Utopia is an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. Dystopia is an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. I would describe “The Yellow Wallpaper” as a dystopian story and “The Cottagette” as a utopian story.

I believe the “The Yellow Wallpaper” is as a dystopian narrative because the main parts of the story seem to be very irritating and troublesome. The protagonist in this story was always in a disturbed state of mind. It seemed as if she was never at ease and constantly worried herself about being “sick”. She was always trapped in her own negative world continuously bickering about the littlest things. The setting and environment of this story was always stressful. It also appeared to put a damper on the protagonists relationship with her husband. Therefore, this story would certainly be described as dystopian.

I consider the story “The Cottagette” as a utopian narrative because the protagonist was always joyous about life. Everything appeared to be perfect in their world apart from “The Yellow Wallpaper” which was nothing close to perfect. The environment was always in stunning shape. The cottagette was without a doubt placed in a delightful community; who wouldn’t be happy there? Especially around things and people you seek interest in. The cottagette was a serene and peaceful place to be, almost like a secret getaway- a little too good to be true in my opinion. Malda spoke about having an interest in music and was luckily surrounded by thoughtful musicians. She loved the fact that she was in a neighborhood which had a lot of growing to do and also with people that shared the same passion for music. Hence the reason why I think this story would be considered utopian.

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Choose three quotations that present the married couples relationship – explain what you understand about John as a character and the protagonist as a narrator.

1-“John laughs at me of course , but one expects that in marriage”

This statement helps me understand that John as a character has a lack of respect for his wife. Though the narrator is telling her story she seems to once again he unreliable in this statement. She seems to be bothered by his laughter , but passive at the same time. The narrator is implying that everyone feels that it is to be expected of your husband to laugh at you. She however has no supporting facts.

2-” John is away all day and even some nights when his cases are serious. I am glad my case is not serious, but these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing”

reading this statement would make you think that her husband leaves her alone I this room all of the time neglecting her condition. the narrator is contradicting herself by stating that she is “glad that her case is not serious” but then stating that her troubles are “depressing”. She is using her own words against herself. I feel she may be compromising the consistency of the plot.

3-“The fact is I am getting a little afraid of John”

john seems a bit controlling as a character. Based on what I read In the Yellow Wallpaper she is not just now becoming afraid , but just beginning to recognize it. Her job as a narrator is to make the reader suspenseful and though fiction , make her story believable. she dies nit make it clear exactly what he is doing that is making her afraid.  I can tell that the narrator wanted John to seem stern and in doing so she made her story less believable.

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Choose three quotations from thenYellow Wallpaper that convince you that the protagonist is an unreliable narrator and explain why for each.

1- ” John is a physician( and perhaps I would not say this to a living soul of course, but this dead paper and a great relief to my mind.)Perhaps that is one reason I don’t get well faster”

I feel that the protagonist is unreliable in this statement because it is not clear the pint that she is trying to make. How can someone of a stable mind feel relief talking to paper? Though she never actually completed her thought she contradicts herself several times. The narrator who is telling this story about herself states that shel was talking to dead paper when in reality she w as talking to herself because the paper was never alive.

2-” I am glad my case is not serious, but these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing”

The protagonist states her case is not serious and the. In the same breath states her nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. How can someone who is dreadfully depressed be glad?  This narrator is making it very difficult to believe her story. I feel that she is adding thoughts in places where they don’t belong.

3- ” Sometimes I think it’s a great many women behind , and sometimes only one , and she crawls around fast and her crawling shakes it all over ”

The protagonist is unable to make up her mind whether there is one woman in the wall paper or many. I don’t believe she is portraying herself to be I the right state of mind because it is conflicting to speak about walk paper and to suggest that a woman on the wall paper is crawling to make it shake. Maybe this woman, or these women were only in her imagination. The protagonist is proving to be an unreliable narrator here because she is unable to convince you of one thought without considering another.

