ipl-logo

Comparing Frost And The Yellow Wallpaper

692 Words3 Pages

The poem “The Mending Wall” by Robert Frost and the short story “The Yellow Wall Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are wonderful pieces of literature. These two pieces of literature share many similarities and differences. “The Mending Wall” explains many family traditions such as building a fence in the back yard. During this poem, Frost can be seen as being straightforward due to the fact that in the poem many negative aspects of a building a wall is displayed. Frost argues that his neighbors are only doing what their parents have told them to do; which means that they are only following old traditions. To the narrator, the wall is not physically appealing, and he does not enjoy the fact that every year him and his neighbors have to come together to repair this wall. Where as, in “The Yellow Wall-Paper” the narrator explains the story of a woman breaking free from her normal life. It can be interpreted that the narrator was not happy with her old self, so when she got the opportunity to break free she took it as quickly as she could. …show more content…

Although the messages seem to be different but after analyzing both of these literature, the message is to be free These free thoughts give a person the capability to live how he chooses in “The Mending Wall” the narrator wants to be free from the tradition of having to put up a fence in the back yard. In “The Yellow Wall-Paper” the narrator is breaking free from her normal self. It becomes clear that the primary theme in both works of literature is simply freedom. Freedom is something that both of the narrators are lacking. The narrators are not able to speak their mind or do anything the way they would

Show More
Related
373 Words | 2 Pages

2.) “The Yellow Wall-Paper,” story resonates with many people who feel different from others, also they have suffered from depression or some other type of mental illness. The story seems to hold a message that not every order or advice given by a doctor, loved one, or friend is the correct information to take. Also, that people should listen to their own bodies for what they need to do to feel better most of the time unless they have really gone insane. It is also a good example of how to drive someone crazy by keeping them isolated in a room without any real company or activities for them to do.

Read More
268 Words | 2 Pages

The walls. In both Frost and Reagan's text walls separate people. in the text it shows theme of separation, how walls affect people, how walls affect countries, and how walls affect civilizations. Both text use the theme of separation. In Frost’s text “Mending Wall”, the wall is separating the narrator from the neighbor.

Read More
1359 Words | 6 Pages

According to Loralee MacPike, in the article “Environment as Psychopathological Symbolism in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’,” which appeared in American Literary Realism 1870-1910 in 1975, “The story line is deceptively simple” (1). The diary-like entries provide a sense of comfort and familiarity in the beginning, eventually revealing the protagonist’s descent into madness. Gilman’s choice to present the story in a diary-like format creates a false sense of security for readers. By drawing them into the protagonist’s innermost thoughts and experiences, Gilman establishes an empathetic connection between readers and the protagonist. As the narrative unravels and the true nature of the protagonist’s situation is revealed, this sense of security is shattered, leaving readers to think about the unsettling conclusion.

Read More
1311 Words | 6 Pages

The wall falls apart with exposure “and spills the upper boulders in the sun,” which leads to a gap large enough to allow two men to fit through the wall (3). The walls not only break down due to exposure but break down due to local hunters hunting rabbits in the wall, which is a common occurrence, according to the narrator. Symbolism can be observed here with the wall, and how men can fit through the wall as time goes by. What the author tries to convey to the reader is that as people get comfortable with each other, they become afraid of this vulnerability and find a reason to fix this vulnerability. The poem goes on to show the reader that each year, around the same time, the neighbors get together and fix their wall, just like previous years.

Read More
1121 Words | 5 Pages

In his book the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie portrays a teenage boy, Arnold Spirit (junior) living in white man’s world, and he must struggle to overcome racism and stereotypes if he must achieve his dreams. In the book, Junior faces a myriad of misfortunes at his former school in ‘the rez’ (reservation), which occurs as he struggles to escape from racial and stereotypical expectations about Indians. For Junior he must weigh between accepting what is expected of him as an Indian or fight against those forces and proof his peers and teachers wrong. Therefore, from the time Junior is in school at reservation up to the time he decides to attend a neighboring school in Rearden, we see a teenager who is facing tough consequences for attempting to go against the racial stereotypes.

Read More
612 Words | 3 Pages

The Yellow Wallpaper Literary Analysis Essay Identity is key to the one who seizes it. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator has an identity that the author demonstrates. The narrator has an internal battle within herself, that may express depression or a severe mental illness. The narrator shows identity from her actions, reactions, thoughts, and expectations.

