Author: Renee A

             My favorite story that we have read is Assimilation. In the story I found it to be extremely easy to follow and very interesting. I thought that the main character Ramon was a true gentleman who was more of an optimistic traditionalist that hoped to find love in controlled situation where he seemed to always get the shortest end of the stick. I also thought Jelena his bride was a very well thought out character. Her motives at first appeared to be as sinister as the family who arranged her union with Ramon.  She was willing to use and mistreat Ramon in order to get what she wanted.  Going as far as attempting to coerced  him into hitting her. I loved that the writer didn’t isolate Ramon and left him clueless and blinded by love. I like the fact that he allowed him to have guidance from his older brother who looked out for him in a world that he didn’t understand.

           The main characters in the story are Ramon, Jelena, the supporting characters are Leon and Borislav.

Borislav employed Ramon, then arranged the marriage of Jelena and Ramon. Ramon made the choice to step out of fate and marry Jelena, and when it looked bad he fought for his marriage. Jelena made the decision to abandon her task and leave with her husband in order to finally be free. Leon was a voice of reason and advice looking out for his brother.

              In my opinion Ramon displayed a mixture of Deontology ethics and virtue ethics, he displays this when he spoke about his mom, and the fact that his parents were married for 40 years after being arranged. He hoped that if he valued and respected his bride he may have the same faith. I also saw it in the scene at the beach when Jelena tried to get him to hit her. He knew it was wrong and was taken aback by even the thought of himself doing that and refused. I think that Jelena is a utilitarian and deontologist. I think that all her actions were done in order to make the best outcome for herself at first then my opinion changed right at the end.  I think that in the end she made the right choice by not hurting Ramon and choosing to leave with him and not bringing alexander to America.

Midterm Essay, English 2001 

Oct 20, 2020

The spirit of perverseness  is described as a driving force that allows characters in a story to do things that they knew would be bad for themselves and others around them. I believe this theme is prevalent in  both “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gillman  and the “The Black Cat” By Edgar  Allen Poe. Both gives first hand narration about characters  who seem to have a mental slip induced by things that happen in their lives or things they brought upon themselves. However, the stories are not the same by means of content or conflict and by the end of each the reader is faced with  the fact that, one narrator knew his actions were wrong by law and the other was so wrapped up in her own mind/depression that she almost couldn’t help herself.   

In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte P Gillman is a sad story told from the point of view of a wife. She lets us know that both her and her husband a doctor names John believed she had a form of depression. Which he viewed as no big deal.  As the plot unfolded the narrator who is the main character becomes so fixated on the wallpaper in her bedroom, that she wanted it removed. She brought these concerns to her husband who stayed in his resolve. “It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate, and provoke study, and when you follow the lame, uncertain curves for a little distance they  suddenly commit suicide…”.  She became obsessed with the wall paper so much so that it seemed to invade all her daily spaces, and thought. In my opinion the spirit of perverseness  rare its head when the narrator had finally had enough. When she could no longer contain her hate for the wallpaper and maintain the illusion of getting better for her husband. Her hysteria came to ahead when she gave life to the wallpaper as she pulled and tugged in a fit of desperation and until every peace was down. To her husbands dismay.