The Yellow Wallpaper Prompt

At first it was difficult for me to grasp the concept of the text. I clearly understood the woman was succumbing to insanity, and the idea that she may have committed suicide danced in my head, but untill we discussed this in class I was unclear. I appreciated the subtlebness of her death. The reader has to find the evidence and think outside the box to grasp the thought that she committed suicide. I personally love horror movies and how sometimes what you see isn't reality. This was the case with The Yellow Wallpaper. Although death was the ultimate end, we are able to reach further and find underlined themes. Mandy pointed out the domestic struggle of women and the caged feeling of the marital institution.

Oure characters husband is her doctor. Clearly we can find conflict of interest with this situation, "John is a physician, and perhaps--(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)--perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster. You see he does not believe I am sick!" (355). John also does not like for her to write. Anyone could understand how frustrating this must be for her. People write to be creative. It serves as an outlet. She has to express herself in private; this is demoralizing and forces her to be submissive.

We also touched on the notion that she may suffer from postpartum depression. This illness is very real and very much a crippling disorder for mothers. The fact that no one empathized or realized what she was suffering from made her situation that much more miserable and that much more a negative affiliation of marriage. Her husband treated her symptoms for a condition she really did not suffer from. All she wanted was the comfort of family and friends and he alienated her which made her depression worse.

Tom Sawyer Prompt

I would like to discuss another attribute equated with boys, "showing off." It seems no matter how good or bad a boy is, he always has to show off in some way shape of form. We noted, in Ragged Dick, Dick, albeit, good natured, still felt the need to show others of his superiority. He needed to prove to others he was the alpha male. So far, in our readings, this is a continuous custome for boys. Tom Sawyer is no acception to the rule, "...then he pretended he did not know she was present, and began to "show off" in all sorts of absurd boyish ways..." (p.23).

The ironic thing about little boys showing off, is we expect it from them. Even if we have no clue of communication amoung boys/men, we still know they do this. It is their way of expression with each other, with women, with coworkers, or with any random person. When Tom meets the new kid and begins a confrontation with him, he is saying--Hey, this is my town. I'm the boss here and you're a threat to me, "If one moved, the other moved-but only sidewise, in a circle; they kept face to face and eye to eye all the time. Finally Tom said: I can lick you!" (p.7)

In fact, when boys become men, they still engage in this manner; it is sort of a special kind of masculine language. Mark Twain does this when he writes, "...namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended...." (p.19). I mean, can you get anymore egotistical then that?!...actually, some can.

Still, though some may view this trait as one of a snob, or meathead, others view it a necessary. Boys, in a societal context, need to be cunning. They need to be one step in front of their competitor. It is they way they survive. Boys, men, are expected to be able to handle themselves out in the "real world." They learn how to do this by showing off when they are young, therefore understanding what they can and cannot get away with later as adults. Girls do this too...it's called flirting!