Read More
878 Words | 4 Pages

The story “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a portrayal of a woman’s descent into madness and how the society around her contributes to her illness. As a matter of fact, the story was inspired and written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s own personal experience. Gilman’s use of a first person point of view and tone allows the reader to experience and understand the narrator's actions and situation. The narrator’s tone also plays a role in establishing her character and the theme through the paragraph structure, her thoughts and expressions and finally her ironic expressions. To begin with, the narrator's tone helps establish character through her paragraph structure within the story.

Read More
749 Words | 3 Pages

At night, her intense observation of the paper seems to change her very personality. She watches it as the patterns come to life to form the bars of her postpartum and her longing to be liberated. Darkness has the power to release the mask disguising human nature. In the story of "The Yellow Wallpaper", the main character is trapped by her sickness, constantly feeling as though she has no power to change the course of her life.

Read More
1113 Words | 5 Pages

Secondly, throughout the story, the narrator describes seeing an evolving woman trapped inside of the wall. Although readers can assume that this woman is merely a product of the narrator’s mind, the woman can also be seen as a symbol of the narrator and her feelings of being trapped. Eventually, the woman in the wall aids the narrator in her escape. In conclusion, many elements of the narrator’s increasing madness throughout The Yellow Wallpaper contributed to her freedom from the confines of the room, the confines of society, and the confines of her

Read More
802 Words | 4 Pages

It 's here where she discovers the yellow wallpaper that leads to her mental demise. What is the symbolic meaning of the yellow wallpaper and how do her interactions with the wallpaper represent the change in her feelings towards her husband and society. The yellow wallpaper symbolizes women 's suffrage and the struggles women went through, and her interactions with the wallpaper represent the problems woman had with their husbands and society. The main symbolism present in the story is how the yellow wallpaper represents woman suffrage and the problems they endured during the 19th century.

Read More
1291 Words | 6 Pages

Secondly, there is also a sense of confinement throughout the story. The Yellow Wallpaper fits the winter or the anti-romantic phase of Northrop Frye's monomyth diagram as it, "tells the story of imprisonment … and fear." (Bressler 152). The narrator is imprisoned in the room which has yellow wallpaper. Basically, the room where the narrator is staying in is like a prison.

Read More
562 Words | 3 Pages

(678) in this statement she is challenging herself and this shows the reader she is facing some confusion. The yellow wallpaper in the main characters (the narrator) bedroom is a major point in the story. The yellow wallpaper plays a major role in the woman’s insanity. The woman’s obsession with the wallpaper creates her problem and affects her mind and judgment. This is shown in, “It dwells on my mind so!”

Read More
781 Words | 4 Pages

INTRO Each person has their own comfort zone in a relationship, and we are the ones that choose who we shut out. The poem “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost beautifully captures the relationship between two neighbors. Although this story may only seem like a poem about two neighbors discussing a wall, it is much deeper than that. “MENDING WALL” IS ABOUT HOW PEOPLE BUILD UP WALLS AROUND THEM TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR LIVES EVEN THOUGH THERE IS APART OF US THAT WANT TO LET THEM IN.

Read More
1091 Words | 5 Pages

She identified the yellow wallpaper as a metaphor for women’s discourse. The narrator’s underlying feelings of confusion, depression, and frustration was covered by the yellow wallpaper which she rips from the walls at the very end to reveal “what is elsewhere kept hidden and embodies patterns that the patriarchal order ignores, suppresses, fears as grotesque or fails to perceive at all” (35). The yellow wallpaper is interpreted as the conflict of gender inequality and the struggles of women in a patriarchal society. The imagery reflects on how women feel toward sexual inequality and the situation with

Read More
810 Words | 4 Pages

The yellow wallpaper is not just the dreadful décor the narrator is stuck within the story but the most important symbol in the story. It symbolizes how women were not allowed to change or free to make their own decisions. The narrator once said that the wallpaper "sticks horribly and the pattern just enjoys it" (Gilman). She felt like the wallpaper stuck and not able to succumb to change she demonstrates this as well when she says "The faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out" (Gilman). The narrator herself became the women she saw in the wallpaper that she felt trapped in a life without change which manifested itself into the wallpaper further increasing the symbolism and importance of yellow wallpaper.

Read More

More about Comparing Frost And The Yellow Wallpaper

Related Topics

Open Document