The Yellow Wallpaper

Gilman seems to be trying to point out the differences in how gender plays a role in regards to intellect. We already know that men in the time period are seen almost as a higher status, the breadwinner, the intelligent decision-maker of the household. Women on the other hand are seen as a lower status, a housewife who is in charge of the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children; a.k.a. ignorant when it comes to making decisions regarding almost anything.

Gilman portrays John as an unlikable character who treats his wife like “little girl” (p 360) instead of his wife. In a way, John could be compared to the wallpaper holding the woman away like he holds his wife pretty much captive in the house because she is “sick”. Since she did not follow the norms of being a mother (post-partum depression), she is not only seen as a woman in a lower status but now she is seen as ignorant because she is not able to take care of their child because “it makes [her] so nervous” (p 357). When the woman in the wallpaper/the wife is finally freed, this could be seen as Gilman’s writing to affect a change in a way that forces those in society reading this text to see how women are thought of as ignorant or not as intellectual as men. The change of course would be that she is encouraging that women pick themselves up and do something about it.

In Alcott’s A Whisper in the Dark, Sybil and her mother are held captive (like the wife and woman in the wallpaper) by men (like John) for no other reason than the convenience of not having to deal with the women because the men are the intellects and know how to handle things and don’t need the women around. Alcott’s message could be taken the same way as Gilman’s. Women are being encouraged to speak up for themselves and not let women be labeled as ignorant beings who should follow their husband’s, brother’s, guardian’s, etc, command without giving thought to it first.

Boyhood

I think there was a valid point made in class regarding Tom Sawyer vs Ragged Dick. I had said from the beginning that I did not like Ragged Dick and thought he was a brat because he was boastful and rude (or at least I thought) toward Johnny when he said, for example, about his new clothes that he got from Frank. He told Johnny that he “lent [his] clothes to a young feller as was goin’ to a party, and didn’t have non fit to wear, and do [he] put on [his] second best for a change” (p285).

Tom Sawyer I liked just because I think he is an adorable little boy and that he is smart. I think I like him a lot more mostly because I knew him (the story) from earlier years. Tom’s whole stunt with the fence whitewashing, I totally loved it! When I first read this in previous years I thought it was genius! I did this with my brother and the dishes…until of course he got old enough to figure it out. Tom just learned that “in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is necessary to make the thing difficult to attain” (p330-331).
Now, of course I am sure there are some that see what I am writing and think its crazy that I can like one boy that pulls jokes on his friends and call it genius and not like the other who is just playing a joke on his friend. I think though a point was made in class that Dick is the way he is because he was raised in the city and he has to do things in order to survive. While I commend him for that, I don’t like the way he handles him self, like when he scared the apple lady with the taxes issue. Tom however, is a country boy and does not have to earn his living or live on the streets, he plays jokes because he is just a kid playing jokes. All little boys play jokes on each other. I just happen to like the way that Tom handles himself better than I like the way Dick handled himself.

Ragged Dick

Religion plays a different role between little boys and little girls. Ellen was constantly being encouraged to rely on God, believe in God, do His will. It was expected of her, just as it is expected for the little girls in 19th century literature to accept God and religion and do no harm or sin.

However, the role of religion with little boys is quite different. Ragged Dick didn’t even know what a bible really was, only that there was a “Bible house” with “a big pile of ‘em” (303). He was not expected to rely on God or believe in God or do His will. Instead he is to be independent and rely on himself in order to be successful in life.

Why is this so different? I mean, when I was young my brother and I were both taught about church, Jesus, God and His love and that we should try our best not to sin? However, I have noticed in recent years that I am expected to be at church with my mom but my brother has a choice as to whether or not he wants to go. Why are the girls taught and demanded to attend church and the boys essentially have the choice? I have always wondered this.

It does not surprise me that Dick did not rely on God or that he did not know what a Bible was, it wasn’t expected in this sort of literature and time period.

A Whisper in the Dark

Before insanity was brought into the picture, the text was more of a crazy, upside down love affair with many hidden messages and trickery. Now it is completely opposite in that we are slowing watching (reading) as Sybil slips deeper and deeper into a psychotic state. She is slowly going mad and not only do we know it as readers but she does as well. We as readers can “see” her thoughts as she feels as though her “health was going, [her] mind growing confused and weak; [her] thoughts wandered vaguely, memory began to fail, and idiocy or madness seemed [her] inevitable fate…” (pg 241).

Originally, because Sybil was manipulative and “coquettish” (pg 219), I believed her to be a brat who thought she could get away from everything and that if bad things happened to her, then she deserved it; “you get what you ask for.” However, as I was reading into Sybil’s mind, I kept thinking about my Psychiatric and Mental Health nursing class and my perception of her changed from a negative one to that of empathy for a young girl forced into a situation where she was slowly going mad. She tried to fight it at first by trying to escape over “a high wall [that] enclosed [the garden] on every side” (pg 239). She got caught again and her “spirit was crushed, [her] strength gone, [and her] freedom lost” (pg 239). Sybil’s “hope died” (pg 242) as she went through this struggle to maintain her sanity.