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The Yellow Wallpaper

* I dont like our room a bit. I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old – fashioned chintz hanging hangings! But John would not hear of it ”

**”Out of one window I can see the garden , those mysterious deep shaded arbors, the riotous old-fashioned flowers, and bushes and gnarly trees”

***”  I cry at nothing , cry most of the time ”

I personally believe that these three quotes represent the couples relationship. though out the reading i noticed that the wife keeps most of her emotions to herself . In the first quote she expresses her dislike for there room but decides not to tell John. I don’t think that’s the right thing to do in a healthy relationship couples are to speak to each-other abut everything and not hold anything back. I don’t think that there marriage is a healthy relationship.

Now this second quote I believe is very symbolic. She speaks of beautiful flowers, flowers represent love and romance.since she is looking out of a window at the flowers and trees i feel that represent a “need” for love. i noticed throughout the story there were may occasions hen she would bring up her love for nature . i believe that is a symbol for love from her husband.

The last quote is the simplest but with the most meaning. Crying means that your either happy or extremely sad. In this case I believe that she is confused. When she said ” i cry at nothing ” means that she is confused ,and doesn’t know if she is satisfied  with her life and her marriage to her husband.

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“Personally I disagree… Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?”. The statement shows that the married couple’s relationship lack communication. This statement shows her opinions doesn’t count when she says “what is one to do?” She has completely accepted John’s method of rest as the cure. John’s wife listen to whatever he says.

“Blessed little goose”. This is another quotation from the story that presents the married couple’s relationship. This statement shows that john treats his wife like a child. He even insist that she sleeps in the nursery. He believes her sleeping in the nursery is a way to monitor her condition at night.

“John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy”. This quotation also presents the married couple’s relationship. When she tires to tell him that his rest treatment is not working, he simply ignores her feelings. He didn’t want his wife to think much because he would loose control over her.

After reading “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman I came to an understanding that John is not only overbearing but he also ignores his wife’s opinions. Although he presents himself towards his wife as sweet and caring, he is actually a controlling person. His wife is suffering from depression but he believes it is just a “slight hysterical tendency”. His method of curing his wife actually limits her social activities as well as deny her access to things that make her happy such as writing. He orders her to stay in bed all day and do absolutely nothing. He forbids her to do any sort of work, even to write. His manipulative actions is the reason his wife feel inferior and afraid to voice her opinions.

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Choose three quotations from “The Yellow Wall-Paper” that convince you that the protagonist is an unreliable narrator and explain why for each.

“She (Jennie) didn’t know I was in the room, and when I asked her in a quiet, very quiet voice, with the most restrained manner possible, what she was doing with the paper-she turned around as if she had been caught stealing, and looked quite angry-asked me why I should frighten her so!”
It’s hard to give credit to her narrative overall due to her mental state. In the above quoted text, she described the way she confronted Jennie about the wallpaper. It’s not clear if she really asked in a calm way, or if she sounded irritated. It’s not even a sure thing if Jennie was even touching the wallpaper at all. Maybe the narrator fantasized it, just like she did with many other things.

“The front pattern DOES move-and no wonder! The woman behind it shakes it!”
This is yet another example of how the narrator delusional state makes her create situations in her mind

“(…) I wasn’t alone a bit! As soon as it was moonlight and that poor thing began to crawl and shake the pattern, I got up and ran to help her.”
As the story progresses, the narrator begins to imagine and describe even more absurd scenarios. She now interacts with imaginary characters that emerge from the walls.

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As I read the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman I can clearly consider the narrator to be unreliable.  An unreliable narrator is when their credibility has been seriously compromised and we can see that happening
in this story. The following are some quotes that support the narrator unreliability are:

1) “ I use to lie awake as a child and get more entertainment and terror out of
blank walls and plain furniture than most children could find in a toy store” –
This clearly shows that the problems that the narrator is going through has
been going on since she was a child. Her obsession about the wallpaper and
objects comes from a young age which probably has gotten worse as she got
older. This shows she is unreliable because she is putting importance and
meaning into insignificant things.

