Thanks for an interesting discussion today. For this assignment, I'd like you to read Charlotte Perkins Gilman's explanation about why she wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper." You can find it here.
Now that you know the story of the story (how confusing is that?) see if you can draw some similarities between Kate Chopin's purpose for writing "The Story of an Hour" and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's purpose for writing "The Yellow Wallpaper." How do both authors work to promote social change through their writing? Consider both the structure and the content of each story. How are they similar?
Please post your comment by Monday at 9pm.
"The Story Of an Hour" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" both have similar purposes, Gilman's purpose was to "save people from being driven crazy" as she stated in the article explaining why she wrote the story. Chopin's purpose was to show the struggle that women went through when they became married, otherwise known as coverature. Women were ultimately controlled and owned by their husbands and "civilly dead". Just by both these authors writing these stories had them promoting social changes. They were writing about a very controversial topic at the time, when most women were fine with what was happening in society, but other women were fed up with society at large and also started to take part in the social change.
ReplyDeleteThe structures of each story are very different; Chopin’s piece is told from the 3rd person perspective, where as Gilman’s is told as a diary entry in first person. The content is very similar considering that both of their stories are about women in the late 1800’s going through the struggles of life a women. Chopin shows more of women in marriage where as Gilman shows through her own personal struggle what women had to go through if they were thought to be “sick”. Gilman saved the lives of women by sharing her story-Chopin showed women there was more to life if unmarried, that they would truly be free. Both writers have this theme come through in their stories, that all women can be free if they break through the social barriers forced upon them.
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ReplyDeleteBoth Chopin and Gilman had similar purposes in writing these pieces of work.To start they both expressed their struggles and worries through writing showing this was their strength of communicating. Gilman wrote about the proper way to treat insane people and Chopin wrote about the struggles women face and lack of their freedom. In both of these stories the main character had little freedom and felt no way to escape. Both characters were also controlled by men, who were superior to the women. In Gilman's story, the narrator's husband would not let her live a normal life. As shown in the reasoning of why Gilman wrote this, the narrators husband represents the doctor she went to visit. In Chopin's story, the main character felt trapped by her husband and only felt free when he was gone. Both of these stories show the benefits and suffering of having powerful men in their life.
ReplyDeleteIn both stories, Gilman and Chopin used men as sort of a metaphor. They represented how limited women's lives were.
ReplyDeleteIn Chopin's story, The Story of an Hour, the wife only feels free when she thinks her husband is dead, because she found a loophole in the restrictions that women faced in marriage. In Gilman's story, The Yellow Wallpaper, the main character is literally trapped by her husband. He makes her feel inferior and helpless, which is kind of what the laws restricting women were doing back then as well.
Both stories are an attempt to educate the world of the sexism women in America faced every day. They were using their talent in writing to get through to America, and hopefully make a change. When Gilman told her exact reasoning for writing the story, she said something that really stuck out to me, and really sums up exactly what they were trying to say about the current situation of women. "It was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked."
In "The Story of an Hour", Kate Chopin tries to drive the focus of society towards what is happening to women, and what should be done about it. To me, Chopin's story reminded me of a woman who had to follow every order her husband gave her, and if she didn't, she was punished. I believe that this was just part of Chopin's campaign in fighting for women's rights. Chopin's story was not the only one that helped fight for a cause in society, but Charlotte Gilman's story helped fight for a cause too.
ReplyDeleteIn Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", a woman is driven crazy by the wall paper that is in her bedroom. She starts to see visions of women trapped beneath this wallpaper, and tried to free them all. In Gilman's description of why she wrote it, she explains that this story was written to help people, who at first were crazy (or just had nervous diseases like her), and become some-what normal again. This, of course was after she visited a doctor who said to do things that was driving her crazy, so she stopped and sent it back to that doctor, and he supposedly changed the way he helped people with this problem after reading this story.
These stories are similar because they both helped to identify problems in society and help eliminate them.
Although I was out of class for the discussion after reading both the stories I can see their similarities. Both stories are written by women trying to make a statement about society at the time. “Story of an Hour” explained in a third person point of view a fictional story showing the women’s point of view of marriage. The unfairness of coverture laws made women “civilly dead.” The “The Yellow Wallpaper” was a true story told in first person point of view. It was written to “save people from being driven crazy.” In both stories the women are trying to develop a change in society. In the late 1800’s women had hardly any rights and these stories both made strong statements for that time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at and compare The Story of an Hour and Yellow Wallpaper I can draw out both similarities and differences between the two. The things and ideas I find similar between the two stories is how both Chompin and Gilman use the windows and nature to relate to womens freedom. Chompin uses several quotes looking through the window at the blue skies, while Gilman makes a connection by looking out the window to the garden, relating to being free.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found different between the two stories is the way they find freedom. In the Wallpaper, the main character is driven crazy by this wallpaper, but in the end, ripping off the wallpaper sets her free of everything resulting in her husbands death. In Story of an Hour, the main characters belief of her husband dieng sets her free, but when she finds out hes actually alive, it results in her death by heart attack.
