When Willy became ensconced in his work this lead to a profound sense of disconnect from others and ultimately depression. Charlotte Gilman, women’s activist and author of “Women and Economics” captures the effects of isolation, such as depression and profound disconnect, in her short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Gilman criticized the patriarchal approach of a woman’s doctor and husband in how they sequestered her to a top floor bedroom where she was forced to rest for days on end dramatically exacerbating her postpartum depression. Due to isolation, the woman became insane. Near the end of the story the woman believes she broke free from the wallpaper and tells her husband, “I’ve got out at last…And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so
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Willy obsesses over success until he has delusions of his brother Ben who symbolizes the achievement he desires while the woman in the yellow wallpaper desires freedom and has delusions of a woman breaking out and escaping from the wallpaper. Moreover, Atul Gawande, a professor of medicine and public health at Harvard University, examines the Penal System and the detrimental effects regarding isolation in prisons in his essay, “Hellhole.” In “Hellhole” Gawande produces evidence to indicate that the lack of sustained social interaction in isolation deteriorates the human brain until it may become as impaired as one with a traumatic injury. Gawande uses research from monkey experiments conducted by Harry Harlow, statements from prisoners of war, and behavioral studies of inmates to show that those who have no social interaction become more than lonely, but rather lose their capability of functioning …show more content…
He speaks as a man contemplating suicide when he says, “After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive” (Miller 98). Later his wife tells his sons, “He’s been trying to kill himself…She says that he wasn’t driving fast at all, and that he didn’t skid. She says he came to that little bridge, and then deliberately smashed into the railing” (Miller 59). Eventually Willy does kill himself. His family is left behind and no one comes to the funeral. Willy’s suicide was not based on the worry of crushing debt, as his wife had made the final payment on their house the day of his funeral. Instead, Willy was a man who fully experienced the effects of long-term isolation, both physically in his career and emotionally in his lack of intimacy with his sons and friends. Hours before he killed himself, he went to Charley and said, “You’re the only friend I got. Isn’t that a remarkable thing?” (Miller 98). Eventually after long-term isolation Willy could no longer endure the psychological pain that pervaded his life and explains, “Cause I get so lonely–especially when business is bad and there’s nobody to talk to. I get the feeling that I’ll never sell anything again” (Miller 38). In the same way, the woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” goes through hallucinations before she ultimately goes mad
Willy obsesses over success until he has delusions of his brother Ben who symbolizes the achievement he desires while the woman in the yellow wallpaper desires freedom and has delusions of a woman breaking out and escaping from the wallpaper. Moreover, Atul Gawande, a professor of medicine and public health at Harvard University, examines the Penal System and the detrimental effects regarding isolation in prisons in his essay, “Hellhole.” In “Hellhole” Gawande produces evidence to indicate that the lack of sustained social interaction in isolation deteriorates the human brain until it may become as impaired as one with a traumatic injury. Gawande uses research from monkey experiments conducted by Harry Harlow, statements from prisoners of war, and behavioral studies of inmates to show that those who have no social interaction become more than lonely, but rather lose their capability of functioning …show more content…
He speaks as a man contemplating suicide when he says, “After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive” (Miller 98). Later his wife tells his sons, “He’s been trying to kill himself…She says that he wasn’t driving fast at all, and that he didn’t skid. She says he came to that little bridge, and then deliberately smashed into the railing” (Miller 59). Eventually Willy does kill himself. His family is left behind and no one comes to the funeral. Willy’s suicide was not based on the worry of crushing debt, as his wife had made the final payment on their house the day of his funeral. Instead, Willy was a man who fully experienced the effects of long-term isolation, both physically in his career and emotionally in his lack of intimacy with his sons and friends. Hours before he killed himself, he went to Charley and said, “You’re the only friend I got. Isn’t that a remarkable thing?” (Miller 98). Eventually after long-term isolation Willy could no longer endure the psychological pain that pervaded his life and explains, “Cause I get so lonely–especially when business is bad and there’s nobody to talk to. I get the feeling that I’ll never sell anything again” (Miller 38). In the same way, the woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” goes through hallucinations before she ultimately goes mad