as we are all tossed forward. “Welcome to Auschwitz, Jews.” I hear a man scream be strong. I hear the crack of a whip and gun shots. I know they lied.

By comparing both stories together, and the characters within them, it is clear that neither the narrator from “The Yellow Wallpaper” or Harrison from “Harrison Bergeron” agree with the way they are being treated caused by their social, political and economic standpoint in society. In both stories they have opposing forces trying to dictate their life, and telling them who they are supposed to be. Within the story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator is being authorized by her husband john and in the story “Harrison Bergeron”, Harrison is being oppressed by his government system. In both societies of the stories, the characters are treated differently for who they are. The people to have more power in their lives, decide who they are and what they can be. The ultimate outcome of their life is up to the forces controlling them. Both characters have no way to escape the labels given to them, without going against the people restraining their potential. The characters have many good attributes to them, but are confined to being what others tell them to be. The narrator has wonderful writing skills and an active mind which allows her to be creative and have an artistic personality, but her husband will not allow her to write or be who she wants to be because he has the capability to control who she is. Harrison is a genius and an athlete who could build upon his abilities to better himself as a person both mentally and physically, but the government will not allow him to

America’s answer for dealing with crime prevention is locking up adult offenders in correctional facilities with little rehabilitation for reentry into society. American response for crime prevention for juvenile’s offenders is the same strategy used against adult offenders taken juvenile offenders miles away from their environment and placed in adult like prisons.

The undying will of friendship can be seen as more powerful than love, but Finny and Gene base this powerful connection for their own benefit instead. A Separate Peace begins with Gene and Phineas attending a private school called Devon in 1942. Gene lacks self fulfillment and looks to Finny for help. John Knowles presents Gene as a symbol of struggle of emotions because he is affected by the war. Gene uses Finny as a way to subside his upsetting past, and thinks of everything as a competition. Because of this thriving passion to have Finny's instincts, their relations are based on a friendship at which only Gene will benefit from. This takes their friendship to a complex level, as there are not only one but two wars. World War 2 and Gene's war with himself show how the turmoil of war destroys relationships.

Writer, Truman Capote in the story, "Nacy's Bedroom" from the book "In Cold Blood" describes a young innocent girl's bedroom. Capote's purpose is to give insight on Nancy and gives reason to why her killing was unjust. He adopts a sentimental tone by using imagery, details, and varied sentence structure in order to appeal to the readers sensitive side. Capote starts his silent argument by addressing that Nancy's bedroom was the most personal. He appeals to the emotions of the reader by helping the them picture he room and the colors it was made from.

Heroism can be defined a courageous act or great bravery. It can come from any individual, one does not have to be special or have a heroic moment. He/she may consider an individual like a parent, family member or friend a hero. Others may see policeman, firefighters, paramedics and our military to be our heroes. Altruism can be a synonym for heroism, as the reaction of risking your life to save another. The one, to help another without expecting anything in return, displays heroism.

Madness is the state of being mentally ill. It is the spectrum of behavior characterized by abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Madness manifests as the violation of societal norms, including becoming a personal danger to one’s self. As a woman in the male-dominated society of the 19th century, the narrator has no control over her own life. This lack of control contributes to her descent into madness. The rest cure prescribed by her physician husband provided the environment for her madness to flourish because it was only in her imagination where she retained some control and could exercise the power of her mind. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman centers on the deteriorating mental condition of the female narrator. Gilman’s demonstrates of the progression of her madness throughout the story is reflected in the narrator’s change in attitude toward her husband, her growing obsession with the wallpaper, and her projection of herself as the woman behind the wallpaper.

The Blue Closet by Dante Gabriel Rossetti portrays four women, two in which are playing two instruments and the other two holding sheet music and predictably singing along. The composition of the art piece is what caught my attention the most next to the rich use of colors. While analyzing this work of art, the techniques used by the artist and their meaning are explained.