English Composition II Blog
Jillian DiLucido
Eng 112, MW 3:35-5:00 Informal Assignment # 2 Due January 30 3 PM The Yellow Wall-Paper is a short story published in 1892 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This piece of literature is considered to be feminist and it details the story of a woman who remains unnamed throughout the piece. The story itself is an array of journal entries by the main character which she hides from her husband and her housekeeper. She has just had a child and following the birth of her child has had bouts of "hysteria" and "nervousness". Because of this her husband John basically confines her to the house telling her to get as much rest as possible. She spends most of her time in the upstairs nursery which is decorated with a horrible shade of yellow wall-paper. The main character does not have anything to occupy her time since she is stuck in the nursery almost all of the time. She begins to study the wall-paper, first looking at its patterns and the way the sunlight and moonlight strike it. As she spends more time staring at the wall-paper the crazier she seems to become. As the story continues she is obviously falling deeply into insanity. She eventually begins to believe that there is a woman "creeping" around her room and inside the yellow wall-paper. She ends up tearing all of the wall-paper apart in her effort to find the woman. This story portrays the discrimination that women faced during that time period. Simply because the main character had given birth, she was viewed as ill and unstable. She was essentially forced to stay in the house and in the room with the yellow wall-paper. All of that most likely contributed to her insanity.
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Jillian DiLucido
Eng 112, MW 3:35-5:00 Informal Assignment # 1 Due January 30, 3 PM. Hills Like White Elephants is a short story published in 1927 by Ernest Hemingway. This story uses a variety of symbols and metaphors to show a different meaning than the one on the surface. The story portrays a couple at a railroad station, in between two stops. The conversation that they are having can be perceived as light and rather shallow when looking at it in the beginning. They talk about what types of drinks they are having and the girl comments on the landscape and hills outside of their window. She says, "They look like white elephants." Throughout the conversation the number two is referred to in various metaphorical ways. As their conversation continues, eventually the man says, "It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig." At this point in the story, the reader does not know what "operation" the man is talking about. It is extremely clear that Jig does not want to have this operation. The man she is with throughout the story is attempting to coax her into having this operation passive aggressively. He acts as though he does not care if she gets the operation or not, but the tone in his voice suggests that he has a definite opinion on the subject. One can eventually infer through the use of the number two, and the hills that look like white elephants that the operation the man is talking about is an abortion. He explains how the doctors will "...just let the air in." The simple way in which he talks about it makes it seem like it is no big deal. Meanwhile, Jig is not sure of what she wants to do and she is obviously made uncomfortable throughout the entire conversation. By the end of the story it is obvious that Jig has made up her mind; she will not be going through with the abortion. Her curt tone and attitude towards the man by the end suggests that she does not want to talk about the subject any longer. |
AuthorHey everyone! This is my blog page for my English Composition II class. In here I will post assignments, thoughts, and drafts of current writing pieces I'm working on. Enjoy! Archives
May 2017
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