The Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper is the first text we have come across that has a strong voice for independence for women. I think that Gilman chose a weak and unstable woman because the man in her life was controlling everything that she did on an hourly basis. Thus, trying to get the message across that men are hindering their wives by constantly controlling their every move. Gilman also decided to take a more rugged around the edges story line. The main character is a mentally unstable woman dealing with anxiety and post par tom depression. Her husband, who happens to also be her doctor, has moved her to a 'older home' that is a few miles from the city. She sleeps in a bed that is nailed to floor, and is stuck in a room that she feels quite uncomfortable in as well. John also rarely comes to visit her during the day, but when he does it is to check on how she is doing. Her nurse happens to be her husbands sister that is just trying to help her out.

Throughout the text we are being steered in different directions when it comes to deciding if we like John's character or not. In the beginning of the story we view John as overbearing, and can not handle not having full control over anything or someone. He controlled where his wife is living in isolation, he makes her take certain medication, and he makes her stay in the one room that she dos not feel comfortable in,"...But John says if I feel so, I shall neglect proper self-control; so I take the pain meds to control myself- before him, at least, and that makes me very tired" (Page 356). Yet, as we continue to read on our narrator describes John as:"Very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction" (page 356). This leads the reader to believe that John may not be the evil character that he comes off as. I believe that Gilman might have entered this line in the text as a way to still let her audience know that men are caring and loving even if they tend to be over protective and controlling. Lastly, in the end of passage I felt that Gilman wanted to over power a man and "knock him off of his feet" so to say. We are lead to understand that our narrator has committed suicide, and the sight of her hanging there and swaying back and forth cause John to faint. "Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!" (page 365) This line is a strong shout out to woman to never allow a man to overpower you, and by killing the narrator by committing suicide is her version of "sticking it to the man." Gilman was very interesting to read because I felt that she wanted to take a different route to get her message across to the readers, as opposed to the different types of text we have read so far. I really enjoyed this story!!

Young Boys

As a class everyone seemed to enjoy Tom more so than they did Ragged Dick. We see that Dick is quite a wild character because he tells stories of gambling, smoking cigars and staying out till late hours. However, we see a different side a more ‘tender’ side to Dick when the sun is up. He is constantly working because he knows that if he does not fend for himself that no one else will either. He is an honest young boy for his age and considering the circumstances he is placed in he seems to not be extremely off path:

"Don't you ever steal, then?"
"No, and I wouldn't. Lots of boys does it, but I wouldn't." (page 250)

Dick also seems very well aware of his surroundings and what they represent. For example: he lives in the city and knows the important buildings and what men work there as well,"Dick pointed out the City Hall, the Hall of Records, and the Rotunda" (page 288).He also refers to two important historical leaders: General George Washington and Napoleon. Dick never allows others to bring him down when they are attempting to make fun of his clothing or where he came from. Lastly, Dick is humble when it comes to receiving anything that is given to him as a gift. For instance, when he was given a new set of clothing that made him look ‘sharp’ and not a poor boy living on the streets.

Tom is the country boy that is too smart for his own good…literally. He is stuck doing chores and tricks his friends into wanting to paint and even gets one of them to give him something in return. Not many young boys could pull this off: "Say Tom, let me whitewash a little.... No is that so> Oh come on, now- lemme jsut try. Only just a little- I'd let you, if you was me, Tom" (page 329) Tom is rebellious, manipulative and yet that sweet southern boy. He seems so innocent compared to Dick because he is sheltered away from the ‘city that never sleeps,’ and is not getting involved into any mischievous acts that could potentially harm him. I loved reading about what he considered ‘his treasures’ because they are silly items that he holds closer to his heart than other things," He got out his worldly weath and examined it- bits of toys, marables, and trash" (page 326). Of course none of the items have a material value, however this restates the innocence that Tom truly has and why we he appeals more so to a reader.

Yares of Black Mountain

I thought that there were so many different things being thrown at the reader that we were not really used to in comparison to the other texts that we have been reading. What I felt more to be more interesting than others was the difference of character attitudes that we saw in this text. For example, for the first time our main character is not a child, but rather a mother in desperate need of hope not only fro herself, but also for her sick son. I also enjoyed how Mrs. Cook came across to the reader as being stuck up and better than the people that she was surrounded by at the time. Clearly we, the reader, were not supposed to particularly like her character because she was sort of a 'Debbie downer' character so to say.

I was fascinated by Mrs. Cook's character because of the drastic change we see from her attitude and the New York life style compared to the people we met in Ragged Dick. She holds her nose high in the air, and believes that the south and mountaineers are just despicable and only want to take her money," “They think you have money. These Southerners are impoverished by the war, and they have an idea that every Northern traveler is overloaded with wealth, and is fair game” (249). Mrs. Cook is not like any other woman character that we have come across...for starters she actually works and has a regular job. Secondly, we never hear her speak of her family back in New York. This is uncommon for women in this time era simply because they strived on family, good girls and God.

