Category Archives: Project #1

Retelling of “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Part Two Essay

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Part 1: Retelling ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’

I watch a woman sitting in this room quickly scribbling words into her journal, she always seems to be in a big rush when she’s writing. Everytime someone comes into the room she quickly hides the journal away from them like it is forbidden.

One day her husband came in and said to her

“ You’ve got to stop focusing on you’re illness, It’s not helping you get any better, try to focus on something else” She responded “Your right, I need to take my mind off of it.”

Then something came through me like a surge, but it felt like a surge of restrictions.

The next day the she was just wandering around the room looking at things and writing about them, but when she came towards me it seemed like she kept looking at me, not sure what or who I was, but she knew I was there.

I could see the look in her face. It seemed like we both felt the same way restricted  and trapped. Everytime I see this woman she seems to be in this room alone, without a person insight unless it’s her husband or the lady that seems to be doing all her housework while she follows her husbands resting rules.

She never stopped looking around the room as she wrote. It seemed like it irked her, like she couldn’t think what she wanted to think but had to focus on the furniture around her. But when she looked towards me she never stopped. She would stare a hole right through me and the longer she looked at me the more I felt I had a connection with her. I’ve watched this women sit in this room for weeks lonely and depressed, and the only times I see anyone coming into the room to talk to her is when they’re coming to tell her what to do, and what she’s doing is wrong. The longer she looked at me through these walls the more I realized that she’s not ill. She’s silenced by her oppressors, she isn’t allowed to express herself to anyone. She’s been sitting in this room all this time trying to make connections with me and oddly enough I feel her pain. But yet she is still confused when she stares at me not sure of what she sees.

I started to feel that this woman and I are very much the same person, i feel all the limitations that her husband has out on her and how it’s made her nervous illness worse. The room and her writing are the only sources of freedom that she has. The closest thing to an interactions with someone from the outside world is me.

But she still doesn’t realize that the world around her is ruining, and all of the things her husband has told her to do that would make her feel better has only made matters worse. There is no one that can tell her this but me.

I must get out, I need to help her become one with with her true self, and get rid of the restrictions , as for I too feel burrowed in the quicksand of her depression.

I try to show myself to her. I go around the house when no one else is around to grab her attention. I show her that I am trapped and I need her to break me free. I shake the patterns on the wall to show her that I am being caged in and the wallpaper keeps me from coming out.

Then she starts tearing off  the wallpaper off, slowly breaking me free. Once she tore off the last strand of the wallpaper I was able to come out and be free, She looked at me with a shocked look and told me

 “ You’re me”

And then I finally understood why I felt her pain. I am her lost self, I am the piece of her that she can’t express all of those built up emotions.

Then I tell her”We are finally together, and there isn’t anyone that can separate us again”

Then John came in and said”What is all that noise” and after a moment of looking into the room he fell unconscious and we tell him

“ We’ve got out at last, and we’ve pulled off all the wallpaper so you can put us back.”

Part 2:Essay

The original version of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman shows the how the protagonist was not allowed any creative freedom or expression, and how that slowly drove her crazy to the point where her imagination took complete control of her. My retelling of the story is from the point of view of the woman she sees in the wallpaper, and show the reader how both characters change together.

In the original Iteration of the story the protagonist has many limitations or restrictions put on her by her husband and she can’t express her true thoughts to him. She asked him for some company and he denies her saying she needs rest and no social interactions with people and tells her to stop focusing on her illness and focus on other things. This is when my narrator is truly “birthed”. In my retelling of the story these restrictions keep making the woman in the wallpaper more and more noticable for the protagonist.

“Then something came through me like a surge, but it felt like a surge of restrictions.

The next day the she was just wandering around the room looking at things and writing

about them, but when she came towards me it seemed like she kept looking at me,

not sure what or who I was, but she knew I was there.”(My iteration of The Yellow   Wallpaper)

In the original version the protagonist tries to show in her writings that her husbands rules for her resting aren’t making her any better and are hurting her more than helping her.

“I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus—but John says the very worst thing I can do is think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad. So I will let it alone and talk about the house.”

(The Yellow Wallpaper, Charles Perkins Gilman)

The narrator interrupts her own train of thought because starts to remember  John’s instructions. So she forces herself to focus on the things around her. The protagonist embraced her husband’s authority to the point that she imagines him  telling her what to think.She cant help herself but feel bad so she stats focusing on the house instead of her situation, the protagonist slowly starts her slide into obsession and madness. The irony in this segment there is a lot of with the protagonist ‘condition’ that its  both her depression and her condition in general within her oppressive marriage.

In my interation of the story the woman in wallpaper grows stronger and becomes more whole when the protagonist starts to become more and more affected by her oppressive marriage.

