...I woke up feeling uncomfortably hot. My lower back and cheeks felt flushed and my eyes opened with ease, like I hadn’t slept at all. My thick curtains blocked all sunlight and the dainty Christmas lights that lined my bed all year were twinkling, they created an atmosphere that was typical of my room, no matter what time of day it was. My parents gave me a hard time about sleeping with those lights on but I like having them on, they feel safe. I lay in my intertwined sheets and lush pillows staring at the photos that cover my wall. I had an entire wall filled with photos I took on my 1970 Konica 35mm camera, and I have a drawer filled with rolls of film yet to be developed. I stared at all the smiling faces and all the beautiful scenery. Hundreds of moments in my life that I felt I should capture. For me that’s what photography is about. It’s to remind myself that I am happy. When everything in the world seems awful and dark I have proof right in front of me that I can be ok. Each photo is like a note to my future self, that there are more beautiful memories to be made, and more pictures to be taken. The comforters tangled around my legs became suddenly unbearable and with a flare of irritation I began to make my bed perfectly before crawling back in and trying to fall back to sleep.Unsurprisingly it was to no use. After tossing and turning for what felt like hours I came to the conclusion that I had no idea what day it was or what time it might be. Its crazy how my brain...
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...Ineffective Treatment of Postpartum Depression The short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman brings to light the mistreatment of women’s mental health issues in the late nineteenth century in the American society. Rena Korb is a writer and editor says, “’The Yellow Wallpaper’ commands attention not only for the harrowing journey into madness it portrays, but also for its realism” ("The Yellow Wallpaper" 284). In the story "The Yellow Wallpaper," a woman falls into postpartum depression and her doctor recommended a treatment called the “rest cure,” which contributed to her madness because her condition was not yet understood and therefore never diagnosed. The story "The Yellow Wallpaper” was based on Gilman’s personal experience...
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...Rachael Paige 6/14/15 Introduction to Literature Writing Assignment 1 “The Yellow Wallpaper” Analysis After reading the short story again, my views of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman have stayed mostly consistent with a few deviations from my original reaction. I’ve read the story with a more focused desire on understanding it much more in depth than the first time. I tried to pick up on some more literary details like the tools Gilman uses to tell the story; theme, irony and the symbolism. I’ve also looked into the character John, the narrator’s husband, once more to better understand him. “The Yellow Wallpaper” was a short story that showcased the troubles of women in marriage, the evils of depression, and the importance of independence. The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses theme and symbolism in great volumes to portray her ideas. First, to break down the meaning of the title and essentially the room the narrator is “caged” into, the author uses great symbolism and imagery. The yellow of the wallpaper is very dingy and gross, the color yellow even symbolizes decay, rotting, violence, and approach of death. Choosing this color not only characterizes the way the wallpaper already appears, but foreshadows the way the narrator feels by the end of the story. The walls of the room are barriers both physically and emotionally for the narrator; walls are typically symbols of barriers between people or barriers that shut out the world. Together...
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...Rough Waters a Relief for Depression Sufferers Yessenia Diaz Rough Waters is unlike any film I've seen that tackles depression. While you may be trapped in your own mind at the beginning of this film, by the end you are set free and able to consider life again through the account of Katie Kim. Gray and blue take control over the film and rain drips down onto windows to set the mood for the story of Katie Kim who had failed at committing suicide. Her attempt at suicide was unsuccessful and today she is grateful to have a second chance at life.Rough Waters is a documentary of Katie's current endeavors. Unfortunately, in the United States, there are about 44,193 successful suicides (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). Katie was not one of these...
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...Professor Ostrom ENGL 210 7 December 2012 A Grotesque Depression There are a lot of things throughout life that could make a person depressed. They could have lost someone close to them, problems in their work place or schooling, or just a mind set that the person has. What exactly is depression? Depression is a disorder that is feeling sad, guilty, and helplessness. It can lead to changes in a person’s diet, or sleeping patterns. According to Dr. Prentis Price, 19.5 million Americans are affected by depression in a single year. A few important symptoms of depression are: feelings of helplessness, guilt, hopelessness, and worthlessness. Writers often use depression as a tool to establish a certain tone, style, or even to describe the whole setting. That is how the book Winesburg, Ohio, written by Sherwood Anderson, is set up. Sherwood uses depression in almost every form possible throughout these stories to portray his idea. The biggest use of depression in his book is when he talks about the truths that make the each character grotesque. Each truth a character has changes the character into an unnatural character. Each hidden truth presents another level of depression for each character. A truth can be destructive in its own way. A truth will always try to fight its way out of the person and the longer a person holds in that truth, the more damaging it can become on, not only the character themselves, but also to people around them. Hiding a truth makes a person...