Mrs. Denby is our main character in this text and fr the frist time we do not have a child as our main character, but rather a mother and her extremely ill son near his death. We learn that Mrs. Denby is a widow and lost her husband and is in search of something in order to help her son get better because he is all that she has left. This is also different from what we are used to reading because from the beginning of the text we are saddened for for her because she could not help herself and simply had no control over the awful recent inccidents occuring in her life. However, through everything she seems to remain a positive hope for herself and her son, and is oddly comforted by her new surroundings that are far from the inner city streets of New York. She enjoys the company of those that are taking notice to her,"It is just as though I were coming among old friends” (249).

Davis takes two characters and places them in a srrounding that they are both unfamiliar with and ties in so many messages that are unspoken of throughout the text. I believe that this was doen because of the bittnerness of the war that had happened, and to show a different side of the south and their 'southern hospitality.' One could argue that the characters of Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Denby represent the North and South after the war, and that Davis wanted to open the ideas of a different side of the South rather than the viscious 'slave owner's' that most of the North believed them to be. I am still slightly taken aback by this text because it caught me off guard adn knocked me off me feet while reading it.

Boys and Girls in American Literature

In 19th century American Literature when we read about young girls we think of innocence, maturity, pleasing their peers and commonly will some how God will tie in with their story. However, when thinking of little boys we see liars, gamblers smokers and no parental control what so ever. It is as though boys and girls are complete opposites of one another.

When we first started reading about young girls the 'ideal' girl to be is simple: Ellen Montgomery. She is the cookie cutter American daughter of her time because she was only concerned with pleasing her mother, never dared to show her weakness in front of her father, and wanted to grow closer to God. Her favorite activity everyday was making her mother toast. From the text that we read we can only assume that Ellen is a very ' do as you are told ' child, and never dared to act out. Also, you notice that she has no friends of her own that she plays with, but only her mother. 

Raged Dick was by far one of my favorite characters thus far because he was so interesting and kept me wondering what sort of crazy nonsense he would be getting himself into next. none the less he was also not exactly the model young boy that you hoped to have of your own one day,"I am afraid that he swore sometimes, ad now and then he played tricks upon unsophisticated boys from the country, or gave a wrong direction to honest old gentleman unused to the city." (page 255). He has such a care free spirit that you wish you had the guts to attain. He does not have parents, a warm bed to sleep in, but is always in a upbeat mood. However, we also see the crazy life of a 14 year old boy that lives in a city alone, "It is not uncommon to see a little boy, too young to be out of his mother's sight, smoking with all the apparent satisfaction o a veteran smoker." ( page 257). 

What I enjoyed that we touched on in class was how in this text we see  lot of the text relate to important historical figures and landmarks as well. " This coat belonged to General Washington...when he died he told his widder to give it to some smart young feller that hadn't got none of his own; so she gave them to me." (page 254). When thinking of General Washington we think of a leader, an honest man that played an important key role into our nation becoming what it is today. in my opinion, i believe that the reason there are historical figures spread throughout the text is because the author is wanting young boys to become interested in leaders. This could strike a boys curiosity in school and hence more young boy become educated. 

Overall, boys and girls differ very much in 19th century literature and there are no common grounds on which they share anything. 

A Whisper In The Dark

This is the first time we see a text that deals with insanity, and women being held against their own will. We picture a much darker lifestyle one filled with sorrow, hate, betrayal and lies. First of all, I found it very awkward with how close Sybil and her Uncle were. The relationship between the two of them was extremely inappropriate and at times I felt that Sybil only showed her Uncle affection to see if she could get a rise out of Guy, which of course she did. However, the relationship between Sybil and Guy is very noticeable, and it is as though she is like a little school girl with a crush on a classmate. "Twilight found me in bravest attire, with Guy's heather in my hair, listening for his step,and longing to run and meet him when he came." (pg 225) It seems as though Sybil is holding back her affection for him and not wanting to fully admit that she is interested in him. However, she shows a conniving side as well,"... then followed the whim that now possessed me, for I wanted to try my power over them both." (pg 226) This startled me a little because it is the fist time we are shown a possessive side of her, and possibly her 'darker' side.

The concept of the insane asylum in this text is full on intimidating. Sybil had found out that she was supposed to marry Guy, and wanted to rebel against that and showed her affection for her Uncle. Yet, then she flip flops and changes her mind altogether and throws an enormous fit and shuts out the world until she is ready to leave. However, she is drugged and taken to insane asylum where we are introduced to a very important character that Sybil has never met; her mother. what struck me as odd was that when Sybil wanted to learn more of her mother her Uncle made it seem as though she was already dead,"Where is she buried, Uncle? It may be foolish, but I should like to see my mother's grave." As we continue to read on we learn her mother is buried right in front of her at the asylum which brought me back to a line that her Uncle said earlier;" You shall someday, Sybil," ( talking about her mother's grave) and a curious change came over my uncle's face as he averted it. Also, we learn that Sybil's mother realizes that it is her daughter that has been captured and is now in the same situation as she is, but she does not want Sybil to lead the same depressing life that she has for so long. She sends her warnings various times, and here we see an entirely different type of relationship between mother and daughter for the 19th century. At first, it threw me off my path because I could not understand the strange warnings that were sent to Sybil, but near the end of the text it became clear that her mother wanted her to escape at the only chance she would be given. This was the strongest part of the text in my opinion because for so long we are expected to believe that Sybil no longer has a living parent, but surprisingly all of a sudden we discover her mother has been locked up and proclaimed insane. Over the years, she admits that being locked up has caused to come to the mental state that she is in, but still understanding she needs to do anything and everything she possibly can to help her daughter. Their relationship is one of life and death sacrifice and the ultimate love a mother has for her daughter that she has been forced to keep away from for so many years. I enjoyed seeing this side of literature in the 19th century. It open my mind a lot and caused me to think outside of the box so to say, and understand the different types of relationships that can develop between a mother and a daughter that have been forced away from one another for years.

