Reading Response - Book Report/Review Example

The Yellow Wallpaper Answer Gilmans story The Yellow Wallpaper speaks about the conflict that arises within the narrator due to restriction imposedby her husband. The moot question is that all conflicts are there in her psyche and its roots are within. The reason being she is unable to vent her frustrations by asserting herself openly.The story is a first person narrative that woefully describes her mental state. It is noteworthy that her husband has confined her upstairs in the room with the sole objective that she recuperates physically and mentally.

Writing is her passion and her inner psyche revolts when she is forbidden by her husband to write. This is evident from the fact that when her husband leaves her in the care of his sister Jennie and the servants, she continues to make journal entries covertly. She is asked not to touch pen or pencil as long as she lives. This deprives her from the required mental stimulations and creates a deleterious effect. She often suffers from the nervous breakdown and that is why they have arrived to stay in a new mansion; however, she tends to disagree with her husband and her physician brother that she really needs any rest.

On the contrary, she is of the view that work and socialization would do her more good. This is only partially true as her conflict is not so much with her husband and other family members but, rather, with her own self; its roots can be found in her childhood. She describes: “I used to lie awake as a child and get more entertainment and terror out of blank walls and plain furniture than most children could find in a toy-store” (Gilman 3). This really sounds bizarre. She used to talk with many unanimated things and befriended them as she narrates: “And there was one chair that always seemed like a strong friend” (Gilman 3).

She has been in this house only for three months. It is difficult to understand how one can feel so lonely, bored and frustrated in such a short period that she develops an obsession with yellow wallpaper and starts seeing numerous patterns and colors in them. At the beginning, she finds all patterns and designs meaningless and boring but, as her condition worsens, she finds entirely different meanings in them. In fact, within a few days, wallpaper becomes a big puzzle for her and her mental state worsens so much that she discovers entirely new patterns in them and assumes that no one else can ever find them.

Wallpaper just becomes an outlet for her to vent her thoughts and ideas.From her narrative, it seems that all conflicts are there in her psyche and its roots are within. In her narration, she has not shown any resentment toward her husband, nor is she meted with any ill treatment by her husband or, for that matter, by anyone else. Her confinement in the house is not a sufficient cause for her weird mental state. She is unable to assert herself openly and that could be the chief cause for her frustration.

Gender inequality and inferior social status for women during those days seem to be the reasons for her revolt and vent her thoughts in the form of The Yellow Wallpaper.Answer 2The most productive and useful aspect of this course is that it opens up ones analytical way of thinking and writing effectively.Reading an essay for the sake of reading does not help unless reading is done with certain focus. Usually, any writing has several interpretations and that depends upon date, time, place, social setting, political environment and numerous other factors that guide the writing.

It is often discovered that each repeat reading evokes a new interpretation of the subject and each interpretation triggers new thoughts and notions in our mind making our writing rich and interesting. This course also helps enhance our vocabulary, which is the most crucial aspect while learning an analytical way of communicating. If comprehension is one important aspect then writing the critique methodically and logically is another one. It is said that writing is an art and this course hones that art.

Writing a piece of work in a simple and short language is a daunting task that anyone would like to master. And this course gives an opportunity to learn that. This is a course which acquaints us with the difference between the colloquial and the written forms of a language. In any profession, written communication is equally crucial to convey one’s thoughts in a concise and plain language and this course certainly takes care of that aspect. The course demands expanded vocabulary at the first hand and I would love if this course could teach me some fascinating ways to increase my vocabulary as well so as to accelerate my comprehension of the subject matter spending less time.

Moreover, I would love subjects that deal with the current issues such as environment, racism, energy, trade and culture just to mention a few, in the wake of globalization. This will not only expand my understanding on live issues that the world is currently facing but also help me to widen my vocabulary in those subjects. And finally, it would be surely of a great help if we are provided with a model answer paper on some of the texts at least, once our submissions have been evaluated and notified.

Such model paper can guide us through in improving our writing skills toward our next assignment.Works CitedGilman, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. Small & Maynard, Boston, MA. 1899. Print. (Also available at http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/yellowwallpaper.pdf Retrieved July 24, 2012)