The Yellow Wallpaper - Essay

Question 1

Intro - A

Answer 1

• In the shocking short story, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by
  Charlotte Perkins Gilman, an interesting theme about
  the importance of self expression is developed.
• The story is set in the early 1890s and is narrated by a
  woman who is locked away and made to undergo ‘the
  rest cure’.
• Isolated in a bare room, only consisting of a bed set
  against hideous yellow wallpaper, her husband tries to
  take control of her by insisting that she should not i
  involve herself in any creative activity until her ‘illness’
  subsides.

Question 2

Para 1 - A

‘I don’t like our room one bit. I wanted one downstairs, that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! But John would not hear of it’.

Answer 2

P) At the beginning of the story, the reader is
immediately made aware of how intelligent and
creative the narrator is.

C) When the woman first arrives at her new
accommodation, she is surprised at how basic her
bedroom is and she describes the room she wants
but can’t have.

Question 3

Para 2 - A

‘I never saw a worse paper in my life, one of those sprawling, flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin’.

Answer 3

P) - The woman’s first impression of the wallpaper is
clearly being described;

C) - she is throughly disgusted by the sickly yellow
pattern.

Question 4

Para 3 - A

‘Then I peeled of all the paper I could reach standing on
the floor. It sticks horribly and the pattern just enjoys it! All those strangled heads and bulbous eyes and waddling fungus growths just shriek with derision! I am getting angry enough to do something desperate.’

Answer 4

P) - By the end of the story the woman has become so
mad and decides to peel off all the paper.

C) - She has been treated like a child and been stuck in
this sparse room now for such a long a time, that it
has had a negative effect on her mental health.

Question 5

Para 4 - A

‘I suppose I shall have to get back behind the pattern when it comes night and that is so hard! It is so pleasant to be out in this great room and creep around as I please! I don’t want to go outside, I won’t even if Jennie asks me to for outside you have to creep on the ground and everything is green instead of yellow’.

Answer 5

P) - The woman has become so used to being trapped
inside that she is beyond the point of wanting to
escape.

C) - The woman imagines herself trapped behind bars in
the wallpaper and this symbolises her real life crisis
of her husband controlling her every move.

Question 6

Conc

Answer 6

• In conclusion, Perkins Gilman has made the importance
  of self expression an interesting theme as the main
  character is a highly creative individual and is prevented
  from being able to voice her own identity.
• During the story, we witness her emotions building up to
  the point where she becomes truly ‘mad’.
• This makes us lose all hope for her because it now
  looks like she will not recover any time soon.

Question 7

Intro - B

Answer 7

• This is an interesting theme as the woman has a very
  unique and imaginative personality however is denied
  the opportunity to express herself.
• Therefore she subconsciously starts to imagine + see
  herself in the pattern of the wallpaper which is
  representative of her situation of being trapped.
• This is what ultimately leads her to insanity by the end
  of the story.

Question 8

Para 1 - B

Answer 8

E) - This alerts us to the interesting theme of the
importance of self expression because we can see
the woman is creative, through her romantic
description of her desires.

-  The short sentence at the end makes me feel a real 
   sense of sympathy for her because her opinions are 
   not being taken seriously and it seems she just has   
   to accept this.

Question 9

Para 2 - B

Answer 9

E) - The word choice of ‘sprawling’ has connotations of
something untidy and ugly making us think of the
legs of an insect spread out - like a spider.

 - This suggests the woman's great hatred towards the 
   pattern and this also conveys she knows about 
   aesthetics and would've redecorated the room 
   differently if she'd had the chance. 

 - This draws our attention to the interesting theme 
   about the importance of self expression, as we can 
   imagine the woman is unhappy with her room but 
   has no say in her own thoughts.

Question 10

Para 3 - B

Answer 10

E) - The woman describes what she sees in the pattern
and it is evident to the reader that she is becoming
increasingly infuriated every time she looks at it.

- The word choice of 'desperate' indicates the woman 
   is becoming frantic and panicked. 

- The use of exclamation marks emphasises the 
  woman's feelings and emotions that have built up as  
  a result of keeping them to herself. 

- Further highlighting the interesting theme of the 
  importance of self expression.

Question 11

Para 4 - B

Answer 11

E) - Here, the woman can’t imagine any other colour now
apart from yellow as this dominates her room.

- The word 'pleasant' contrasts with the way the 
  woman used to feel about her situation; this implies 
  she has lost her mind as a result of being locked up 
  and restrained from engaging in any creative 
  opportunity. 

- This links in with the interesting theme of the 
  importance of self expression because it made me 
  feel upset and outraged that women were treated like 
  this and denied their freedom.