A Rose for Emily - TIME

Time plays a significant role in "A Rose for Emily." It is actually a crucial point in the theme of the story. Emily's character reminds me of a huge boulder. No matter what happens, she's immovable. Things all around her may change, but she is always the same (disregarding any wear-and-tear that may occur.) With time comes change, whether Emily wants the change or not. Emily is far too stubborn to let such a silly thing as time change who she is and how she acts. She only sees the world as she wants to see it, and not even time can change that for her.

Because of the way the story is narrated, time is a little askew. The story jumps back and forth through time on multiple occasions. Although this may be confusing, it allows a special kind of exposition to develop in the story. Before you hear Emily's story, you hear what others felt about her when she passed away. It also helps to foreshadow the story of her life and events that occured in the past. In a sense, the timeline of the narration could be looked at as reverse foreshadowing, if that at all makes sense. But all in all, I believe that time has a crucial role in the narration of this story.

The Yellow Wallpaper

"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a fascinating story. Within the first minute of reading, I knew I was in for a brain-teaser. Though the meaning of the story was still quite an enigma to me after finishing, I found it very rewarding to take the time to think about the plot and possible themes that could be present.

The narrator of the story is clearly insane, but is her insanity her own fault? Or was it the fault of the wallpaper? I believe the true reason for her insanity is the set of circumstances in which she found herself. First of all, she gave subtle hints that she suffered from chronic depression at the beginning of the story. I don't think this meant that she was bound to become insane, but it definitely was the primary cause. Her depression, along with her position as a housewife, caused her to be trapped in the rented home in which she was residing. This, along with the "help" and "advice" given by her physician husband, caused her to become socially isolated. Her husband did not even allow her to write, forcing her to secretly write her journal, limited by entrances from her husband and maid.

The wallpaper was interesting in the first place, but as the narrator continued to examine and try to figure it out, it slowly consumed her mind and imagination. Soon, she began to hallucinate and see things that were not really there. Her social isolation and lack of ability to creatively express herself gave her the idea that the real world was not real, and that her imagination was the truth.

The message that I got out of the story is that nobody should be isolated, especially without a creative outlet. If one has no real life, their imagination can become powerful enough to create a world that is not real.

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