2) “And what can I do?”- The narrator asked this question multiple times
throughout the story. I believe she is just so used of people telling that what
she is feeling is due to her condition and other people telling her what to do
that she is not her own person anymore. The narrator has becomes what others
want her to be and this prove that she is unreliable. She is not capable of
making her own decisions and having her own thoughts.

3) “I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes. I sure I never used to be so
sensitive. I think it’s due to this nervous condition”- So, this quote shows
that the narrator is unreliable for two reasons. One reason it being that she
is not able to control that way that she feels, she lets her mind take control
of her. Second reason is that throughout the story her husband tends to tell
her over and over again that whatever she does feels it’s due to her nervous condition,
so she is truly starting to believe it.

4) “I think sometimes that if I were only well enough to write a little it
would relieve the press of ideas and rest me….. But I find I get pretty tired
when I try”- In this quote we see that the narrator is contradicting herself
she says that she knows it will make her feels better if she was able to write more,
but when she tries it gets her tired. Shows her unreliably because she is not
even sure of what she feels is better for her or not.

Some quote that represent the married couple’s relationship are:

1)“ There comes John, and I must put this away- he hates to have me write a
word”- This clearly shows that she does everything  her husband tells her to do. The narrator is no longer her own person, but the person that her husband want her to be. The narrator is not free in her own marriage to do something that she enjoys. This
also shows that he doesn’t support her in things she likes to do. That’s why
she compares herself the wallpaper because she feels trapped just like the
women she talks about.

“John laughs at me, of course , but one expects that in marriage” – I  think that this quote has a slightly a sense of sarcasm telling the reader that he really doesn’t understand his wife.

3)“ John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no REASON to
suffer, and that satisfies him” – This quote clearly shows the lack of communication this married couple encounter. It seems like she hides the way she truly feel to John because even though if she was to explain to him he won’t believe her. I feel that John
feels so secure and positive that their I nothing wrong with his wife that he doesn’t
allow a slight chance to actually look into what his wife is feeling and trying to understand her.

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An unreliable narrator is a narrator who can’t be trusted. Either from ignorance or self-interest, this narrator speaks with a bias, makes mistakes, or even lies. Part of the pleasure and challenge of these first-person stories is working out the truth, and understanding why the narrator is not straightforward.

There is clearly an unreliable narrator in the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Here are some quotes in the story to show this.

1. “I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes. I’m sure I never used to be so sensitive. I think it is due to this nervous condition” This is evidence that she doesn’t even have a reason to be angry or mad at John! This shows that she is unreliable because she can’t be trusted or responsible for her own emotions when it comes to others.

2. “No wonder the children hated it! I should hate it myself if I had to live in this room long.” This shows that she’s always arguing and bickering about something in her head.

3. “It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I CANNOT be with him, it makes me so nervous.” This indicates that she may have some mental issues and is once again not trusted enough to be around or let alone hold a baby.

Another interesting side to the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” is the relationship between the protagonist and John, her husband. I believe that there is an interesting but weird, type of love in this relationship. Here are some quotes from the story that present the married couples relationship and what I understand about John.

1. “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.” I believe this meant that John doesn’t often take her too seriously at times because of the way she acts.

2. “John is a physician, and PERHAPS that is one reason I do not get well faster. You see he does not believe I am sick!” This shows that she doesn’t really believe John is a good physician because he doesn’t believe that she is sick.

3. “John is away all day, and even some nights when his cases are serious.” This proves that although they are married they’re still pretty distant with each other.

I feel that the narrator tries to show that John does actually care for his wife by trying his best to help her but can’t really pin point as to what is wrong with her. I do believe that he may be in a little bit of denial because it seems to me that his wife is sick but he wants to believe that she’s okay.

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