 

“I could see the look in her face. It seemed like we both felt the same way restricted and trapped.  Everytime I see this woman she seems to be in this room alone, without a person insight unless it’s her husband or the lady that seems to be doing all her housework while she follows her husbands resting rules.”(My iteration of The Yellow Wallpaper)

She starts to feel more connected to the protagonist the more she looks into the wallpaper were the woman is trapped. She feels more and more what the protagonist feels when they stare at each other. After a while the woman in the wallpaper cannot watch the protagonist suffer anymore

“But she still doesn’t realize that the world around her is ruining, and all of the things her husband has told her to do that would make her feel better has only made matters worse. There is no one that can tell her this but me. I must get out, I need to help her become one with with her true self, and get rid of the restrictions , as for I too feel burrowed in the quicksand of her depression.”(My iteration of The Yellow Wallpaper)

The woman in the wallpaper makes the protagonist into breaking her free in where when she did she unleashed the side of her that she couldn’t show to anyone.

 

The original version and my iteration have two different narrators whos stories still revolve around the same protagonist. I tried to show a better connections between the protagonist and her lost self that has been trapped for a long time and that they show that when they are together they have a powerful meaningful voice something the protagonist didn’t have when she followed her husbands commands

 

The Story of An Hour – Third-Person to First-Person Narration

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Part 1 – Narration Change

“Mrs. Mallard!” called out Richards, a friend of my husband from the living room. My sister Josephine helped me get up from the wooden chair I was sitting on while eating my breakfast. My heart is weak and isn’t what it used to be.

Josephine helped me sit on the brown leather sofa. Josephine and Richards sat across me with worried looks on their faces. Josephine held out her hand and held mine. I could feel the warmth and humidity of her hand. There was something she was nervous about.

“Sister
” began Josephine.

“Richards was at the newspaper office when the news came in that a train was derailed
” Josephine took a deep breath. She could barely look at me at this point.

“…and Brently’s name was listed among those who were killed.”

As soon as the last word left her mouth, I threw myself into Josephine’s arms and wept uncontrollably. My husband was dead. The man who I built so many memories with was taken from me.

We embraced for some time until my tears were spent. I kissed Josephine on the cheek and gave her a passionate hug. I stood up and began to make my way back to my room.

“Sister, where are you going?” asked Josephine with worry in her voice.

“I want to spend some time in my room,” I replied. Josephine began to get up from her seat in an attempt to accompany me.

“I wish to be alone, Josephine.” She sat back down with a worried look on her face.

I closed the door behind me as I gazed at the open window. In front of it, an armchair. Into this armchair I sat, nearly being swallowed by it. I laid my eyes upon the city outside of the window. I could see the tops of the green trees moving caused by the warm spring winds. In the distance, I could hear vendors selling their goods and the songs of both passerbys and birds.

As I fixated on the small patches of blue sky that littered the grey, cloudy patchwork visible through the window, an overwhelming desire to cry washed over me. I succumbed to the desire as I stared blankly at the blue patches, with tears once again beginning to run down my cheek.

Something began to form in the skies. I couldn’t tell what it was but it began to reach towards me. As it drew closer, it became more and more familiar. I attempted to resist it but my will, just like my body, was in no position to fight and it quickly broke through my defenses. “Free”, I murmured, almost subconsciously. “Free, free, free!”. The sweet words flowed like a river.

I took a deep breath and now I could think clearly. I will soon have to look at Brently’s gentle face for the final time. Brently had always treated me fairly during our marriage but my passions, ideas, and dreams, were always a second priority. I began to think further ahead. Think further ahead to when I could finally be able to live on my own terms. To be allowed to follow my passions, ideas, and dreams.

These thoughts filled me with an immense sense of hope that flowed through my body. Finally, I would be in control of my life. “Free! Body and soul free!” I whispered.

Suddenly, a knock came from the door. “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door — you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.” pleaded Josephine from behind the door.

“Go away. I am not making myself ill, feeling better than ever before as I said this. I quickly recited a prayer asking the Lord to give me a long life, in contrast to my thoughts from a few days ago. My fragile heart could mean a shorter time on this earth, so I asked the Lord to lend me some time.

I just about sprung out of the armchair and with a newfound pep in my step, I walked to the door and twisted the handle. I saw Josephine standing there and couldn’t help but to smile. We were sisters but after my marriage to Brently, Josephine and I barely spent any time together. The duty of a housewife always kept me busy and unable to have time to be with friends and family. Now would be the time to make up for lost time.

We made our way to the stairs, with Josephine holding my waist, we descended the stairs to meet Richards, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

I kept a close eye on each step I took, careful not to slip. I heard the door begin to open but my eyes were still fixated on the stairs. Then I heard Josephine let out a ear piercing shriek and had no choice but to break my concentration and look at the door.

It was Brently with a confused look on his face as Richards attempted to block his entrance into his own home. I was glad to see Brently alive and well but this meant the death of my dreams and aspirations. My freedom was stripped of me and the bonds of an unfair marriage were placed on me once again. The weight of this realization caused my knees to buckle. I collapsed and briefly felt the cold floor against my head as I looked at the lights above. I closed my eyes to visit where my dreams and aspirations now rested.

