1. The wallpaper is, as the title suggests, the chief symbol in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” What does it symbolize, and how does it work as a symbol? What details about the wallpaper seem significant? How does the narrators attitude toward and vision of the wallpaper change, and what is the significance of those changes? (25 points) 2. Examine the husband-wife relationship in The Yellow Wallpaper.” Is this more a story about mental illness or gender relations? How does the narrator’s physician – husband treat her when she tries to express her feelings of mental illness? Make sure to look closely at the narrators explanations and her direct quotes from her husband. Is he controlling, loving, overbearing, or condescending? Give evidence to support your view. (25 points) 3. In what ways is this passage in “The Story of an Hour” significant?: “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.” What kinds of sensory images does this passage contain, and what senses does it address? What does the vision through the open window mean to her? Where else does she taste, smell, or touch something intangible in the story? (25 points) 4. What view of marriage does “The Story of an Hour” present? The story was published in 1894; does it only represent attitudes toward marriage in the nineteenth century, or could it equally apply to attitudes about marriage today? Do you think Mrs. Mallard is a bad person for the way she feels? (25 points) The link to story wallpaper below: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/theliteratureofprescription/exhibitionAssets/digitalDocs/The-Yellow-Wall-Paper.pdf (the story of and hour link below) https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/
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