As for the mother/daughter relationship, it was not what I expected. They were connected in a way that was, what I believe, the truest and strongest bond between a mother and her daughter. Sybil thought her mother to be dead when in fact she was only one floor away from her in the same building. Her mother died trying to save her by leaving her messages in the dog’s collar and whispering “Find it! For God’s sake find it before it is too late!...The dog—a lock of hair—there is yet time” (pg 243). Even thought they never really met or created the kind of relationship expected by this time period, the unspoken bond of love between them was very evident.

The Hidden Hand

We have talked about the innocence of children and how that innocence can be related to God and His son when He said, “let the little children come to me”. This struck out to me in the text on page 179 when Old Hurricane first found out that the “newsboy, [his] saucy little prince of patches” was in fact actually Capitola who dressed as a boy in order to succeed in finding work to earn money for food. Old Hurricane, under his violent and stubborn exterior actually feels for her when she looked at him and her expression “appealed to the rugged heart of the old man.” We are taught that children are the innocence of life and are to be protected at all costs. Well, Old Hurricane definitely puts his protection in action when he defends Capitola saying that the Recorder that a young girl dressed any way should be treated “with the delicacy due to womanhood…and the tenderness owed to childhood…for she is but a bit of a poor, friendless, motherless, fatherless child, lost and wandering in your great Babylon!” Old Hurricane’s defense is somewhat of showing him as a Savior. He, like Jesus, is not only defending Capitola from her persecutors because she is but an innocent girl, but also claiming her as his own, which is like when Jesus said, “let the little children come to me.” Old Hurricane becomes the protection and shelter that Capitola has been waiting for and deserves. He did not judge her, but invited her to all he had, just as God tells us in the Bible; and Old Hurricane, like God, is the Hidden Hand that helps those innocents in need.

Lamplighter

Depictions of girls. That is some concept that actually seemed to stump me. I guess I never really thought about it before. Throughout Gerty’s life in the story, Lamplighter, I felt mostly sympathy for her. She had it so rough, it was depressing that the people said she “look[ed] like a witch!” (p 81). Then True took notice of her and she became “the apple of [his] eye” (p110). Amy Pholer asked “This show is about girls being themselves, what advice would you give?” (or at least something along those lines). The girl on the video answers “Don’t think about what you have to do for people to like you, you want people to like you for who you are”. If Gerty had been asked this she may have answered differently or even oppositely given what she has been through. She has hidden herself for so long that it is all she knows. Even with True, she still seems to hide herself. Once exposed to God and religion she still is somewhat negative and resistant because she doesn’t think that the other girls should be treated fairly since she never was. It’s a constant battle within herself that she may or may not know about. This is happening with contemporary girls today also, especially since today’s society seems to value looks even more. Girls today feel as though they need to prove themselves in order to be liked and accepted. I don’t agree with it, nor would I think most people, but just as it happened in the past, it is happening now as well.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Yes, there is a lot of things about this text that go against the didactic purposes of children's literature. However, IF we look at Tom, as discussed in class, as a representation of Jesus Christ, then the hidden message is somewhat clear. Tom was the one that everyone seemed to go to for help, like Jesus Christ who said “let the little children come to me.” Tom did not discourage or encourage them in their own disobedience but instead, like Jesus Christ, he accepted them and gave them what they needed. Tom never went through the abuse from his masters. This could be seen as: he was never disobedient or disrespectful so therefore he was never punished. Tom’s obedience is seen when he is talking with his master and that ever since he “jist eight years old when ole Missis put [his master] into [his] arms, and [his master] wasn't a year old.” And the Misses said “Tom, that's to be your young Mas'r; take good care on him” (p 112). Tom’s then asks his master if he “ever broke word to [him], or gone contrary to [him], 'specially since [Tom] was a Christian?” (p 112). The message here would be that if children/people are obedient to their masters (elders, etc.) then they will not be punished. Therefore there is a didactic purpose that can be drawn from this story. Since Stowe wrote to upper class women (as mentioned in class), and since women were the main caregivers of the children, reading this could also be seen as a concept for the mothers to teach their children; the concept of obedience. This is somewhat of a far fetched idea, but I liked it and thought it to be very plausible.