Part 2 – Comparing Narration Styles

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a fictional short story that centers around Mrs. Mallard, a woman who had just found out about the death of her husband, Brently Mallard, she is devastated at first but her sorrow soon turns into joy when she realizes that she is finally free from the bonds of marriage, bonds that prevented her from following her dreams and forced her into living for others. The story is written in a limited third-person narration. The narrator sees every event but mainly focuses on a single character, in which they have access to their thoughts. I decided to rewrite the story in first-person, from the perspective of Mrs. Mallard.

Although Chopin mainly writes about Mrs. Mallard’s realization that she is now free, I chose to focus more on Mrs. Mallard’s relationship between her husband and her sister, adding in dialogue, and to add what Mrs. Mallard may have been thinking when she saw her husband again.

At the beginning of the story, immediately after receiving the news of her husband’s death, Chopin writes this: “She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.”.

I wanted to add more detail to Mrs. Mallard’s grief so I wrote the following: “ I threw myself into Josephine’s arms and wept uncontrollably. My husband was dead. The man who I built so many memories with was taken from me.
We embraced for some time until my tears were spent. I kissed Josephine on the cheek and gave her a passionate hug. I stood up and began to make my way back to my room.”.

I made this change because I wanted to make it clearer that Mrs. Mallard did truly love her husband. I also made the addition of dialogue because I felt that would make the characters a little more personal.

Following the initial tears of losing her husband, Mrs. Mallard retreats to her room and that is when and where she rediscovers her freedom. Her marriage had restricted her so much but with Mr. Mallard’s death, that was no longer the case. I didn’t change much from the original story, only a few minor detail changes. What I did change/add was Mrs. Mallard’s thinking.

In Chopin’s story, she wrote the following: “She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister’s waist, and together they descended the stairs.”.

There is no mention of Mrs. Mallard’s feeling towards her sister so I wanted to add some in to make them seem closer. I wrote “… I walked to the door and twisted the handle. I saw Josephine standing there and couldn’t help but to smile. We were sisters but after my marriage to Brently, Josephine and I barely spent any time together. The duty of a housewife always kept me busy and unable to have time to be with friends and family. ”.

I included that part because I wanted to flesh out Mrs. Mallard’s relationships more and because I wanted to show the reader how excited Mrs. Mallard had become with her new outlook on life now that she was getting over the death of her husband.

Now we reach the end of the story and the end of Mrs. Mallard’s life. Chopin chooses writes the death of Mrs. Mallard with no insight into her thoughts at the time.

“ Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine’s piercing cry; at Richards’ quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease–of the joy that kills.”.

Chopin decides to end the story soon after Mrs. Mallard lays eyes on her supposedly dead husband and offers little insight into the thoughts of the former widow after the surprise. I wanted to linger more on her death and to add what Mrs. Mallard may have been thinking before she died. I wrote: “It was Brently with a confused look on his face as Richards attempted to block his entrance into his own home. I was glad to see Brently alive and well but this meant the death of my dreams and aspirations. My freedom was stripped of me and the bonds of an unfair marriage were placed on me once again. The weight of this realization caused my knees to buckle. I collapsed and briefly feeling the cold floor against my head while I looked at the lights above. I closed my eyes to visit where my dreams and aspirations now rested.”.

I added this part in because I wanted to show what Mrs. Mallard may have been thinking when she saw her husband alive again, to make Mrs. Mallard a little more personal.

In terms of what was lost and what was gained from a change of narration type, there isn’t a world of difference. In the original story, we learn that Richards (Mr. Mallard’s friend) double-checked to make sure if Mr. Mallard was actually killed. In my version, this part is omitted entirely. So we lose insight into events that were beyond Mrs. Mallard’s view, switching to first-person.

What we gain is the characters become more personal through dialogue. Since we see through the eyes of Mrs. Mallard, the conversation may seem more personal. In addition, in my version, we get to see that Mrs. Mallard’s marriage had unfortunately kept her and her sister separate.

In conclusion, “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, is a story written in a limited third-person narration. I chose to rewrite the story in first-person, from the view of Mrs. Mallard.  Chopin chooses to focus on Mrs. Mallard’s realization that she is free from a restrictive marriage, while I chose to focus on more on the relationship between Mrs. Mallard and her sister and her husband, adding dialogue, and to add what Mrs. Mallard may have been thinking when she saw her husband alive.

