Personal Narrative-Ambiguous Wall

“I’ll never hit you in the face where it will leave a mark...” The words rushed in, taunting. The cold emptiness in the tone, like he was there in the room, whispering in her ear. And all at once, the fear was back. The raw fear that gripped her body like a vice and left her gulping in air. In a panic, she whirled her head around the room. She was alone. Relief flooded her, but the sickening butterflies remained. She gripped the counter until her knuckles turned white; outlining the jagged scar more prominently, and she fought to steady her breathing, blink back the tears, focus on something else.

I remember the rage in my stomach. Later it burned down to a smoldering self-pity, then to numbness. At dinner that night my father asked what my plans were. “Nothing,” I said. “Wait” (O’Brien 42).

Her husband moved her to a far away mansion to allow her “temporary nervous depression” to pass. However, her doubt in this treatment is clear. She openly disagrees with her husband’s diagnosis of her illness, as well as her treatment. She is self-aware and critical, knowing in that mental illness does not simply go away. Yet, she falls subject to the traditional gender roles of her time. She submits to the verdict of her husband, even claiming that she expects a man to laugh at a woman while married. In a way, it is not only her husband poor diagnosis that allows for her mental deterioration. It is also the woman’s submissive nature that is to blame as well. Even so, she is rebellious in her quest for freedom by writing about the yellow wallpaper in the

“I cry at nothing and cry most of the time,” says Jane, in the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (21). This story gives the reader a glimpse into mental illness and the human psyche by telling the story of Jane. The main character, Jane, is an unstable woman that was put in a bad situation. She is diagnosed with temporary nervous depression which causes slight hysterical tendencies by her physician husband (Gilman, 2). Along with this, Jane exhibited many other symptoms predominant in other mental illnesses, such as postpartum depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia. He believes the best course of treatment for his wife is to move her into a isolated, colonial house away from people, or “stimuli.” This, however, only worsens Jane’s mental condition and further drives her into insanity. The fragility of Jane’s mind was driven to a breaking point by different mental illnesses and conditions she was put into. Although the yellow wallpaper was the major concern Jane had that she viewed as why she was not recovering from her mental illness, many factors added to the bad situation she was in which led to her eventual psychotic break. Three major factors that further deteriorated her mental health are postpartum depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and being treated like a child by her husband. This paper will research these three things that led to Jane’s mental breakdown and the symbolism of each.

As human beings, we play the cards that are dealt to us in this world. In life, every person goes through their individual ups and downs and occasionally may break down to the extent of not knowing what to do with oneself. In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” which takes place in the late 1800s, focuses on the first person narrator who is an infatuated woman. The disheartening story concentrates on a woman who is suffering from postpartum depression, and as well had mental breakdowns. The narrators husband John, moves her into a home isolated in the country where he wants her to “rest” and get better from her illness. During the course of being confined in the room with the wallpaper, she learns new

Isolating the sick is only necessary if the ailing is contagious. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the isolation of Jennie was the major foundation of her illness. If Jennie was surrounded by loved ones, she would feel their love and be encouraged to get stronger. By being isolated from family and friends Jennie slips into her abandoned, bleak thoughts.

The following months a winter, cold and gloomy, surrounded the house. My grandmother came to stay with us since my father had fallen into depression and needed help taking care of my sister and I. When my grandmother went grocery shopping my sister would struggle with homework without my grandmother’s help. One day when my grandmother left to go grocery shopping my sister approached me, which was unusual of her since its very rare for her to come to me. Her dark brown hair and big eyes reminded me of my self when I was younger. “I’m hungry” she complained, a question she’s never asked me. My father sleeping and my grandmother away, I was the only one left to take care of her and that terrified me. I had never cared for or known how to care for someone else. All I knew was how to evaluate whether or not someone was caring for another correctly.

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” she explores the world of madness, torture, and imprisonment. In the story, the narrator is suppressed by her husband and his ‘‘superior wisdom,’’ leading to the loss of her sanity. Although it seems as though her husband is trying to help her, in actuality, his methods of healing her are detrimental to her health, both emotionally and mentally. The destruction of her sanity in relation to his attempt to help her are strategically illustrated by Gilman throughout the story.

Author Charlotte P. Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a complex short story that discusses the thoughts and feelings of a woman who is kept confined in a small upstairs bedroom by her husband. The woman suffers from depression and anxiety, yet her spouse whom is a physician claims that she is not terribly ill. Despite all the strange thoughts she acquires, she continues to force herself to accept her new life style and awkward place of living. As she comes to find herself overwhelmed with her personal bedroom, we soon discover that the room’s yellow wallpaper is what affects her directly and is the reason for her many interpretations. The symbols in the story take a great part in the overall plot and

John makes the decision to rent an isolated house for a few months to give his wife space to recover. The woman is aware that this isolation and continual rest will not to do her any good. Despite her lack of faith in John’s recovery plan, she submits to his firm advice and stays within the house. Instead of allowing outside stimulus to help with her condition, she begins to obsess with the objects in her room, especially the horrid yellow wallpaper. She journals, “When you follow the lame uncertain curves [of the wallpaper] for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide - plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions” (Gilman 309). This statement foreshadows her impending insanity and the destructiveness of isolation. Not only is she isolated physically, but also mentally and verbally. Paula A. Treichler, from University of Illinois, claims, “Because she

On January 5, 2009 my father pasted away. He and I did not have the typical father-son relationship; we did not have a relationship at all. I presumed that it would have a little if any affect on me. However, as the semester continued, it seemed to get worse. Besides my father’s passing, several weeks later my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia. It was difficult for me to deal with, but it was more difficult for my mother to handle.

As a young girl, I never quite understood the importance my dad’s job had on me until I became much older. Throughout my childhood I was often mistreated out of the sight of my parents. From brutal words to simple exclusion, I never really fit in at my church. I was constantly separated from all of the children because I was the Pastor’s

My time in High School was made difficult from the constant strife and conflict between my parents. This made my home an unstable environment not fitted for learning or growing as an individual. As I got older and closer to graduating High-School, I began to find my own voice with the help of my mentor Rahn Fleming, which occurred at the end of my junior year. As a result, I came in control of my life and the constant feuding started to die down. No longer did I have to worry about the next scheduled court date, or the next time I would come home wondering what may await. I felt like I was always walking on broken glass for the longest of time throughout my life, until I began to voice myself and what I wanted. My parents came to realize this

          In the poem, “The Mending Wall” Frost creates a lot of ambiguity in order to leave the poem open for interpretation. Frost’s description of every detail in this poem is very interesting, it leaves the reader to decide for themselves what deductions they are to be making of the poem. To begin with, Frost makes literal implications about what the two men are doing. For instance, they are physically putting the stones back, one by one. Their commitment and constant drive shows how persistent these men seem about keeping the wall intact. On the other hand, there are inferences that something deeper is occurring.

I was steadily put into the hospital daycare at three years old while Toysha would be visiting my father, but at times he would end up being too sick for me to come visit, so my mother would take me to my grandmothers and she would have to take care of me. Eventually, Christopher’s cancer started to metastasize, and together my mother and father decided to make the decision to have me go live with my grandmother for the better. Christopher did not want me to be around to see him in that condition and my mother thought I would have a better way of living if I was not with them. The love that they had for each other allowed them to make rational decisions and sacrifices for the better of my life and