ethical theory

A detailed Summary of ethical theory

In Charlotte Perkins Gillman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" the author writes about the narrator's descent into madness. In this story the main character is a women whose reality is twisted by mental illness. Her mental state grows increasingly unbalanced as the story progresses. Her focal point is the disturbing yellow wallpaper that lines her bedroom wall. The narrator's descent into madness is shown by her transformation from an ordinary optimistic woman into a nervous, increasingly weak, paranoid, and delusional person who has lost all touch with reality.

The narrator starts out by describing herself and her husband as "ordinary" people. She is optimistic and rooted in reality as she describes her surroundings in pleasant detail: "The most beautiful place" and "There is a delicious garden." (667) The narrator also talks about her husband and how loving he is towards her: "He is very careful and loving and hardly lets me stir without special direction, he takes all care from me." (668) In the beginning of the story the narrator also doesn't like the wallpaper. She describes it as having " repellant color, almost revolting, a smoldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow turning sunlight." (669)

Now, the narrator becomes increasingly weak as time goes on, her lucid thoughts are becoming farther apart and require greater effort to muster: "It is getting to be a great effort for me to think straight. Just this nervous weakness I suppose." (672) She begins to separate herself from her husband and Jennie by referring to them as "them". As she begins to lose her grip with reality she sees things in the wallpaper that are not there. At this point; however, she still wishes her husband would take her away from the house. She still has a glimmer of hope at this point in the story but it is quickly fading.

By now all reality is gone and her descent into madness is in its final stage. She believes she is no longer alone at night for the paper is always with her: "I wasn't alone a bit! As soon as it was moonlight and that poor thing began to shake the pattern, I got up and ran to help her." (677) All the narrator cares about now is the paper. She tries to free the woman who is held within the wallpaper by tearing the paper down from the wall. Finally, she is completely lost when she attempts to tie the woman with rope as she comes out of the paper but unknowingly ties herself up.

omes increasingly nervous and pessimistic as time goes on: "These nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing." (669) She grows

Some common words found in the essay are:
Yellow Wallpaper, John Jennie, beginning story, descent madness, begins lose, yellow wallpaper, 669 narrator increasingly, narrator's descent madness, story narrator, person lost, 669 narrator, narrator increasingly, narrator's descent, increasingly weak,

Approximate Word count = 895
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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ethical theory

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