 

The importance of Communication

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The Importance of Communication

John and his wife, (Aria) are staying in a colonial mansion for a short period of time. John is a physician and doesn’t believe that his wife is sick, although she feels as if she is. Aria always thinks about her illness which sometimes makes her feel exhausted, so John informed her that the worst thing she could do was think about her condition. Instead of thinking about her condition she focuses on the aspects of the house.
The house is three miles from the village and stands well from the road. She describes it as the most beautiful place and very quiet. The house has a large and shady garden full of box-boarded paths and lined with grape covered arbors. There were also greenhouses, but they were all destroyed. Although the house had delightful aspects. She felt as if there was something strange within the house.
The first room that they had moved into wasn’t satisfying her, so they moved into the nursery which was more spacious, airy, contained more windows, and more sunshine. The paper on the wall was stripped off in great patches and in bad condition. The color was a very dull, unclean, repulsive yellow. Aria was quite fond of the room except for the wallpaper. Since they were only staying in the house for three months John didn’t see any reason to change the wallpaper.
She informed him that she wasn’t comfortable with the wallpaper but instead of getting rid of it he convinced her that it was fine, so she stopped complaining so she wouldn’t make him uncomfortable, but she still had the feeling in the back of her head.
Usually when she’s alone she takes walks in the garden and sits on the porch. She’s starting to actually love the room that she’s in despite the wallpaper. The wallpaper is usually the one thing that stays on her mind throughout the day. She spends time analyzing the wallpaper and finding out the pattern and seeing how the wallpaper connects diagonally and goes horizontally. She often does this until she is exhausted, but it makes her feel relieved.
As the days go by the patterns and shapes starts to get clearer to her. She realizes that the shapes are the same only very numerous. She then starts to see woman creeping out from behind the pattern. She now starts to freak out and tries to tell her husband about the problem, but he convinced her that she is getting better and recovering from her illness when in all reality she is not.
Each day and night, his wife is examining the wallpaper. There’s things there that no one else seems to notice but her, like how the outside pattern is florid arabesque, which reminds her of a fungus, and even when it changes when the light changes. She even compares it to an interminable string of toadstools, budding and sprouting in endless convolutions.
She notices how when it’s the night time, and the moonlight, candle light, and lamplight come on, the lady behind the wallpaper is completely clear. She was 100% sure that there was a lady there and indeed she was trapped.
She now recognizes that the pattern on the wall actually moves and the women behind the wall is actually the one shaking it. She sometimes thinks that there’s only one woman or more than one and she’s crawling all over to shake it.
John feels as is Aria is improving with her mental health but what he doesn’t know is that it is worsening.
John ends up walking into the room with the yellow wallpaper all over the floor to find out that his wife has let the woman free then later passes out.

The Yellow Wallpaper vs. The Importance of Communication

The text I chose to use in my project is, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In the original copy of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrative point of view is first person, so I chose to rewrite my version in the third person omniscient point of view. I wanted to make the audience get the general idea of the story which is why I chose third person omniscient to get into the heads of all the characters to really portray how they felt throughout the story. Although in the original version of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator conveys dominance in a relationship but in my retelling, I use a third person omniscient narrative to highlight the importance of undivided attention in a marriage.
In the beginning of my retelling, I decided to keep up the same order of the story. I started off with introducing John and his wife and stated her sickness and the aspects of the house just like in the original version. “John and his wife, (Aria) are staying in a colonial mansion for a short period of time. John is a physician and doesn’t believe that his wife is sick, although she feels as if she is. Aria always thinks about her illness which sometimes makes her feel exhausted, so John informed her that the worst thing she could do was think about her condition. Instead of thinking about her condition she focuses on the aspects of the house.” In this quote, (in my retelling), I narrowed down the important parts of the beginning of the story. “It is very seldom that mere ordinary people like John and myself secure ancestral halls for the summer. A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house, and reach the height of romantic felicity, — but that would be asking too much of fate! Still I will proudly declare that there is something queer about it. Else, why should it be let so cheaply? And why have stood so long untenanted? John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage. John is practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in ïŹgures. John is a physician, and perhaps— (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)— perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster. You see, he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do? I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus— but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad. So, I will let it alone and talk about the house.” Now in this quote in the original copy, the author goes into description on how John and his wife moves into a house for a few months and how she feels about the house. The similarities with this quote and my quote is how I focused on the wife having an illness and John basically not dwelling on it and denying that she is sick.
“Usually when she’s alone she takes walks in the garden and sits on the porch. She’s starting to actually love the room that she’s in despite the wallpaper. The wallpaper is usually the one thing that stays on her mind throughout the day. She spends time analyzing the wallpaper and finding out the pattern and seeing how the wallpaper connects diagonally and goes horizontally. She often does this until she is exhausted, but it makes her feel relieved. As the days go by the patterns and shapes starts to get clearer to her. She realizes that the shapes are the same only very numerous. She then starts to see woman creeping out from behind the pattern.” Throughout my retelling, I focused more on the description of the house and the women in the wallpaper. I wanted to show my audience the reason as to why John’s wife was so hypnotized by the house which led her to her breaking point in the story. I didn’t want to focus on her illness as much as the author did in the original version or the dominance in that marriage. “Dear John! He loves me very dearly and hates to have me sick. I tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him the other day and tell him how I wished he would let me go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julia. But he said I wasn’t able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there; and I did not make out a very good case for myself, for I was crying before I had ïŹnished. It is getting to be a great effort for me to think straight. Just this nervous weakness, I suppose. And dear John gathered me up in his arms, and just carried me upstairs and laid me on the bed and sat by me and read to me till he tired my head. He said I was his darling and his comfort and all he had, and that I must take care of myself for his sake and keep well. He says no one but myself can help me out of it, that I must use my will and self-control and not let my silly fancies run away with me” In the original story the author talks about her having the illness and her husband basically telling her what to do in a way of dominance. She basically respects everything her husband tells her because she trusts him.
In conclusion, in the original version, the author uses a first-person narrative and in my retelling, I used the third person omniscient narrative to give my audience a different perspective of the story.

