The Yellow Walawalapaper

First of all, “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a very ambiguous piece, especially at the end. This is an important aspect of the story because that forces the reader to decide for themselves what actually goes on and what the significance of any event is. It is obvious that the narrator, or Jane as we learn at the end, is driven crazy by the isolation and brain inactivity that she is forced to follow by her husband, John. But the significance of this series of unfortunate events is John is an important character in the story, being who holds Jane back from a husband and doctor’s standpoint. Although he may do this unintentionally, John only makes his wife suffer more by keeping her from things she wants to do or change. He undermines her opinions constantly throughout the story, “I don’t like our room a bit.  I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! But John would not hear of it” (Gilman 2). Jane makes it clear from the start that she does not like the room, but her husband is quick to shoot down her ideas because he’s a man and he supposedly knows what’s best for her. From a modern perspective with much more psychological knowledge and medical technology, it is clear that all the rest cure did for Jane is deteriorate her mind. Over the course of the story, you see the narrator progressively become more comfortable with the wallpaper, but that is taken too far and she becomes obsessed. I think that this would happen with any one though, not just someone with post-partum depression. Think about being in a room alone without Netflix, Twitter, your favorite AP literature book, or anything else that could possibly entertain you, leaving you left to stare at this yellow wallpaper with an intricate pattern. The loneliness and blankness of the mind would drive any one nuts, and this is exactly what happened to Jane. Jane began seeing this figure in the wallpaper once she started to really go crazy, and eventually becomes one with her by the end of the story. This mysterious woman is thought to be the narrator because once the wallpaper is nearly all torn off, the narrator states that she is free to creep forever. However, the author really leaves the ending up to the reader. Gilman doesn’t suggest any one ending. Jane could have committed suicide, killed her husband, or just literally creep around that room forever. This unique ending, I think, is what has intrigued critics and readers in literature. That is definitely what kept me so interested in the story throughout the making of my seminar; there truly is not one “right” interpretation.

Heart of Lightness

The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad was written to portray the evil or darkness that can thrive in one’s heart. It is one of the most influential texts in literature not only because of the message that can be taken away from it, but also because of the many controversial arguments it has brought up since it was published in 1899. For example, people have debated over whether or not Heart of Darkness should be considered a gothic piece. In my opinion, the ominous tone of the text created by the imagery of darkness and the frame narrative structure make the novel Heart of Darkness be considered a gothic novel. Similarly to the gothic novel Wuthering Heights, Heart of Darkness is a frame narrative. The authors’ use of frame narratives give personal accounts from the characters of situations. For example, Marlow in Heart of Darkness gives his account of his experiences while traveling through the imperialist Congo. When describing the sights that he comes across at each station, he uses words that are dark and quite eerie, “Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of sunshine” (Conrad 101). The author uses imagery to emphasize Marlow’s feelings that yield a metonymy of gloom and horror. Although Heart of Darkness does not contain a typical setting or the supernatural events of a gothic novel, Conrad’s overall syntax creates a feeling of darkness that is consisted throughout the novel, enabling Heart of Darkness to be considered a gothic novel.