Reagan Dishaw
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature
12/16/14
The Evils of Isolation
Locked in a room, forced to be alone. The real world has been banished from you and the only thing you’re left with is your psychotic, mad thoughts. What kind of treatment is that? Not one that will solve any kind of intense issue. The caliber of any cure for any dilemma should surpass isolation and disregarding anyone’s feelings: abandonment is never the answer. Charlotte Perkins Gilman pushes this theory to the extreme by creating a short story - The Yellow Wallpaper - about a woman named Jane who essentially drives herself mad through her own thoughts and self absorption. Perkins Gilman argues that isolation is evil and twisted; self expression and lack of involvement within society is essential in any healthy lifestyle.
Confinement from society is unaccommodating and abusive to a human’s mind; this is brilliantly proven through the perspective of the main character - Jane.
To completely ignore a person’s self worth and force them to accompany themselves with strictly their own thoughts is inhumane to say the least: physically sick or not. Perkins Gilman clearly doesn’t agree with the treatment of isolation but she pushes it a step further too. Not only when coping with mental illnesses, but she doesn’t comply with neglect in any situation; she's a full believer in self expression and a voice.
John - Jane’s husband - insists Jane be “forbidden to work” (1) and that she “neglect proper self control” (1) which shows how truly ignorant and unsympathetic he is. Perkins Gilman makes John the antagonist in this short story to capitalize how genuinely hostile she feels towards isolation of people’s emotions. John even impedes Jane from expressing herself through her own writing; Jane admits in one of her journal entries: “he hates to have me write a word” (2). This being included in the short story justifies Perkins Gilman’s passion for self expression and rage towards denial of individualism: prohibition from one’s expressiveness is just as (if not, worse) vile as isolation from the rest of the population.
Perkins Gilman also stresses the escalation of Jane’s madness by her constant, obviously psychotic, journal entries.
Towards the end of the short story, Perkins Gilman has Jane write with a quick, hurried tone and use many exclamation points. This technique seems overlooked and insignificant but it actually reiterates Jane’s crave for hyperactive activity and her inevitable eccentricity. Jane becomes completely engrossed in the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom and has an odd obsession and possessiveness over it. Jane states that “Jennie has an inexplicable look” (6) and the reasoning is “perhaps the wallpaper!” (6). She even caught John “several times LOOKING AT THE WALLPAPER!” (6). And she also notices “there is something else about the wallpaper - the smell!” (7). Jane is slowly driving herself crazy by being nonstop exposed to the yellow wallpaper and essentially nothing else. Perkins Gilman has Jane obsess over inanimate objects to highlight her remoteness from the outside world and validate that isolation has caused this strange demeanor. Her syntax is also significant; Jane’s sentences are typically short and restarted on the next line showing that she felt rushed and devious when writing. Also, John often refers to Jane in belittling, peculiar names like “little girl” (5) and “my darling” (5).
This element was included to ironically belittle John: it’s a paradox.
Perkins Gilman wanted the audience to feel unfavorable of John’s character since he’s at fault for Jane’s isolation and the culprit of her insanity. It's incredibly ironic since he's a "respected doctor" himself.
Perkins Gilman toys with a topic that can be uncomfortable for some, but nonetheless still important to be considered; acknowledging others emotions and how to cope with unstable minds is something that is often neglected. Perkins Gilman is capable of turning a story about a madwoman into a lesson for her audience: how not to cope with erratic mentality and the importance of self expression. Isolation from humanity can be proven negative by the story of a girl named Lauren Kavanaugh. She was locked in a closet for the first 8 years of her life, and the effects were beyond morbid. Perkins Gilman is a respected author who portrays timeless themes into her literature that should not only be read, but celebrated, by all readers.
Works Cited
Daderot. Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Digital image. Wikipedia. Daderot, 1860. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Perkins_Gilman#mediaviewer/File:Charlotte_Perkins_Gilman_c._1900.jpg>.
"Psychotic Disorders: MedlinePlus." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/psychoticdisorders.html>.
Reporter, Daily Mail. "'Girl in the Closet' Who Was Tortured 'and Raped' by Mother and Stepfather for Six Years after Courts Told Adoptive Parents to Hand Her Back Reveals Courage 12 Years on." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2480156/Lauren-Kavanaugh-Girl-closet-tortured-mother-stepfather-reveals-strength-12-years-on.html>.