Project 1 : Understanding Different Narrative Style Essay

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  Part 1: Retelling (Final Draft)

 

“Hills Like White Elephants”

Ernest Hemingway

Page 2:

        Jigs was describing the beautiful scenery across the distance, she said “the hills and mountain appears to look like white elephants”, as she sat at the Spanish train station across from Jill’s. The man was hoping that his girlfriend was having a great time, but she doesn’t seem to be. She suddenly repeated herself again to get his attention, she said “the mountains looks like white elephants”.

The mountains appears to be bright as white elephants as described by Jigs. It was breathtaking and grabbed both of their attentions as they stared at it across from the distance. Jigs wanted to try some new drinks, and that’s all she felt like doing, is look at things and try new drinks. Jigs looked across the hills and notice how lovely they were to her. Although it seems as if they don’t really appear to look like white elephants to the man.

They continue to have another drink, as the warm wind blew the bead curtain against the table, Jigs and the man continue to enjoy their cold drinks. The man was trying to convince Jigs how simple it would be if she had the operation done, but Jigs insisted it wasn’t just a simple operation, and she looked at the ground where the tables legs rested on. He continue to comfort and explains how easy the operation is going to be if she had it done. Jigs was silent, she had too much on her mind, and didn’t say a word after that.  

The man was so convinced that this is all going to be a simple operation, and explains to her that all they’re going to do is put some air in, and it will all be alright afterward. Jigs was feeling nervous and pressure to having the operation. He insisted that she had this operation done, and promises that afterward they would be happy again, just like they did before. Jigs had a tough time processing the decision, and she doesn’t know what to do.

The man then tells her that this is the only thing that is keeping them from being happy. Without saying a word she look at the bead curtain, put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings of the beads, then she asked him “will everything be alright”, “and will they be happy after this”. He told her everything will be alright and they will be happy after she had the operation done.

Jigs was nervous and feeling pressure, but he remained her that everything will be alright, and that he knows a lot of people who had this done before. She was still not convinced about the operation, and asked him many question as she was afraid to having it done. At that point he decide to stop convincing her, and told her that she doesn’t need to have this done if she didn’t want to.

He calmly explains to her that he didn’t want her to do anything that she wouldn’t want. But he was still convince to tell her that it would be a simple operation. She feeling pressure that he really wants her to go have this operation. This operation seem to be the only thing that’s on the man mind. She now feels the motivation to have the operation done only if it meant to make the man happy. Jigs knows that he would be more happy and loves her more if she had it done.

Jigs was convinced if she had it done everything will be alright, and that he’ll love her like he loved when she say things are white like elephants, the man then said he’ll love it. But he can’t be worrying about that right now. she didn’t want him to worry about the operation, so she  insisted if she had it done that he’ll stop worrying about it. but it doesn’t appear that the man was worry about Jigs having the operation done, because he knows it was all a simple operation.

 Finally, Jigs had decided to get the operation done. She would get it done only because she doesn’t care about herself, and her own body. The man felt frustrated that she doesn’t care about herself. She repeated herself telling him that she doesn’t care about herself. He didn’t want her to say those things about herself. He told her that he cares about her, even if she doesn’t care for herself.

Jigs wants to get the operation done and over with so that they can be happy in the end, but he told her he didn’t want her to do it if she didn’t care about herself and her decision. She stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grains and she saw the river through the trees.

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Part 2: Thinking About Retelling (Final Draft)

 

The new version of “Hills Like White Elephants” written by Ernest Hemingway is a third person omniscient narrative style. In the original version of “Hills Like White Elephants”, the author used a third person objective narration style. Which lets the narrator knows what the characters say, see, and do. On the other hand, a third person omniscient allows the narrator to have access to what the characters, say, see, do and think. So by changing it to a third person omniscient, it allow the narrator to have access oo knowing what the characters feeling and thoughts.

Comparing the differences between the old version and the new version is, the old version was written mainly in dialogue, which in my opinion makes it harder to read. On the other hand the new version is written so that is separated into smaller section, and is in third person which means the narrator is the only person in the story that is speaking. The new version is easier to understand because the narrator is telling us what is happening in the story. Rather then the first version the narrator was only telling us what the characters are saying and doing, and not really telling us what was happening within the story, and leaves us confuse to what the story is mainly about.

