The Yellow Wallpaper Thesis Statements and Important Quotes
Below you will find five outstanding thesis statements / paper topics for “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that can be used as essay starters. All five incorporate at least one of the themes found in “The Yellow Wallpaper” and are broad enough so that it will be easy to find textual support, yet narrow enough to provide a focused clear thesis statement for “The Yellow Wallpaper”. These thesis statements offer a summary of different elements of “The Yellow Wallpaper” that could be important in an essay but you are free to add your own analysis and understanding of the plot or themes to them. Using the essay topics below in conjunction with the list of important quotes at the bottom of the page, you should have no trouble connecting with “The Yellow Wallpaper” and writing an excellent paper. Before you begin, however, please get some useful tips and hints about how to use PaperStarter.com in the brief User’s Guide…you’ll be glad you did.
Thesis Statement / Essay Topic #1: The Significance of First-Person Narration in “The Yellow Wallpaper”
The central character in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” narrates her own life; however, the reader never learns her name. Gilman has cleverly taken the reader into the inner-most realms of a woman’s mind and experiences, yet the woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” remains anonymous, a reflection of her status in society. Narration, of course, is an important element of any story or novel, and as readers, we are always evaluating whether the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is credible and reliable. The narrator of “The Yellow Wall-Paper” appears credible as the story opens, but as her mental state deteriorates, does her narrative follow suit? As you read this story, consider the role that narration plays in the development of the plot and the theme. How might the story of “The Yellow Wallpaper” have been different, for instance, if it had been told by the woman’s husband? Other important questions include: Why is it important that the woman narrator have the agency and the voice to tell her own story? What effects does this particular choice of narration have on establishing a connection with the reader and eliciting certain emotional responses.
Thesis Statement / Essay Topic #2: “The Yellow Wall-Paper” as a Feminist Story
“The Yellow Wall-Paper” was written in 1892, and is often referred to as a feminist short story. Given that the woman in the story goes mad because her role in society is limited and her ability to express herself creatively is constricted, can the reader assume that the author is making a feminist statement? This topic could take at least two different approaches. You could either situate the story within a larger sociohistorical context (i.e.: What was happening in 1892 that made this particular story so relevant and resonant, and why does it remain so important today?), or you could take the story only on its own terms: What does Gilman seem to say about “the female condition” in general by writing about the life of this one woman and her descent into madness in “The Yellow Wall Paper”?
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