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature
12/16/14
The Evils of Isolation
Locked in a room, forced to be alone. The real world has been banished from you and the only thing you’re left with is your psychotic, mad thoughts. What kind of treatment is that? Not one that will solve any kind of intense issue. The caliber of any cure for any dilemma should surpass isolation and disregarding anyone’s feelings: abandonment is never the answer. Charlotte Perkins Gilman pushes this theory to the extreme by creating a short story - The Yellow Wallpaper - about a woman named Jane who essentially drives herself mad through her own thoughts and self absorption. Perkins Gilman argues that isolation is evil and twisted; self expression and lack of involvement within society is essential in any healthy lifestyle.
Confinement from society is unaccommodating and abusive to a human’s mind; this is brilliantly proven through the perspective of the main character - Jane.
To completely ignore a person’s self worth and force them to accompany themselves with strictly their own thoughts is inhumane to say the least: physically sick or not. Perkins Gilman clearly doesn’t agree with the treatment of isolation but she pushes it a step further too. Not only when coping with mental illnesses, but she doesn’t comply with neglect in any situation; she's a full believer in self expression and a voice.
John - Jane’s husband - insists Jane be “forbidden to work” (1) and that she “neglect proper self control” (1) which shows how truly ignorant and unsympathetic he is. Perkins Gilman makes John the antagonist in this short story to capitalize how genuinely hostile she feels towards isolation of people’s emotions. John even impedes Jane from expressing herself through her own writing; Jane admits in one of her journal entries: “he hates to have me write a word” (2). This being included in the short story justifies Perkins Gilman’s passion for self expression and rage towards denial of individualism: prohibition from one’s expressiveness is just as (if not, worse) vile as isolation from the rest of the population.
Perkins Gilman also stresses the escalation of Jane’s madness by her constant, obviously psychotic, journal entries.
Towards the end of the short story, Perkins Gilman has Jane write with a quick, hurried tone and use many exclamation points. This technique seems overlooked and insignificant but it actually reiterates Jane’s crave for hyperactive activity and her inevitable eccentricity. Jane becomes completely engrossed in the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom and has an odd obsession and possessiveness over it. Jane states that “Jennie has an inexplicable look” (6) and the reasoning is “perhaps the wallpaper!” (6). She even caught John “several times LOOKING AT THE WALLPAPER!” (6). And she also notices “there is something else about the wallpaper - the smell!” (7). Jane is slowly driving herself crazy by being nonstop exposed to the yellow wallpaper and essentially nothing else. Perkins Gilman has Jane obsess over inanimate objects to highlight her remoteness from the outside world and validate that isolation has caused this strange demeanor. Her syntax is also significant; Jane’s sentences are typically short and restarted on the next line showing that she felt rushed and devious when writing. Also, John often refers to Jane in belittling, peculiar names like “little girl” (5) and “my darling” (5).
This element was included to ironically belittle John: it’s a paradox.
Perkins Gilman wanted the audience to feel unfavorable of John’s character since he’s at fault for Jane’s isolation and the culprit of her insanity. It's incredibly ironic since he's a "respected doctor" himself.
Perkins Gilman toys with a topic that can be uncomfortable for some, but nonetheless still important to be considered; acknowledging others emotions and how to cope with unstable minds is something that is often neglected. Perkins Gilman is capable of turning a story about a madwoman into a lesson for her audience: how not to cope with erratic mentality and the importance of self expression. Isolation from humanity can be proven negative by the story of a girl named Lauren Kavanaugh. She was locked in a closet for the first 8 years of her life, and the effects were beyond morbid. Perkins Gilman is a respected author who portrays timeless themes into her literature that should not only be read, but celebrated, by all readers.
Works Cited
Daderot. Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Digital image. Wikipedia. Daderot, 1860. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Perkins_Gilman#mediaviewer/File:Charlotte_Perkins_Gilman_c._1900.jpg>.
"Psychotic Disorders: MedlinePlus." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/psychoticdisorders.html>.
Reporter, Daily Mail. "'Girl in the Closet' Who Was Tortured 'and Raped' by Mother and Stepfather for Six Years after Courts Told Adoptive Parents to Hand Her Back Reveals Courage 12 Years on." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2480156/Lauren-Kavanaugh-Girl-closet-tortured-mother-stepfather-reveals-strength-12-years-on.html>.