The Hidden Hand

I first want to say that this was by far my favorite reading so far this semester. I enjoyed the text, although at some points I felt a little lost, and the images I saw in my head while I was reading. I was captivated by the characters, but one stood out more than the others,Capitola. This is the first time we see a young girl working, speak her mind and be so independent. Also, Capitola differs in many ways compared to our past two young girls. In The Wide, Wide World the reader can assume that Ellen, the young girl, is a little miss all-American girl with bright eyes and blond hair. She is shy, is afraid to show her real emotions and her most difficult task is making 'perfect toast'. This is the model figure that parents were teaching their daughters to be during the 19th century. However, in The Lamp Lighter we see more of a darker side to the life of a young girl in this time period with Gerty. She is rough around the edges, not extremely attractive and is wanted by no one. That is until we meet the good hearted Christian 'True' man that took her in and helped her become a young lady, and learn about God. Capitola is not the average color crayon in the box. She is very unique, and we see that she is described as beautiful young lady,"Her bright black hair, parted in the middle, fell in ringlets each side her blushing cheeks; her dark-grey eyes were cast down in modesty..."(pg187). The reader has not yet been describes such are dark beautiful young lady such as Caiptola before. Although, what differs her from any other young girl was the fight and in dependency that she had for herself. " I found plenty to do! I carried carpet bags, held horses, put in coal, clean sidewalks, blackened gentleman's boots and did everything an honest could lay his hands on" (pg 185). A young girl working was looked down upon during this time period. When she was caught the police took her in, and all she was trying to do was feed herself. Capitola is the opposite of Ellen when it comes to being open minded. For example, Ellen only wants to please her mother, and if she succeeds in that then she is very content with herself. Whereas with Capitola, you see her Independence and self wit come out when she decides to dress as a boy and do their 'jobs' in order to take care of herself. This was the girl that dared to be different, and it worked for her. Capitola's character is the one female character that does not make young girls look like robots that everything that they are told to do. For this reason, I was so interested in Capitola because of her strength.

The Lamplighter Plot

I very much agree withthe scholors of Girl's Studies how very little has changed in the last 150 years about a young girls struggles throughout a novel. However, I believe that they struggle in different ways than that of girls that live 150 years ago. With 19th century literature, young girls were taught the importance of Christianity, being submissive and how to act. where as, parents in today's socitey teach the daughters their daughter how to become independent womean that think and speak for thmeselves. In The Wide, Wide World the reader watches as Ellen struggles to put all her trust in God, and cope with the her mother's sickness. At one point, Ellen becomes very upset that her mother is leaving her shortly, and cries in the bathroom and does not come down for breakfast until her father leaves for work. She is taught to display no emotion on her face other than happiness. Where as, in The Lamplighter, we are introduced to a new side of the lifestyle of a young girl attempting to find a balance in her life, learning right from wrong, and the true kindness of the Christian people around her. In a novel from today's society, My sister's Keeper is an amazing novel about the difficult lifestyle of a young girl that was born solely to keep her sister alive. The younger sister has been through many surgeries for her older sister in order to keep her alive because she has rare case of cancer. The younger one files emancipation from her parents becuse she no longer wants go through all of the surgeries, but she is longing for a normal childhood. Although all three novels deal with different forms of problems that all of the young girls have to cope with, the message of girls growing up into young ladies is chrystal clear.

Gerty, did not have the ideal childhood when we are first introduced to her in The Lamp Lighter. We learn that she has no manners, does not know how to make herself useful in a household, and does not know anything about God or Christianity. She is taken in by man name Trueman where she is becoming quite the young girl when she begins her life with him. However, in the video about third grader Anna we learn she does yoga in order to keep balance in her life. She does this in order to take her mind off of everything that stresses her out throughout her daily activities. Also, the view of woman and young girls in today's society is drastically different from that of Gerty's time. Girls now are expected to go to school and receive a good education, be involved, and speak their minds. Whereas, Gerty was taught to be useful around the house, not speaking her mind, and the relationship they should have with God. If Gerty could have appeared on Amy's show I picture her being ratty, unsure of herself and possibly speechless of what to say. I believe she might have made little girls look bad as well. However, Ana is looked upon as being an outstaning young girl that is quite mature for her age and enjoys school. This is the message parents now are trying to send out to their daughters.