“Hills Like White Elephants” written by Ernest Hemingway, is a third person objective narrative style, the narrator used the “fly-on-the-wall” technique to write the story. In the story it didn’t tell us what the characters were thinking, it only show what the characters do, see, and say in the story. Since the story was put together in the past tense we can assume that the author wrote the story base from memories, which makes it a bit confusing for the reader to piece the story together. The original version had lots of metaphor, and symbolic terms, which the new version lacks.

The theme that stuck out from the original version is the languages and communication style that was used. The story was converted into translation from spanish to english, and the author mainly did this for his english readers, mostly focusing on translating what jigs was saying. I choose third person omniscient as a narrative style for this story, because the original version was mostly written in dialogue, which was harder to read. An example would be making it harder to tell which character is speaking. On the other hands it was clear to tell when the narrator was speaking. The story was complicated to piece together, because we didn’t understand what the characters were thinking, and what was it they’re talking about, such as the operation. It’s kind of almost like recording a conversation between two people.

The narrator tells us the surrounding of the place, and what the characters say. But doesn’t allow us to know what’s going on between the two characters, or what was it the conversation was about. In the original version on page two, at the top quote  “‘Then what will we do afterwards?’‘We’ll be fine afterwards. Just like we were before.’‘What makes you think so?’” In this quote it didn’t allow the reader to understand Jigs emotion and feeling, or what’s going on in her mind. On the other hand, from the new version with the third person omniscient, “Jigs was nervous and feeling pressure, but he remained her that everything will be alright, and that he knows a lot of people who had this done before.” This gives more details to how Jigs was feeling during that conversation.

Trapped Behind Deceit Story & Essay

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Part 1: Retelling: Trapped Behind Deceit

“Why, why me?” I said. “What is it, little girl?” John said. “Don’t go walking about like that–you’ll get cold.”  “Little girl? John why do you continue to do this to me?” I said. But I knew that they couldn’t hear me, mostly because I need to be me, not behind this wallpaper of deceit and it’s not like I can just come out and walk around at this time, especially with John home. I try sticking my head through these bars anyway but as John continues to speak he traps me in again. Cutting off my head which is now lifeless. I’m still alive though, another head comes out of my body.

I try one more time, sticking my head through the changing bars, trying to get out in one try. But then as I look at the clueless me with John, she seemed startled a little after he looked at her with such a stern , reproachful look. There goes another one of my heads. These patterns are way too heavy and crowded. “YES!” I thought to myself , “The patterns are going to become less complex.” “If she would recognize that at night in any kind of light, in twilight, candle light, lamplight, and the best of all by moonlight, the complex pattern prision shows as just bars from the outside. John is asleep, the moonlight shines on the wallpaper. “Now is my chance” I thought, “I’m going to have to use our fear to shape myself.” I could only gathered a little of fear to create the outline of my body, hope that was enough for her to recognize herself. I did see when she caught John and Jennie investing their energy into making sure the patterns and bars were still strong to keep me locked in. Jennie did realize that I would leave clues of deceit on her clothes and John’s for me to let her know that I need to save myself.  I do it mostly in the daytime, there’s another me that travels outside of the wallpaper with the other me outside of the wallpaper, like a spirit would. It will leave a smell that would remind her of deceit, the wallpaper, while making sure I don’t stand out too much. So I will creep. “I will not let myself forget for even a second, the reason we are trapped in the first place.” I said to myself. Throughout the day I’ll have the spirit leave the color all around the place. It is now night, the moonlight is shining on part of the wallpaper, “Another chance!” I said to myself. I wanted to get the heck out of here so I started shaking the bars as hard as I could. She’s looking at me, “I think she could see me” I thought. I continue to shake wildly, “I’m tired of these bars. GET ME OUT OF HERE!” I yelled, knowing no one can even hear me. The other part of the wallpaper that is shady from lack of moonlight, I stand still from my others’ feeling of John’s judgment. I know that I am now more invested in letting myself free, she’s neglecting John’s looks. “I can feel it, she cares less about them.” I said, feeling a sense of, “I can soon finally be free.” John was asking her some questions but the clothes he were wearing had some of the color on him. Jennie’s trying her best to try to keep me tamed by wanting to sleep with me, there was color on her too. She looked at the smooch on her clothes, “Get away from her.” trying to tell myself. She told Jennie she would rest better alone tonight. She came towards the cage and started peeling the cage off. “Come on! Help get me out of here. Come on!” I said eagerly, while shaking the bars. Morning came, hearing the cage laugh all morning, knowing that John and Jennie is mocking me. They want me to stay in here. I see Jennie coming, talking to the other me about the getting out of the room. “NOOOOOOOOOOO! DO NOT LET HER CONTINUE TO TRAP US!” I screamed. She told her she’s going to sleep in here tonight again, turning Jennie down. She’s so close to fully realizing her true self because I can now walk around as I please. “It is so pleasant to be out in this great room and creep around as I please.” I said. John’s trying to get inside of the room, I’m automatically drawn back into the wallpaper because of his presence. She looks determined to get me out of this cage. He came in after getting the key and stopped short by the door. “What is the matter?” John cried. “For God’s sake, what are you doing!” I stepped out of the wallpaper and looked at him while moving into her, making us one. “I’ve got out at last,” we said, “in spite of you and her. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” John fainted, all of his energy is was broken and has set me and her free and together. Where we belong.

