English final exam: Satire in The Yellow Wallpaper (short story) 6/13

What is the definition of satire?

Satire is when a writer uses humor, irony or exaggeration to expose and criticize flaws in people, society or traditions

What is the purpose of satire?

To expose problems in society and to encourage change by showing how absurd something is

What is irony?

Saying the opposite of what you mean

What is a exaggeration?

Making something seem bigger or worse than it really is

What is a parody?

Imitating something in a funny or mocking way

What is an example of a satire in a short story?

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

What satirical elements are in The Yellow Wallpaper?

Gilman uses irony and exaggeration to criticize how women’s mental health was treated in the 19th century

John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage

This line ironically and subtly mocks how women were expected to accept being dismissed or belittled by their husbands.

Why is the example with John considered satire?

Gilman uses irony to criticize gender roles especially the idea that men always know best and women should be quiet, obedient, and weak.

What do you talk about with satire on the final exam?

Talk about how the poem, short story or novel criticizes society or challenge norms

How does Charlotte Perkins Gilman use satire with women’s mental health?

In The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman uses irony and exaggeration to criticize how women’s mental health was treated

What happens after the narrator is told to rest and avoid thinking in The Yellow Wallpaper?

It makes her condition worse

Is the narrator first second or third person?

First person narrator is a women writing in secret

Who is John in Yellow Wallpaper?

Her doctor husband

What does the women often mention?

She often mentions the yellow wallpaper with strange patterns and becomes obsessed with it

What does the room look like?

The room has bars on the windows and a bed nailed to the floor with yellow wallpaper

Where is the women taken to and why?

She is taken to the country house to undergo a “rest cure” for her postpartum depression after giving birth to their child

What does her doctor husband John say?

Her husband John says she’s fine and just needs rest without writing or thinking

What does she start seeing and what does it become a symbol of?

She starts seeing the woman trapped behind the wallpaper as a symbol of herself

“I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!”

The narrator tears down the wallpaper believing she has freed the woman trapped inside

What does John do when he sees the women pull off wallpaper and what does this represent?

John sees her and faints, showing his shock and loss of control

How does the tone of the story change?

The tone changes from confused to obsessive with the women as narrator

What does the short story criticize?

The story criticizes how women were treated as childlike, emotional, and not trusted with decisions

What does the rest cure force the narrator to do and what is the outcome of this?

The “rest cure” forces the narrator to stop working or thinking, which makes her even worse

What does the yellow wallpaper become a symbol of?

The yellow wallpaper becomes a symbol of her mental and emotional prison

Why does the narrator secretly write?

She writes in order to stay sane

What does her journal represent as a symbol?

Her journal is a symbol of rebellion and self-expression

What does John do when the narrator undergoes postpartum depression?

Her doctor husband ignores her needs

What happens to the narrator at the end of the short story?

She has lost her mind, but also escaped her role as a controlled, silenced woman

What does the ending in The Yellow Wallpaper represent?

The ending shows how oppression can destroy someone’s mind, and how madness becomes a kind of freedom

What is the main theme of The Yellow Wallpaper as a short story?

The main theme is the oppression of women, especially how society and medicine controlled and silenced women’s minds and bodies back then

When is the story set?

Late 19th century

What does the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman critique?

Gilman criticizes how women were treated as weak, powerless, and dependent on men in the 19th century