3. One recurrent theme in feminist literature is the concept of freedom as an elusive force, which is never ultimately achieved to the point of satisfaction. Discuss this theme as it relates to The Story of an Hour or The Yellow Wallpaper.
Within Chopin's The Story of an Hour the nature of freedom definitely seems to be regarded as an elusive force which only seemed obtainable after the main character thought she was free from her marriage and husband. Louise’s marriage obviously seems to represent the root of her oppression because after she hears about the supposed death of her husband she begins to daydream of her new found life and freedom. The open window that she gazes through, for much of the story, seems to represent the freedom and …show more content…
Ironically, the narrator declares that she is finally free and that she’s been somehow liberated even though she is still obviously being held in the somewhat sinister room. Within the novel, the wallpaper seems to represent the ideals/structure of tradition, family life, and medical practices that the narrator feels imprisoned and trapped within. The novel itself is guided by the often insinuated insane delusions of the narrator and her belief that the wallpaper consists of a code or riddle that she must somehow solve. However as I've mentioned above throughout the story, the wallpaper often symbolizes many different things and slowly it begins to develop a personality and life of its own. In the beginning, the wallpaper is just simply perceived as beaten up and unpleasant. This somewhat ugly perception of the wallpaper could possibly represent the internal feelings of the narrator and how she perceives herself, the world, and the situation itself. However it's the pattern that truly troubles the women because eventually, she sees the women trapped behind the wallpaper which could possibly symbolizes her own situation. Overall, Gilman manages to portray the imprisonment of domestic life by using the ghastly wallpaper as a symbol of feminine oppression during a mainly misogynistic …show more content…
After reading your post my thoughts immediately started drifting toward the older epics such as Beowulf, The Iliad and The Odyssey. I believe these older epics also often share certain characteristics of London's work. Mostly due to the realistic and gritty nature of the often imperfect characters and the unforgiving environments they inhabit.
This is a great post Denise it's so well written and you have managed to bring up a lot of interesting points. When I first read To Build A Fire in high school it came off horribly morbid and at the same time instantly became one of my favorite short stories. The story itself is so well written and manages to draw you in while at the same time leaving readers with feelings of desolation and isolation. I do agree one way to look at the story is that life just happens. However do you think if the protagonist may have made different choices things would have turned out differently for him. So in the end I guess I'm saying that although life often just seems to simply happen I also believe that free will has the ability to help direct the way life may
Within Chopin's The Story of an Hour the nature of freedom definitely seems to be regarded as an elusive force which only seemed obtainable after the main character thought she was free from her marriage and husband. Louise’s marriage obviously seems to represent the root of her oppression because after she hears about the supposed death of her husband she begins to daydream of her new found life and freedom. The open window that she gazes through, for much of the story, seems to represent the freedom and …show more content…
Ironically, the narrator declares that she is finally free and that she’s been somehow liberated even though she is still obviously being held in the somewhat sinister room. Within the novel, the wallpaper seems to represent the ideals/structure of tradition, family life, and medical practices that the narrator feels imprisoned and trapped within. The novel itself is guided by the often insinuated insane delusions of the narrator and her belief that the wallpaper consists of a code or riddle that she must somehow solve. However as I've mentioned above throughout the story, the wallpaper often symbolizes many different things and slowly it begins to develop a personality and life of its own. In the beginning, the wallpaper is just simply perceived as beaten up and unpleasant. This somewhat ugly perception of the wallpaper could possibly represent the internal feelings of the narrator and how she perceives herself, the world, and the situation itself. However it's the pattern that truly troubles the women because eventually, she sees the women trapped behind the wallpaper which could possibly symbolizes her own situation. Overall, Gilman manages to portray the imprisonment of domestic life by using the ghastly wallpaper as a symbol of feminine oppression during a mainly misogynistic …show more content…
After reading your post my thoughts immediately started drifting toward the older epics such as Beowulf, The Iliad and The Odyssey. I believe these older epics also often share certain characteristics of London's work. Mostly due to the realistic and gritty nature of the often imperfect characters and the unforgiving environments they inhabit.
This is a great post Denise it's so well written and you have managed to bring up a lot of interesting points. When I first read To Build A Fire in high school it came off horribly morbid and at the same time instantly became one of my favorite short stories. The story itself is so well written and manages to draw you in while at the same time leaving readers with feelings of desolation and isolation. I do agree one way to look at the story is that life just happens. However do you think if the protagonist may have made different choices things would have turned out differently for him. So in the end I guess I'm saying that although life often just seems to simply happen I also believe that free will has the ability to help direct the way life may