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Oppression In The Yellow Wallpaper And Reunion

Decent Essays

Oppression is a theme commonly found in literary texts, which is best defined as an unjust or excessive exercise of power. For instance, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” illustrates oppression through the tragic story of a woman's descent into madness as a result of her husband’s dominance over her. Additionally, John Cheever’s “Reunion” illustrates the act of oppression in a son’s narration of his reunion with his pompous father. Although “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Reunion” offer different storylines, both literary texts demonstrate how submissiveness can result in strained relationships and a character’s destruction. In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses the protagonist to portray the …show more content…

Upon their reunion, the son, Charlie, reveals the expectations he has for his father, “as soon as I saw him I felt that he was my father, my flesh and blood, my future....I knew that when I was grown I would be something like him; I would have to plan my campaigns within his limitations. He was a big, good-looking man, and I was terribly happy to see him again.” As the story goes on, Charlie’s expectations of his father are shattered upon realizing the struggle to try to salvage what is clearly a strained relationship. Throughout Charlie’s narration, it becomes apparent that the primary reason behind the strained relationship is his father’s oppressive nature. Immediately upon their reunion, the father demonstrated an excessive exercise of power by patronizing the waiters in the restaurants he attended with Charlie, "I have a whistle that is audible only to the ears of old waiters. Now, take out your little pad and your little pencil and see if you can get this straight: two Beefeater Gibsons. Repeat after me: two Beefeater Gibsons." In addition, the father demonstrated a sense of superiority through his boastful use of foreign words and ill-mannered behavior, “Well, the hell with you. Vada all’ inferno.” Due to his desperate attempt to impress Charlie by unjustifiably commanding those around him, the father diminishes his chance of a healthy relationship with his son. Although the father offered a small consolation towards the end of his reunion, it is evident that his oppressive nature shattered his son’s mindset of building a healthy relationship with

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