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Truth In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

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Some people see the glass half empty, while others see the glass half full. Although these statements are opposite, they are both true seeing as they are from different perspectives. The age-old question “what is truth?” has been challenged since the beginning of time by the simplest of peasants to the wisest of philosophers, yet a concrete answer is still to be established. The enigmatic nature of this problem, however, is that truth is relative, therefore to suggest and instill that one opinion on a matter is correct would be an imposition of individuality and expression.. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman approaches this problem by telling the narrative from the view of a mentally ill woman. Truth is determined by an individual 's perception of themselves, others and the world around them. Everyone’s perception of reality is different and one cannot attest to the soundness of a child’s rationale behind their opinion. Telling the story from the perspective of a mentally ill patient …show more content…

This suggests that maybe she did have nervous depression at the start, but being cut off from the world and others has changed her mental state. Society has an impact on our truth concerning ourselves and others, just as the seclusion and wallpaper had an impact on her own personal truth and the world around her. Magazines, models, social media, and other subtle influences that society has to offer forces people to see themselves and others in a different light than they would if they were not exposed to them. This book may have taken a totally different route had this woman not spent all her time locked up in a room, examining the wallpaper. Perhaps it was the wallpaper and seclusion that impacted her so greatly to drive her insane and change her personal truth and the world around

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