The Devil’s Arithmetic is a story that takes place during the Holocaust. It is about suffering, tragedy, but also about hope and perseverance. In this story, Hannah/Chaya is the main character. It is about her life before she is transported to Poland 1942 and then during, while she is there. Both a movie and book have been made of this tale, but they are not both exactly the same.
"Jane," is a romance fiction story written by Mary Roberts Rinehart. In this story, we come across a female protagonist who displays the characteristics of a typical woman during the War period. This story has been analyzed by different literary critics as they try to describe the different point of views this story can lead one to believing. Jane shows qualities that can lead one to believing that she is hysteric, thus creating the theme of hysteria in relation to the domestic sphere. In contrast to this, Jane eventually breaks off from these norms and goes against the concept of angel in the house.
Although she does not offer subjective opinions on her experiences, these experiences clearly affect her in a negative manner. She attempts to disconnect herself from the world around her, but instead becomes a silent victim of the turmoil of the chaotic
But, Janie also faces negativity in her second marriage. Although, as she faces this negativity, she holds her ground. As her second husband is harshly commenting on her appearance, Janie stands up for herself by stating “But Ah’m uh woman every inch of me, and Ah know it” (Hurston 179). This fixed and unwavering mindset of who she is gets Janie to the point where “She got so she could tell big stories herself from listening to the rest” (Hurston 134). This is a proud moment for Janie as she now can engage in public conversations and is no longer restrained to keeping her thoughts to herself.
The heavy bedstead, which was nailed to the ground, was another feature that represents the room as a jail cell. Therefore, the room that she is prisoned shows how the madness benefited her to gain control and achieve a way to escape her confinement. In conclusion, the diverse literature 's do share a common theme that shows women fighting to overcome societal expectations due to the female gender not valued as thinkers capable of being their equals and mental illness can be caused by society’s stereotypical
Horrified. She didn't need a mirror to know that her eyes were like his. Without pupils. Two dark stains, and stairs." (113).
Jane being ignored is a reason why she has some mental issues. She feels ashamed of what she is feeling and society makes it hard for her to want to talk about this with anyone. Not being able to talk about it, causes Jane’s depression to get worse with
Connie and the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” are both vulnerable and victims of circumstance. The narrator is an accurate representation of the typical treatment of women at the beginning of the 20th century, the confinement and repression she
This differs greatly from Jane, who begins to sympathize with the plight of all domestic women through her experience with the woman behind the yellow wallpaper. Although she initially frowned upon the woman’s efforts to escape, the more her mental health deteriorated, the more she began to relate her plight to that of the trapped woman, both prisoners desperate for escape. With her newfound revelation, she sought to save the trapped woman from her prison, subconsciously freeing herself in the process. “As soon as it was moonlight and that poor thing began to crawl and shake the pattern, I got up and ran to help her…I wonder if they all came out of that wallpaper as I did?… “I’ve got out at last,” said I, “in spite of you and Jane!
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
Her descriptions of the room, with the furniture seemingly being nailed to the floor and the windows being “barred” show an underlying understanding that her thoughts and personality is being confined. The irony present in this description, due to her belief that the room used to be a nursery, shows her early denial of her husband’s dominance over her. As the story progresses and she begins to see the woman behind the wallpaper, the reader is exposed to the narrator’s realization that she is the one that is actually being suppressed. The descriptions of the wallpaper, showing how confining it is for the symbolic woman behind it, shows how the narrator is being trapped by those bars in both her marriage and in her mental illness. Thus when she says, “At night in any kind of light… it becomes bars,” the reader is shown how restricted the narrator feels, reflected through the wallpaper.
The "windows are barred" (648), and the unmovable bed "that is nailed down" add to her feeling of imprisonment. (650). Thirdly, the narrator suffers from oppression.
The main conflict the narrator encounters is being torn between reality, which is the world outside the room, and understanding herself. Jane establishes the room as a shield. The narrator refuses to acknowledge everything outside, like her relationship and child, and constructs a safety zone. Her restriction for writing, placed by her husband, also inhibits her imagination. In contrast, her rebellion in both writing and fantasizing further her descent into madness.
This describes the condition of her room and her isolation that she is
I can see her out of every one of my windows!” Jane appears to be slipping further and further off the deep end, as her statements become more absurd. This is a sad state of affairs as back in the 1900’s people did not know how to treat mentally ill people. Silly
