The Yellow Wallpaper Literary Analysis Essay

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“The Yellow Wallpaper” a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s has some elements that link it to the Gothic genre. However, there are features within it that are not directly prescribed in Gothic literature. Throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper” there are some aspects of the short story that observe the traditional features of gothic literature. However, in some instances, other aspects do not, overall though the short story is gothic in its writing. Where there is a departure from the traditional gothic, they still point us to something unknown or strange.The manner in which John keeps her confined to her room for “rest” is chilling and can be seen as controlling as we will explore further. The other features of the room, however, the barred windows for instance and the wallpaper and the feeling they engender cannot be fully understood through any other lens. The Gothic horror story carries conventions in its setting, theme, point of view, and characterisation. Gilman follows the conventions of the Gothic horror story to create feelings of gloom, mystery, and suspense that are essential for a compelling storyline.…show more content…
The Protagonist describes the scene, “It is a big, airy room, the whole floor nearly, with windows that look all ways, and air and sunshine galore.” We learn that it is a converted child’s nursery complete with bars on the windows for the child safety. As the story builds and her isolation proceeds, she becomes terrified by the room, especially the wallpaper, and describes it disturbingly, which we discuss in more detail later. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the journals wrote by the narrator continuously conveys to readers that her emotion and mind is severely influenced by the wallpaper which drives her insane in the end. Yellow Wallpaper has a strong emphasis on emotion, which has a preternatural effect on readers and evokes a sense of terror and
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