Modern society has social expectations, which dictate how people should behave, and how they should live. People are often expected to feel and act a certain way that may not always fit their personality. Behaviors and desires such as wearing clothes like everyone else and saying please and thank you, are considered social norms. Social norms tend to act as a buffer, keeping individuals in line, and setting unspoken boundaries. However, for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Which means social norms can be dangerous, since you can never genuinely see yourself as we are. We can observe how others look and act, but the closest you can ever see about who you are, is by looking at your reflection in a mirror, allowing you to see what you physically look like, but not being able to see how you act. This prohibits us from ever truly understanding the depth in what we are doing. Social norms have a huge role in the two stories “Once Upon a Time” (OUAT) and the “Yellow Wallpaper” (YW) and bring greater meaning and understanding to why the characters behave how they do. There are numerous social norms that the two authors pinpoint. John (the husband in YW) is a character who is …show more content…
As said: “There were riots, but these were outside the city, where people of another color were quartered.” (pg.3). Segregation was a social norm at time forcing the family in OUAT to segregates themselves because they fear people of different color, where as in YW John segregates his wife from the rest of society. John does not permit his wife to escape her room for fear that people might find out about her condition, thus, embarrassing himself. In the end of the story, her hostage/husband forces insanity. “I got out at last…you cant put me back” (pg.9). This force causes her to break out of the wallpaper from which John imprisoned her