Theme Of Identity In The Yellow Wallpaper And The Boat

The diary in "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the books in "The Boat" by Alistair MacLeod serve as important symbols of the characters' lives and their struggle to maintain identity in the face of adverse circumstances. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the protagonist's diary becomes a means of self-expression and a way to confront the gender roles and societal expectations that have been imposed upon her. Similarly, the books in "The Boat" represent the protagonist's inner struggle to pave his own way in a family of fishermen. The books serve as a source of comfort and inspiration for the protagonist, allowing him to maintain his connection to his cultural heritage and his sense of self in the face of overwhelming adversity.

He is pressured by his mother to be a fisherman like his father before him, and his life be defined by the rhythms of the sea and the demands of his work. However, he is also a curious and introspective person who longs to know more about the wider world and his place in it. His father's books serve as a symbol of self-expression and connection, as the protagonist uses them to explore his own identity, his sense of obligation to his family and his community, as well as his place in the world. His father was a man who valued knowledge and learning, as we see in his love for books: “Magazines and books covered the battered bureau and competed with the clothes for domination of the chair. They further overburdened the heroic little table and lay on top of the radio. They filled a baffling and unknowable cave beneath the bed, and in the corner by the bureau they spilled from the walls and grew up from the floor.” (pg. 226). The books represent breaking free from the constraints of tradition and expectation, and of finding one's own voice in the world. Furthermore, the books are a symbol of the importance of preserving and sharing cultural heritage, and the ways in which literature can help us to understand and make sense of the world around

In this passage, we see his sisters start to feel the constraint of family tradition and duties: “Shortly after my sisters began to read books, they grew restless and lost interest in darning socks and baking bread” (pg. 228). All his siblings chose to pave their own paths and move away, which made it more difficult for the protagonist to leave because of the guilt he felt for leaving his parents to inevitably suffer. The importance of the father's books lies in their ability to serve as a bridge between the protagonist's current life and the wider world, allowing him to weigh his father’s lasting regret for not pursuing his dreams and how life as a fisherman would toll on him. The books serve as a memory of his father’s stagnant life and the regret he harboured because he didn’t go off to university out of the same guilt and feelings of obligation that the protagonist