Metaphor Analysis of the Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper is filled with examples of metaphors. The easiest metaphor to see is in the title of the short story. The yellow wallpaper plays a significant role in the progression of the story. The narrator finds the wallpaper absolutely hideous, so hideous in fact that she asks her husband to sleep in another room because she can't stand it. As the story progresses and her mental strength deteriorates, the narrator finds herself intrigued by the wallpaper. The narrator's imagination creates a pattern on the wallpaper that does not actually exist. Instead of focusing on the ugly yellow color, she studies the pattern. As she studies the paper she sees what she thinks to be a woman trapped inside of it. Towards the end of the story when the narrator had succumbed to insanity, she tears the paper off of the walls and creeps around the room in a way that terrifies me to think of. (I had to turn the light on when I was rereading the story.) So to put this in a way that takes a lot of words to say, the wallpaper represents male dominance and also feminine submission during this time period. The wallpaper driving the narrator insane represents freedom. It was against the status quo for a woman to openly speak out against the will of men during the time this story was written. Insanity is also against the status quo in not just that time period but any time period. The "smouldering unclean yellow" color is a reference to the "illness" that her husband believes she has. To combat her "illness", he prescribes lots of rest and time alone to relax and recover. He refuses to let her leave the room. As an example of her submissiveness, she says "I wish I could get well faster." The wallpaper soon becomes more that just a symbol the narrator being imprisoned. It ends up being the thing that imprisons her. The bed also serves the same purpose as it is immovable and further contributes to her confinement.

As you dig deeper into the story you find other metaphors that take a little background knowledge to understand. In ancient cultures, the moon was associated with female power. This was a present idea in the story as well. During the day, the narrator was confined to her room while her husband was at work. This is a symbol of the role of the two genders at this time. The men worked and provided for the family while the women tended to the house. However, during the night while the husband was asleep the narrator was free to let her mind wander. At one point in the story, she actually gets up and wanders around the room at night. She says the paper reveals something different in the moonlight. It acts as an escape from the male-dominated confines of the day and allows her to roam freely, much like the woman that the narrator sees in the paper.

Introduction to Me

My name is Jonathan Midgett.

          I play tenor saxophone in the marching, concert, and jazz band. Music is the thing I am most passionate about. I play it, I write it, I sing it (very badly), and of course I listen to it. I've written a few songs but I mostly write freestyle verses. My favorite genres of music are punk (mostly metalcore and post-hardcore), rap, rock and jazz. My favorite artist is Ray Charles and my favorite song by him is Unchain My Heart. You'll see me waving my arms around like an idiot because I'm conducting the music I'm listening to. Because of that, I've found out why I could never be a drum major.

          I love to write. To me, it's one of the greatest ways to express myself and vent when I'm having hard times or even when I'm having good times. I said before that I've written songs and freestyle verses. Writing freestyle verses is so much fun because the rules of the English language don't have to apply. Of course you have to rhyme with verses but you get to play with the pronunciation of words. You get to switch up the order of your sentences to make them fit the rhythm of the beat you're writing to. When I don't want to be confined to the rhythm of a song I like to write spoken word. I mean, there is a rhythm to it but you get to make it. You get to change it whenever and however you want throughout the piece.

          That's really all the important stuff so I guess I'll wrap up with a few smaller details about myself. I run the mile and 800 meter in track. I'm a Chief Petty Officer in ROTC. One of my pupils is bigger than the other and I like to take long enthusiastic walks for no apparent reason (not without my headphones).