 

Part 2: Essay: Comparison of “The Yellow Wallpaper” & Trapped Behind Deceit

If you listen to a different point of view then you can gain a different perspective on the situation. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the reader is gaining the perspective of the women (outside of the wallpaper) because the narrator is told in first person, limited, and subjective. This means that the reader is viewing the story as the women, taking what the women sees, thinks, and encounters throughout the story without knowing any other characters in the story thoughts and other things that they encounter other than with the women. In the retelling of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, I told the story in first person, limited, and it was also subjective but from the point of view of the woman in the wallpaper who is the true representation of the woman outside of the wallpaper. When comparing both the original story and the retelling of the story there are differences in perspective but are connected. In the original story, the first person narrator shine light on the weird and unusual sighting of the bars trapping the women in the wallpaper, John’s relationship with the women (outside the wallpaper), and the constant attention the wallpaper is given while the retelling from a first person narrator from the women in the wallpaper demonstrates why she is trapped in the wallpaper, her relationship to the women outside the wallpaper and with John, and the constant clues left for the women to reveal.

The perspectives were a little different when it came to the bars from the wallpaper trapping the women. In the original story, it states, “At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candle light, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be” (Larsen, pg 8). This shows that the women outside the wallpaper realizes that light can make the pattern of the wallpaper less complicated than she believes they are. Also, when she says, “and worst of all by moonlight”, shows her frustrated towards the pattern revealing it’s simplicity in moonlight which helps grab her attention the most of the horrid wallpaper. While in the retelling, during the same scene, it says, “These patterns are way too heavy and crowded. “YES!” I thought to myself, “The patterns are going to become less complex.” “If she would recognize that at night in any kind of light, in twilight, candle light, lamplight, and the best of all by moonlight, the complex pattern prision shows as just bars from the outside.” The same kind of wording is used from both the women outside and inside the wallpaper but the feeling of the woman inside of the wallpaper towards the moonlight is different than the other woman’s feeling. The trapped woman enjoys when the pattern is less complex because of the fact that it prevents her from being recognized from the outside women while also giving her a slightly better chance of escaping which she enjoyed. There are similarities as far as the bars being recognized through the changes of light from both the narrator of the original story and of the retelling but the feelings towards the light with the pattern are different.

The woman from both narrators views the attention ‘asked’ from the wallpaper differently but are working for each others favor. In the original story, it says, “It creeps all over the house. I find it hovering in the dining-room, skulking in the parior, hiding in the hall, lying in wait for me on the stairs
.The only thing I can think of that it is like is the COLOR of the paper! A yellow smell” (Larsen, pg. 9). Now, in this story, the protagonist does not know what to think of the smell but only knows that she hates the color of the wallpaper which is yellow. It is not stated why there is a smell following her and the color is stuck with her but just that it has to relate to the wallpaper that frustrates her. In the retelling the connection is made by the trapped woman, saying “I would leave clues of deceit on her and John’s for me to let her know that I need to save myself. I do it mostly in the daytime, there’s another me that travels outside of the wallpaper with the other me outside of the wallpaper, like a spirit would. It will leave a smell that would remind her of deceit, the wallpaper, while making sure I don’t stand out too much.” This shows that the woman from the original story, the smell that kept following her was the spirit from the woman of the wallpaper trying to keep her attention on the wallpaper with the smell of wallpaper. The smell of the wallpaper, as the woman from the original story describes, is yellow. The woman in the retelling describes it as deceit which means that the yellow color of the wallpaper is actually deceit which is happening to the woman outside the wallpaper. Which is why she does not like the color because she does not believe the meaning and can not understand what is being deceived.