The Wide, Wide World

The text comes off as viewing parents on separate levels. The first being the father, whose role was that of the bread winner and dictator of the household. He actually seemed relieved to be rid of his daughter by his comment to his wife that he was “…very glad of it, indeed…it’s quite a load off [his] mind” (p 70), and since he is the one in charge, the wife could not argue with him. My first reaction was a very negative one because I just couldn’t believe a father would feel that way, given that I am very much a “daddy’s girl”. My second thought was that maybe he had a purpose for feeling a sense of relief. Maybe he did not want to see his daughter go through the pain of actually losing her mother to the sickness. Maybe the thought of her just being gone on a “trip” would be easier to handle for an 8 year old girl who is devoted to her mother. When he entered her room to tell her she must leave that morning he saw her sleeping peacefully and “it touched him…it made him loth to say the word that could drive all that sweet expression so quickly and completely away” (p 74). Once again, he is the one in charge and had to make the difficult decision to send Ellen away.

The mother on the other hand plays out the roles of nurturing Ellen as well as teaching her what it takes to be a woman on her own. She is notably much more loving and devoted to her daughter. She seems almost depressed at the thought of sending Ellen away knowing that she would never “see or touch even the little inanimate things that belonged to” Ellen and that “her heart failed her” (p 72) even as she tried to go into her room one last time. Throughout the reading she is constantly encouraging Ellen to hold her own composure and put faith in God, as well as teaching her the things a woman ought to know.

The non-parent of the story was the old man in the store who played out his role as the supportive, generous father or grandfatherly-like figure. He sees Ellen’s distress at the store “set himself in good earnest about righting the wrong” (p 61) that the store clerk had done to her. He then continues his kindness by generously spoils her throughout and after the whole ordeal in order to make her happy.

As I mentioned before in the first two paragraphs, the mother’s and father’s roles were very different. The author lets us know in the way that shows how the mother is always available to Ellen where as the father is hardly around to help out Ellen or her mother. He is the breadwinner and dictator of the household whereas the mother is the one who has the close bond with her daughter and shows her affection by ensuring that Ellen has everything she needs to be a successful, self-efficient woman.

Ellen’s perceptions of her parents seem to me to be completely opposite. She admires her mother and spends every minute with her or helping her or make her tea and toast “with the zeal that love gives” (p 26). However, she actually avoids her father as seen when she and her mother plan a shopping trip and went “upstairs to do some little matters of business in her own room” (p 39) until her father left. Again at the end after her father tells her she must leave with Mrs. Dunscombe, Ellen she takes her time getting ready in order to wait “to hear her father’s step come out of the room and go downstairs” (p 76) before she could even see her mother. The roles that they each play in her life is that of the one she can go to for everything and anything (her mother) and the one who she must respect and do what is told by him (her father).

There are so many theories for analyzing children and children's literature in both MacLeod's "Children's Literature for a New Nation" and Sanchez-Eppler's introduction to Dependent States: The Child's Part in Nineteenth-Centure American Culture, that it is difficult to aim at just five of them. However, I have managed to pick the ones that "stuck out in my mind" the most.

According to MacLeod, children's literature must have a didactic function to it. The literature is for entertaining the children audience however it also must teach a lesson or have a hidden meaning of some sort. The most prominent lesson or hidden message seems to be that of morality. MacLeod states that "all Americans of the period [agree] that a high level of individual morality was indispensable if the promise of the nation's future was to be fulfilled" (p 89).

This leads me into my next theory being that the "children are our future," which is a comment that I tend to hear a lot, from my parents, grandparents, teachers, even our president. This topic is mentioned a lot in many different literature pieces. MacLeod points out that there are "connections between an anxious, unsettled society and a didactic, moralizing literature for children" (p 97). By teaching morality, obedience, responisibility, etc., the children can learn and become better citizens and therefore the future has a chance of being greater than it is currently.

However, this thinking then brings up the topic of dependency. Sanchez-Eppler states that "childhood is not only culturally, but also legally and biologically understood as a period of dependency" (p xvi). Children depend on adults for care, instruction, and direction in their lives. On the opposite side of the coin, are adults depending on children to lead better lives so that the future for them and the adults will be greater? Are adults living through the children the way they would if they could change their past? As I read Sanchez-Eppler's introduction, I couldn't help but ask myself these questions and I must agree, this is what it seems like to me. Adults teach through their own experiences because they depend on the children to learn, make better lives, and then allow the adults to depend on them for quality of life as they get older.

On another note, adults in society tend to pride themselves on children being the future for all even though they "consistently [fail] to support the daily needs of children, underfunding schools, dismantling welfare programs, refusing to grant children's voices as assured rolde in the institutions that most directly impact their lives, and generally disregarding the rampant juvenilization of poverty" (p xv) according to Sanchez-Eppler. Society wants the children to better the future but is not providing the necessary steps, needs, etc. for the children to do so.