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...The Baby Yellows “The Yellow Wallpaper”, a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is an unnerving tale about a woman and her spiral into psychosis. Mirroring the author’s actual experiences with depression and the “resting cure”, the story criticizes medical care that ignores patient concerns and deprives them of emotional outlets that could have been beneficiary towards a healthy mind. Set in the late nineteenth century, “The Yellow Wallpaper” illustrates the psychological effects of the popular “resting cure” and how the narrator is influcenced by it. While the illness the narrator has is never actually said, it is very heavily implied that she is suffering from postpartum depression. Eventually, her husband’s reliance on the “resting cure” and denying her healthy mental activities is what causes her depression to grow into postpartum psychosis. Postpartum depression is a form of depression typically affecting women after childbirth. Symptoms of postpartum depression include hallucinations and delusions, extreme agitation or anxiety, overwhelming fatigue, bizarre behavior, mood swings, inability or refusal to eat or sleep, and over worrying about the infant. The narrator showcases all of these symptoms, leading to the heavy assumption that she is suffering from postpartum depression. The narrator regularly experiences hallucinations, seeing a woman trapped behind bars in the pattern of the wallpaper. Gilman writes, “The front pattern does move- and no wonder! The woman...
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...A Journey A Journey is a story written by Colm Tóibín in 2006. The story is about Mary, her family and their problems. In this essay I will find out what could cause the problems. To support my claims I will make an analysis and interpret the short story “A journey” in which I will put my interpretation into perspective with this to other items. The story starts in media res where we get introduced to Mary the protagonist, and her son David. At the beginning of the story there is a flashback. The flashback is from David’s childhood. Suddenly the story moves on to present time, where Mary picks her son up from the hospital and drives him home. Almost the whole story takes place in the car. Mary is an ordinary married woman and it seems like she has an unhappy and depressed family. She lives with her husband Seamus and her son David, in the house her father gave her at her weeding. David is suffering from a depression and Mary does not know why, neither can she figure it out. Mary seems to be a good and careful mother “She dreamed for a second that they had not sold it and thought that working there every day might help David” Even though if it seems like Mary has been a good mother, she still has not spend a enough of her time with David when he was child. “Mrs. Redmond, who lives in a nearby cottage and whose husband died just after David was born, came in every day to help and babysat at night if they wanted to get out” This might indicate that it was not Mary...
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...person without the author actually knowing it. Tillie Olsen, the author of “I Stand Here Ironing,” was born into a middle class working family. She was born before the Great Depression, which means she grew up during it. “ I Stand Here Ironing” took place during the Great Depression and the main character is Emily. Emily is the first born in the family and she was the only baby that was beautiful at birth. She is a loner who has always been self-conscious of her dark hair and complexion; this makes her insecure. Through out the story the reader learns what the mom had to go through in order to raise her children. At the beginning of “I Stand Here Ironing” an unknown character tells the narrator that her daughter Emily needs help. The mother then goes to explain that there is nothing she can do for her at this point. Emily grew up a beautiful baby but she was troubled by illnesses. Her father had to leave their family to go find work. This was a normal thing to do during the depression but it left her mother alone with her. In the story you learn that the mother would work any job just to provide for Emily. As Emily grew up her appearance changed and her skin got darker. She did not look as good as she did when she was a child. This turned her into a loner and she became more insecure. In the short story the narrator explains that Emily always had a reason to skip school. Emily hated school because of her insecurities. Not only was she insecure but she had a mean teacher...
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...ever—The Great Depression. The Joad family is struggling to find salvation during this tough time period. Because of this, they must travel from Oklahoma to California in order to start a new life. The Great Depression affected everyone in the United States, some people worse than others. Steinbeck uses several different strategies to interpret the social issue during this time period. By using the literary techniques of setting, tone/mood, and dialogue/language, Steinbeck composes a creative commentary on the Great Depression and how it affected the lives of Americans. One way Steinbeck produces creative commentary is through the use of different settings. The setting is where the story takes place, and in this story, the setting shifts several times as the family travels across the country to California. The story opens with an illustrious description of the setting. Through the description, “A day went by and the wind increased, steady, unbroken by the gusts. The dust from the roads fluffed up and spread out and fell on the weeds beside the fields, and fell into the fields a little way…” (Steinbeck 2), it reveals a horrible event. It sends the Joads and other tenant farmers into despair and into poverty. With their crops ruined, and their entire world covered in dust, farmers like the Joads cannot make do. From the start, the setting reveals the effects of the Great Depression on society. Droughts and lack of production crippled the farmers and economy. As the story progresses...
