Short stories and poetry themes are as diverse as human experiences. The beauty of nature, love for others, romance, and the divine are frequently seen on writing pages. Two short stories, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, have very similar themes. Both of the main characters in the two stories suffer from apparent psychological disorders. Likewise, although from a different genre, “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, is a poem that openly discusses the “masks” being worn in polite society. These masks could be construed to be hiding potential psychological issues and generalized feelings. All three readings have the same theme of psychological distress, but each character dealt with the issue differently. …show more content…
At first the woman believes her husband has taken her to a quiet country home to recover. Left alone in her room, she takes particular notice of the dingy yellow wallpaper. As time goes on it becomes obvious to the reader that the wallpaper is a metaphor for her restrictions and becomes symbolic of her isolation and mental deterioration. She begins to see herself trapped in the wallpaper as "a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design." Then, as time goes on, she begins to strip the wallpaper off of the wall. This is truly an act of rebellion. She is finally upsetting the status quo and doing what she feels she needs to do. She is removing the “mask” to uncover the