Saturday, September 13, 2014

How can I prove some of the literary terms in "The Yellow Wallpaper"?I have to write a paper and my teacher is of no assistance and I have no idea...

Concerning your question about "The Yellow Wallpaper," you
mention the literary terms, but don't list any.  I'll assume you
can use any literary terms,
then.


Conflict is one term you
could center on.  The conflict centers on treatment that could actually help the female
patient and the sexist, ignorant treatment prescribed by her doctor and husband and the
male medical establishment at the time.  Males believed that females were intellectually
inferior and that overuse of the female mind could lead to mental illness.  Thus, the
patient in the story is ordered to not write or think, etc.  This directly contributes
to the escalation of the woman's break from reality.  Kept from any intellectual
stimulation at all, the woman's intelligent, creative mind seeks any possible outlet for
activity. 


Conflict, of course, is integral to the
plot.  It drives the plot and creates
suspense.


Point of view is
also an essential element of this story.  Narrated from the patient's own point of view,
the reader is led to believe she is on merely an extended break or vacation.  Based on
her description and events, however, the reader understands that she is actually in a
mental institution receiving treatment.  The point of view reveals insights into the
patient's state of mind and her delusions.  This, in turn, reveals and elaborates the
conflict, which drives the plot, etc.  You get the idea of how literary elements work
together. 


The narration is,
of course, presented by an unreliable narrator.  This is
not necessarily a negative, as it may appear.  The term doesn't suggest that the
narrator is purposely lying or anything like that, although that's possible.  The idea
is that the story is told from the one speaker's point of view.  Everything the
reader reads is from only the one point of view.  Thus, the narrator is deceived into
thinking (or deluded) that she is just  taking a break in the country, when she is
actually a patient/prisoner in a hospital.  She presents her hallucinations, as well,
which of course are not actual, though they are certainly real to her.  This is
accomplished through the unreliable narrator.


Finally, you
could also work in characterization.  What methods are used
to characterize the narrator?  Look at character thoughts, character dialogue, action,
and description.  You'll find that characterization also contributes to conflict, plot,
and point of view to present the theme of medical treatment in the 19th
century. 

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