The Elements of A Good Story What makes a good story? Oftentimes writers encounter questions like this and start to wonder about the writing essentials of a good story. As many skills and beautiful words that make up a captivating story, it will have to be one that makes connections to the readers. Only when readers are able to make a connection to their experience or values, they start gaining from the story. Through creating conflicts, conveying the theme and a relative background, the writers of “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Sonny’s Blues” fully express their values and thoughts by the “bridge” between readers and them. As a plot is essential to story writing, the conflicts in stories “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Sonny’s Blues” …show more content…
Just as the yellow wallpaper symbolizes gender inequality, escaping from the this cage of discrimination and oppression on women springs the rising of feminism. At the end of another story, the narrator is able to grasp an understanding of Sonny’s values and struggles, along with a salvation of his own. For all this time a seemingly rebellious and depressive figure of Sonny is illustrated, a soul of freedom and his values are conveyed in the music. Contrastingly, despite of a stable life of being a middle-class high school teacher, the narrator is trapped in Harlem both physically and mentally. Unlike Sonny, escaping from the neighbourhood of “boiling sea” that’s filled with people of rage and depression rarely seems an idea that occurs to the narrator ’s mind. Out of so many characteristics, a relevant background adds the depth of a good story. Without the male-dominated society, the escape from the yellow wallpaper may be plainly viewed by readers as insanity. Analogously, readers must know that in a time before the Civil Movement, discrimination against the black is still a lifetime threat, that is why a depicted neighbourhood of poor and decadent would not seem odd at the
By challenging conventional expectations and playing with the readers perceptions, Dahl is able to display erratic human nature and the unforeseen consequences of our actions. Through the themes of betrayal and the challenges of marriage with the reversal of gender roles Dahl creates a compelling narrative that leaves them both shocked and entertained. “The Yellow Wallpaper” explores themes of manipulation and mental illness as well as similar gender role themes. By inviting readers into the mind of a woman confined by societal expectations, Gilman sparks a vital conversation about the importance self expression, and empathy. Both short stories engage the readers in great, yet unique ways however both encourage the reader to revaluate their own roles in society and advocate for greater understanding, compassion, and
“Sonny’s Blues” The Oxford Book of American Short Stories edited by Joyce Carol Oates, Oxford University Press, 2013 pp. 483-513. Mar 2, 2020. • Sherard, Tracey. “Sonny’s Bebop:
Signs of Modernity in “Sonny’s Blues” The first half of the twentieth century was a time of tremendous change and upheaval, marked by industrialization, wars, migration, and urbanization. James Baldwin's short story, "Sonny Blues," offers a powerful response to the experience of modernity in this period, exploring the impact of these changes on Black communities in America. Through the story's vivid characters and poignant themes, Baldwin creates a vivid portrait of a society struggling to come to terms with the changes brought about by modernity.
We all have memories that make us cringe like nails on a chalkboard as they traverse our brain. The narrator read the article about Sonny and everything from the past came flooding back to him, “Sonny was wild, but he wasn’t crazy” (146) the narrator states in disbelief. Another example of this cringing feeling is near the end of “Sonny’s Blues” as the narrator elaborates “that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky” (175). The narrator quotes this as he reminisces on the many years of suffering he and Sonny endured. Even though James Baldwin’s short story is spread in the span of a decade, the narrator can vividly remember the memories that make him recoil as he states “The same things happen, they’ll have the same thing to remember”
The narrator internalizes his pain and chooses to deal with it through the safety of routine and conformity, while Sonny expresses his pain through his music and uses it as a means of catharsis. Finally, their differing attitudes towards their African American identity serve as another example of their contrasting personalities. The narrator is comfortable with his identity and has integrated into mainstream society, while Sonny struggles to find his place in a world that often marginalizes African Americans. These examples illustrate the stark differences between the two brothers and highlight the challenges of maintaining a relationship with a family member who is vastly different from
In this book Glory is overwhelmed with how her town is handling people who are different than they are. She realizes that her favorite local pool is closing down so colored people can’t swim with the whites. Glory becomes an activist herself and writes a letter to the newspaper lining which makes her preacher father proud. Therefore, the theme of this book is to treat everyone equally, such as when Glory’s friend Frankie from Ohio drinks out of the “colored fountain”. Also, when Glory’s sisters boyfriend that he was arrested for sitting with a “colored friend” at the white table.
There are many events that can foreshadow the rest of one’s life for the better, or, for the worst. In Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Jane (the narrator) struggles with a mental illness that causes her to become very weak so her husband, John, takes her to a country home to heal. While at the house she stays in a room that has old yellow wallpaper. Jane is deeply disturbed yet highly intrigued and maintains her deep inspections of the wallpaper as she stays there.
“Sonny’s Blues” is not just about Sonny's decisions and struggles but also about how they affect the narrator. This story is as much about family and brotherhood and the relationship between these two men as it is about the character of
Secondly, throughout the story, the narrator describes seeing an evolving woman trapped inside of the wall. Although readers can assume that this woman is merely a product of the narrator’s mind, the woman can also be seen as a symbol of the narrator and her feelings of being trapped. Eventually, the woman in the wall aids the narrator in her escape. In conclusion, many elements of the narrator’s increasing madness throughout The Yellow Wallpaper contributed to her freedom from the confines of the room, the confines of society, and the confines of her
However, in stories such as “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator’s point of view is what truly helps define the setting and symbolism. Without the narrator’s distinct point of view on how she
Passage Analysis #1 Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman, in this particular passage of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” explores the theme of female oppression through imagery and symbolism of the wall-paper. These elements of literature make the wall-paper come to life for both the narrator and the audience. “The front pattern does move”(55) personifies the wall-paper to be so animate and physically restraining that the woman behind it must shake it to attempt to escape. The italicization of “does” serves to further affirm that the wallpaper exhibits restrictive human-like behaviors - particularly those of dominant men in society. The narrator states that there are “a great many woman behind”(55), extending the metaphor to all Victorian women in the United States and others around the world who are oppressed.
This particular paragraph in “Sonny’s Blues” is incredibly important to the development and resolution of the story. At this moment, the narrator is watching his brother play the piano for the first time. He is overwhelmed by the sensations he receives from the music and also gains insight on his brother’s life. The narrator realizes that music is how Sonny expresses his feelings and how he copes with the struggles of everyday life. Without this paragraph, we lose the breakthrough moment the narrator has regarding his relationship with his brother.
Connie and the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” are both vulnerable and victims of circumstance. The narrator is an accurate representation of the typical treatment of women at the beginning of the 20th century, the confinement and repression she
Oppression is defined as prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control. Cruel and unjust punishment is just the beginning for the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Charlotte Gilman while writing the “The Yellow Wallpaper” deciding to make it into a series of diary entries from a woman who is suffering from post-partum depression. The narrator begins by describing this large home that she and her husband have rented for the summer. Their summer house stands away from the road and contains many locks and little houses.
The protagonist's fantasy about people in the wallpaper addresses the idea of supernatural elements in its most prominent form. Throughout the story, several Gothic elements are explored. The most prominent elements are isolation, insanity, and the supernatural. The eerie events that occur throughout the story and its literary elements of Victorian Literature develop “The Yellow