Chopin and Gilman do share some similarities with their pieces of writing. In "The Story of an Hour", Chopin tells us how hard it is for a woman to live but be governed by the laws of men. Once Louis's freedom was gained, her heart gave out and she died from the feeling of freedom that was long overdue. The same can be said of the woman in "The Yellow Wallpaper", because she felt that the laws were keeping her in for so long that if they were gone, she would be free to not feel sick anymore. Another comparison can be made that the husbands in both stories are a symbol of the arrogance that men portrayed as to being superior. The purpose of both stories are also somewhat similar, because in "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin wanted to tel us that women were trapped by the laws made against them, and that they should be allowed to have the freedom to live their own lives.
ReplyDeleteGilman had another purpose, slightly different from that of "The Story of an Hour", but it still relates to women of that time period. She said that she wrote the story, "...to save people from being driven crazy." She explains how she herself was diagnosed with nervous breakdowns and was sent to see specialists dealing with nervous diseases. It turns out that all she needed was to get some fresh air and regular activities to get well again, same for another woman that was saved because of "The Yellow Wallpaper". Both of these stories promoted that people change the way they view women and what they are capable of. Women were meant to have freedom for their choices and the chance to break free from the social norms of society, like yielding to the beck-and-call of their husbands. "The Story of an Hour" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" were both made during the 1800's, and during this time and even today they make a public statement that women didn't have the rights they deserved and set a precedent for women all across America.
Both Kate Chopin and and Charlotte Gilman's stories' purposes were similar in that they both dealt with limitation from their husbands. However, Gilman's was more pointed towards freedom being a cure for women. In addition, the way this is portrayed in their stories is similar as well. For example, at first read, both stories leave the reader in a state of confusion. With "The Yellow Wallpaper" the confusion primarily comes from the journal of an over imaginative woman. In "The Story of an Hour", it comes from the irony of a wife's joy for her husband's supposed death. Both authors use this state of confusion to make the reader stop and think "Wait, what?". After reading through the story multiple times, small words shine big meanings and the story's hidden message is revealed; men limit women. At the time, women were civilly dead after marriage and were shadows of the husband. Chopin and Gilman hid their message in the complexities and irony of their stories. Specifically, Chopin's message is seen clearly when the wife finds joy in being single and free after grieving for her husband. However, in Gilman's tale, it is seen in the wallpaper's shadow of a woman behind bars. These two stories are similar in that they both call for freedom for women.
ReplyDeleteChopin and Gilman both wrote powerful stories that were trying to portray the struggles of women during the time period. Both stories use dramatic endings to magnify the problems not everyone may see. In Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" the main character dies in the end because she is released from the bonds of marriage and then placed back in them suddenly. In Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" the main character goes completely crazy and ends up tying her self in the room. Both stories try and show how the way women are treated is secretly destroying them on the inside. Both stories have a similar writing style that is seen more clearly towards the end. In both stories there is a lead up to the huge ending that makes it seem so much worse. This is an effective tool when trying to show how the negative effects of how women were being treated at the time.
ReplyDeleteIn both "The Story of an Hour" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" the stories try to show people that the women were sick of the man in the house and wanted things to change. In the "The Story of an Hour" the main character is to a point rejoiced after she finds out the her husband had died. She finally thought that she was free of hie "rein". This was only up to the point when he walked through the door and reality came back and she died of a heart attack.
ReplyDeleteThen in "The Yellow Wallpaper" the women is suppose to be in depression after pregnancy so her husband takes her to a house and locks her into a room. She then starts to think the wallpaper hides someone and actually starts to become depressed and somewhat insane. This whole story was about how the husband basically controls the marriage and what the women wants.
After reading both "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman I was able to spot many similarities between the two. The first similarity I noticed was that both stories seem to allude to how much of an impact men have on womens lives. In "The Story of an Hour", Chopin alludes to the pressure marriage puts on a woman and how it essentially puts them into social captivity. In "The Yellow Wallpaper", Gilman shows how a man can try and control a womans life and in turn drive her mad. Gilman said she wrote the book to "save people form being driven crazy." I believe that both Gilman and Chopin wanted to use a narrative to depict the cruel treatment of women and show how men try and control them. Both stories were written in the 1800's, a time where men were perceived to be dominant of women. Both writers try to promote social change through the writing of realistic situations underlining how much men affect women and their social and mental stature. I think both these stories are effective because they are not essentially listing facts and real-life situations where women get treated poorly, but they use symbols and themes to detail the horrid treatment of women during that time.
ReplyDeleteWhen comparing “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Story of an Hour” one of the most important things to note is that they were both written in the 1800's. Also, both speak of husbands being superior and controlling, which was the case in marriages during that time period. Chopin shows how unhappy the control makes a wife, where Gilman shows how crazy the control makes a wife.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the story behind Gilman's story, I learned that she was trying to promote social change by informing readers of what not to do when they are having a depressive nervous breakdown. She was trying to tell women not to listen to their doctors or, in the case of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” their husbands because staying confined, as they said to, would drive them crazy. Similarly, in “The Story of an Hour,” the author is also warning women. She warns that if they get married, they will be so miserable that they will feel happy when their husbands die, which is also kind of crazy. In the end, these stories are both women warning society of the destructive role that husbands are playing in this time period.