Lastly, I thought it was interesting what Sanchez-Eppler brings up the topic that "there are as yet no archives of children's writings" (p xvii). We have been talking about children and childhood in the literature that was written for mostly a child audience and in some cases an adult audience BUT what about the actual writings of a child about their own experiences, thoughts, etc.? How are we to know exactly what the child is learning unless we know what the child thinks? Of course we can always see by their actions but to read what a child puts on paper is to really get into their mind and understand childhood once again and then be able to better understand the liturature written for the child audience.

I am a Texas born, Texas raised Junior Nursing student from Katy, TX with a passion for life. I have a younger brother who will be graduating in May and he and both parents live at home with my 3 adorable cats, Kiki, Angel, and Blackie. I recently "inherited" 2 fish from a friend of the family who moved away and now have just one left (Kiko)...apparently the tap water in FW is no good for fish... I enjoy listening to any sort of music that I am in the mood for, usually country music since that is what I grew up on; and yes, I do sing in the shower...and in the car, my room, down the hall...need I go on? Of course I do occasionally go out dancing at any local clubs. I LOVE movies! My all-time favorite movies are Gone With the Wind and Scarlett! I also love to swim! I was on swim team with the same coach for 11 years and then I helped coach for the past 3 years! In my quiet time I like to read historical romantics because it is my escape from the "real" world. I am also an active member of Eta Iota Sigma, or better known as HIS (He Is Sufficient).

What brought me to TCU? Well I honestly can say that I never even heard of TCU until my aunt told me of her friend who attended TCU for the trainer's program. I wasn't really into going to visit since it was a private school and I knew it would be expensive, but as soon as I set foot on campus, I knew TCU was meant for me. I absoulutely fell in love with the campus, the people, everything! If I were made Chancellor of TCU, the first thing I would change would be the meal plan; and I only say this because it is so expensive. I would not require that every student had to get a meal plan. Instead, I would lower the costs (by re-designing the meal plans), increase the quality of food and then only reqiure freshman to have a meal plan and let the sophomores and upper classmen decide on whether or not they would like a meal plan.

One of the things that really drew me to TCU was the teacher to student ratio. I have always had small classes in the past and it made it easier to establish and develop a relationship with my teachers so that I could come to them for help or even just to visit. To me, a good teacher is one that challenges the student and is attentive to the student's learning style(s). Being a good student helps with the teacher-student relationship as well. Knowing how the class is to be run and doing assignments on time and participating in the class discussions is what makes a good student. All of this combined leads to a great classroom atmosphere.

On a completely different subject, I would love to have a sit-down, relaxed, girls-night-out dinner with Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, and Martina McBride! Ever since I was 8 years old and watched the movie "Steel Magnolias" with my mom, I have wanted her at every birthday party, she would be the top on my guest list! As for Reba and Martina, they both have some of the same qualities as Dolly as well as a character of their own that makes them inspirational to me. I love Dolly's quote: "You gotta have the rain before you can have the rainbow."

As for what I would like y'all to know about me, well, as you can tell, I am a pretty open person and easy to talk to! I love meeting new people and hope that this class will create and renew friendships. I also love food, cooking food and of course eating food. So if anyone else likes to cook, let me know and we should have a cooking night or something. As for what I would like to know from y'all, well I want to know who likes and wants to cook! I would like to know what you're interests are, what you do in your free time (that is, if there is any after classes and homework!). I want to know what your favorite movies are too, since I absolutely LOVE movies! I think a class movie night should definately be on the schedule!

I chose this course honestly because I needed the Literature aspect of it for my TCU Core and because it was located in Bass at a time that fits into my busy nursing schedule. After today's first class, I am excited and a little nervous about all that we have planned to do in the next 16 weeks! I hope to become a better writer, reader, and have a more opened mind when it comes to reading new texts, or even old ones. Currently, most of the reading I do is for my nursing courses...which can get a little boring sometimes. When I want to escape (as I mentioned earlier) I grab one of my historical romantic books and get lost in a world of empowered women, brave and brutal men turned into gentle lovers and most of what I enjoy is the love story of it all. Every now and then I will grab a mystery or thriller book just to change up the mood a little bit. As for my writing, well it mostly consists of random journal entries or poetry that comes to mind. I write down a lot of quotes from various sources including books, songs, the Bible, etc. Of course most of my writing is really texting to my friends or emailing to my family. I have never really thought about my writing as anything but a letter or a text. When I do catch my muse every now and then though, my journal entries and poetry to have a deeper meaning to me. Sometimes, but very rarely, do I even share my collection.

I think (and hope) the way I chose to design my blog, and the way I speak pretty openly on this blog will allow others who decide to read it to be able to talk to me knowing that they can just talk or start a discussion about anything. I am pretty sure, with the length of this blog, as well as the content I provided shows that I am ready and willing to participate in this course. Oh and speaking of this course, I did read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus, which I see as a contract for our course.