The relationship with John with both women are different at the beginning but are exactly the same at the end. In the retelling, the trapped women views John as a major part of the reason of why she is trapped in the wallpaper in the first place. “I did see when she caught John and Jennie investing their energy into making sure the patterns and bars were still strong to keep me locked in.” This proves that the trapped woman believes that John is keeping her trapped, he was making sure that the woman’s true representation of herself would not come out by keeping the wallpaper’s pattern intacted. But the woman outside of the wallpaper views the situation differently. “I have watched John when he did not know I was looking, and come into the room suddenly on the most innocent excuses, and I’ve caught him several times LOOKING AT THE PAPER! And Jennie too
.But I know that she was studying that pattern, and I am determined that nobody shall find it out but myself!” (Larsen, pg 8). This shows that the woman outside of the wallpaper seen John and Jennie looking and investigating the wallpaper but thought that they were only trying to figure out the pattern of the wallpaper which the trapped woman believes that they know the pattern very well but is trying to make it more complex. The trapped woman does not like John at all while the other woman only finds him somewhat as a suspect but not fully guilty because she has feelings for him. But as mentioned, the relationship towards John are the same at the end, “And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back” (Larsen, pg 12, and from retelling). After the escape of the women in the wallpaper, and both women emerged together then their thoughts and emotions became one. In that quote they are both have a sense of resentment towards John because not only does the women in the wallpaper from the retelling know that John was working against her but now so does the women outside. Which shows in the original because of the same quote coming from the woman said towards John.

There are different perspectives from different sides that can change your point of view on a situation. In the original story, the connection was made in the retelling by changing the narrator. This causes to use what is not known from the original story and make a connection. Like, the patterns of the wallpaper were not only bars seen by moonlight from both women but that it was used for the same purpose, to make the outside would acknowledge it even though the emotions towards the bars were different because of different mindset the women were in. Another connection was the smell and color, the original narrator thought it was just an annoying smell that came from the wallpaper that she couldn’t shake off and remind her of the ugly color. But, in the retelling it was actually a spirit of her trying to get her attention to the wallpaper to show her that she was being deceived. Finally, the relationship towards John from both women were different at first, the original narrator only thought of him as suspicious but wanted to be with him while the retelling narrator despised him. At the end, it shows that the two woman from the original and retelling became one after the ripping of the wallpaper and shared the same resentful feelings for John.

Posting Project #1

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The day has finally come to post Project #1! Add a new post and do the following:

  1. Give your project a title in the field for title
  2. Add your Part 1 (retellingl, with a title at the top
  3. Then add Part 2 (comparative essay) including a title.
  4. Choose categories (not sticky categories): Project #1, plus the category for the original short story’s author’s name.
  5. Add tags. At a minimum add a tag for the narration style you used. Choose the narration style from the list of tags so we all use the same format.
  6. If you are not comfortable sharing your work openly, change Visibility from public to private.
  7. Publish!
  8. In class on Monday, I will ask for a reflective cover letter (instructions will be provided). Think about your process and accomplishments so we can be purposeful about our writing process and resulting product.

For Wednesday’s class

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Congratulations on completing the midterm exam! We’re moving ahead with work for Project #1 and with our next unit of literature. For Wednesday’s class, please do the following:

1-prepare as final a version of Part 1 and Part 2 of Project #1 as possible, and bring your work to Wednesday’s class. We will devote some time to peer review. If you have not already had your required meeting with me, please schedule one as soon as possible.

2-be sure to have bought/borrowed/rented a copy of The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen, and read Chapter 1 of Quicksand, pp 29-44. Bring your copy of the book to class on Wednesday.

3-respond to this post by 10am Wednesday with a comment (100-150 words) about what stands out to you in the first chapter about the protagonist or about the world she inhabits. Include a relevant quotation from Chapter 1.

Wrapping up “A Hunger Artist” and other Short Fiction

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As we have now addressed all of the readings in this section of our syllabus, we can finish any remaining conversations and begin our preparation for the midterm exam. Posts due on Tuesday at 12:00pm and comments for Wednesday at 10am can reflect on the materials we have covered. Here are some thoughts for these posts:

  • We usually identify the narrator for each story. We didn’t for “A Hunger Artist”–so in a post, decide what type of narrator tells the story, and use quotations from the story to support your claim.
  • “A Hunger Artist” can be read as an allegory. What is an allegory, and what allegory do you see in this story specifically?
  • When we read “A Hunger Artist,” do we believe someone could fast in the way the protagonist does? If not, what do we do about its un-reality? Is this an instance in which we invoke a suspension of disbelief? What does that mean? You might compare this to other stories from our reading that aren’t as linked to reality as our real lives are. For example, how does the loose connection to reality relate to something like “Cinderella” in one version or another? Are there any other stories you’d consider for comparison?
  • More generally, are there two stories that you think speak to each other, and if so, what is that point of conversation? Include quotations from both to show why it’s helpful to talk about the two stories together.

Our midterm can include any of the stories we read, not just the ones in the public domain. Project #1, though, is only about the stories in the public domain (starting with “The Story of an Hour”).

For Wednesday’s class, we’ll spend a little time doing a peer review for Project #1. I have asked everyone to bring a draft (in whatever shape it’s in) of Part 1, and an outline (including a thesis statement) of Part 2. The goal will be to share ideas with others writing about the same story to get feedback about how to structure the comparison.

We’ll also have a lively review for the midterm exam, where we will brainstorm questions that will be on the midterm. Come prepared: bring your texts, re-read them, mark them up more, and be ready to think about connections and themes.