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...In the beginning of the story, the reader learns that the narrator suffers from “nervous depression.” This type of mental illness is incredibly dangerous when left untreated. The narrator’s only source of attempted treatment is from her husband, John, who is a physician. He tells her that she is to stay home all day and that she must not have a lot of contact with the outside world. The narrator’s only other interactions are with her sister-in-law, Jennie. One side-effect of nervous depression is severe excitement over small occurrences. By the end of the story, the narrator is absolutely sure that she can see a woman protruding through the wall. This causes her to become even more excited, and with no one she trusts to tell of what she thinks...
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...A journey A “Mammy, how do people die?”. This very first sentence in the story is rather essential of the theme and interpretation of the novel. Not only does the question itself referee to depression and disillusionment but it also tells us about David and his way of thinking about life in general. The story starts in media res with a flashback followed by the actual situation with Mary driving her son home from the hospital after it seems as if he has had a minor depression. “The doctors called it depression”. David doesn’t want to talk with his mom in defiance to his Childhood, which we get to know as a time where David was chat-fully inclined. However, the relationship between Mary and David seems very tight and the fact that he sits in the backseat of the car instead of beside her just supports this statement. This could be due to the lack of presence from the parents side. In one of the many flashbacks we get to know of Davids childhood, which beard the stamp of the babysitter mrs. Redmond. David got a very special relationship with this woman and reckoned her as a second mother. It seems as if David reluctantly accepts the changing environments. The fact that David is constantly following his mother around and asking her questions points to a much more serious problem here. When David asks a lot of questions it's clearly an attempt to associate with his parents. Mary doesn't seem to understand this, as she just answers the questions randomly without thinking...
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...Depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or longer. It is normal for a teenager to feel sad or have uneasy feelings. When it doesn’t go away or stop, that is when it becomes a problem. It is actually more common in teens to go through depression. Grades, school, social status with peers, family, or life are some of the reasons why someone can be depressed. Holden Caulfield, from the story “The Catcher in the Rye”, was depressed because of some of these causes. He wasn’t able to find happiness and had severe guilt. The symptoms for depression can be really easy to spot. It is a change in behavior that you may see in someone. Depression symptoms can be different for every person. The more symptoms you have, and the longer you have them will more likely be that you are going through depression. All the symptoms will vary depending on what a teenager is going through. These are symptoms of depression: feeling hopelessness, appetite or weight changes, sleep changes, anger or irritability, self-loathing, concentration problems, and unexplained aches or pains. Other symptoms are excessive feeling of guilt, skipping school, sudden drop in grades, withdrawal from friends, and feeling sadness. Just like the way there are different causes for depression, there are also different way people will get treated for this. What may work for one person might not work for someone else. It will take time for...
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...Jessie Georgina Sime, Sinclair Ross, and Margaret Laurence all share one key element in their respective short stories. That common element is the fact that all three short stories’ settings directly impact the lifestyle, but, more importantly, the growth and decisions of the people (the individual and the wider society) involved. To begin with, Sime’s urban realism is used to depict the life of a woman during World War I. She discusses and expands on the idea of the new woman. Furthermore, she notes and how the emergence of this idea of the new woman had a great impact on society and the individual. More specifically, she points out how women went from noiseless to being heard. Furthermore, as we move from urban life to the prairies, Ross explores what is means to live and the effects of living in the prairies with prairie realism. The mother in Ross’ “The Runaway” experiences anger as a result of the great depression and the lifestyle...
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...with cinematic techniques is definitely a challenge. The original story, written by John Steinbeck consistently uses the contract of light and darkness and imagery at the beginning of every chapter as his literary techniques to highlight the social conditions of the American Great Depression. On the other hand, Gary Sinise's adaptions uses a variety of cinematic techniques, such as lighting, shot and angle, and character costumes to represent the original story. At the beginning of Chapter 3, ''Although there was evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunk, inside it was dusk,'' and ''Slim....turned on the light tin shaded electric light.... Instantly...
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...Charlotte Gilman uses her experience with postpartum depression to create a short story called “The Yellow Wallpaper”, that describes a woman with hallucinations from confinement. The narrator's husband, John, is a doctor who belittles his wife as if she’s a child, which is only normal for this time period. While the narrator is trapped in a room with yellow wallpaper, she realizes there is more than one woman trapped behind the wall, it symbolizes she is not the only individual dealing with this problem. By writing this story, the author is not only condemning the narrator's husband, John, but the whole society of the 19th century. In Charlotte Gilman’s story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator and her husband have an unequal relationship, her husband is controlling and domineering, and themes in this story prove society of the 19th century was not much better....
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