I noticed that between Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" that they both used nature and the outside as freedom and success. Both author's were showing not only the story of their lives, but of many womens' lives at the time. By using a woman as the protaganist, and a man as the antagonist, they showed how women had a struggle to gain their freedom. The representation of a window holding them in from the nature in both stories showed how they were declined their natural rights as U.S. citizens. They both used personal experiences and caught the crisis of the time perfectly in each of their stories to show how hard of a time women had in the late 1800's.
ReplyDeleteI read my one pager in class, but I still read the explanation for why the author wrote the Yellow Wallpaper.
ReplyDeleteBoth stories, " The story of an Hour," and " The Yellow Wallpaper," are written by intelligent women trying to indirectly represent all women's place in society at the given time. In both stories, the authors use the main female characters as representation of the female population as a whole. In " The Story of an Hour," Chopin uses irony to point out that women had no other way out from control of their husbands besides death. In " The Yellow Wallpaper," Gilman uses metaphors to show how men controlled women, sometimes without them even realizing it. Both stories hit on key points of the relationship between men and women in that time period. Though the story lines are different, they are both structured similarly. Both stories start off in the beginning with great signs of foreshadowing. Chopin starts the story giving the information that Mrs. Mallard had heart troubles, and Gilman starts her story saying that the wife had a nervous disorder. Both authors became controversial with their stories because of the varied opinions back in the late 1800's. The authors point was to show and describe, from a women's point of view the struggles they faced back then.
ReplyDeleteBoth authors are trying to express how women are mentally, physically, and emotionally affected by their husbands/men in their lives. They try to show how being constantly abused can make them go crazy, like in the story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” After looking at both “The Story of an Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the two stories have many similarities and a few differences. “The Story of an Hour” shows how when a man in a woman’s life dies/leaves them, the woman is basically set free from jail. By jail I mean her husband’s grasp on her. If the woman does not do what their husband says, then they will be abused both physically and emotionally. The main character in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is an example. This story was to “save people from being driven crazy,” meaning that a woman can only take so much from her husband before she goes insane from it all getting to her over time. Overall, both stories have to deal with showing how the men in the women’s lives can drive them to go crazy.
ReplyDeleteLike Marissa, I also noticed that “The Yellow Wallpaper” is written in a first person point of view, and the “Story of an Hour” is written in third person point of view.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Story of an Hour” both have common similarities. They both emphasize on how poorly women were treated and misunderstood. Gilman takes a more abstract approach to showing her ideas, writing the story in an nontraditional way. Showpan basically lays out the issue at hand, woman’s suffrage. Both authors show through their work woman’s struggles during the time they wrote their stories. Both show woman’s feelings about the man in their lives.
ReplyDelete"The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Story of an Hour" both have a lot of commonalities and differences. Gilman had a different and interesting view and Showpan is straight to the point. Both ladies show how much women struggle throughout time. Gilman talks about her husband and basically says that she doesn't love him. Showpan also discusses her life with her husband. Women were poorly mistreated and didn't get equality.
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ReplyDeleteCharlotte Perkins Gilman wrote the Yellow Wallpaper to create change in the way woman were treated. Both in her description and the story she was pushed aside when she had a serious problem and it only continued to become worse. Charlotte was able to get on her feet again by a help of a friend and wrote the story to help save other woman who would suffer the same thing. Just because they are woman and have serious problems doesn’t mean they need to be pushed aside to get worse. Even Charlotte stated in her explanation of the yellow wall paper that the doctor that had told her to stay at home decided to change his ways of handling the problems because he was unaware of the outcome.
ReplyDeleteThen in the story of an hour, it shows how once again women are pushed aside. We learn that the death of her husband is actually a freedom to her as if a weight is lifted off her shoulder. It showed to me as a reader that her husband obviously didn’t treat her right and that is a problem that she is actually RELIEVED of her husband’s death. Then when she finds out her husband is actually alive, it leads to her death.
Both of these stories help promote a social change because they show the terrible side that most people aren’t really seeing. For example in the explanation of the Yellow Wallpaper, a woman’s family saved her life from death because they finally let her out of the house to do normal city stuff to get out of her mental illness.
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ReplyDeleteFrom looking over the past two documents I found that they had many similarities. Each one of the documents talked about how woman were treated. In each of the documents the woman become mentally insane because their husbands treat them horribly.
ReplyDeleteIn story of an hour the woman is set free from her husband when he dies but she doesn't really know what to do with herself but once she finds out he is alive she dies. And in the story the yellow wallpaper the woman is dependent on her husband. She believes that whatever her husband says is what goes but in the long run its making her even more insane and cause her to be "Sick".
Each one of these stories have different ways of looking at how woman are treated and how woman can become when facing abuse by a man this just shows that men have a huge affect on woman and what they say or do can make woman insane.