The Revolt of 'Mother'/ The Yellow Wallpaper

I think that the two short stories we were assigned to read in ENG 258 both have a few good similarities. The stories are built around women who feel oppressed by their husbands and stuck. They are living in a place that also bothers them a lot but are taught not to complain about it and to submit to their husbands. However, both of the women try to communicate to their husbands about their homes which annoy them but it does nothing for the women. To get out of their trapped lives they do whatever it takes to get out. The wallpaper seems to be a symbolic structure in both stories as in the Yellow Wallpaper when it is hated mostly by the woman who is trapped in her "nursery" and the wall paper in Revolt of Mother where Sarah Penn's house should be replaced due to how old it is while her husband doesn't care to build a new home for his family.

Freedom Quotes

Dickinson- "And laugh -- No more have I --"

I think this shows Dickinsons' sense of freedom because in the poem 613, we see the journey she goes through out of the captivity of oppression and she is saying here that she no longer allows herself to be oppressed.

Emerson- "Free should the scholar be, — free and brave.

This quote shows Emerson's sense of freedom because it shows that all people should have freedom to be creative in reading and they should be brave enough to do so. They should be man thinking and be free to come up with their own ideas."

Douglass - "In coming to a fixed determination to run away, we did more than Patrick Henry, when he resolved upon liberty or death."

Here Douglass explains that he is more independent than Patrick Henry and that he is not going to give up on freedom. We can tell that he is  VERY determined.  He wouldn't allow himself to truly be a slave.

Whitman- "I lean and loafe at my ease . . . . observing a spear of summer grass. "

I think that this is shows Whitman is very free and easy going. He feels freedom and ease are something you do for yourself not for the world. He emphasizes exploring and learning for themselves.

Dickinson

1. Captivity

I think that captivity is the most striking word in Dickinson's poem, 613, because it shows a reference to the fact that during her time women were sort of held "captive" in a way. She was oppressed along with many other women of her time because men were thought to be those who could think and write and be intellectual whereas women were supposed to be domestic. I think that this one word shows the whole idea of the poem. It shows her transformation between being captive in the closet to laughing off her oppressors which is a huge feat she is able to overcome. Captivity is the idea that she struggles through and makes it out alive. Though her poems weren't published until after her death, she didn't need publishing to help her overcome her captivity. Poetry was her way out of the captivity. It was something she needed for herself to get through the struggle of being a women of the age.

Emily Dickinson

613

They shut me up in Prose--
I think that this line is producing a feeling that Dickinson was feeling whens she wrote the poem. possibly meaning that with the way maybe her family life was working she was stuck in writing prose or poetry. It makes me feel tense like she was stuck and i would not like to be in her situation 


As when a little Girl
little, its a cute word to me. She was once a little girl and this line expresses that vulnerability. The word they in the first line makes it seem like she was the baby of the family. she was young. makes me want to reminisce on my past as a little girl and relive all the little memories

They put me in the Closet --
I dont think that this literally means she was shut it a closet, possibly figuratively trapped, she feels trapped. my initial reaction was surprised to this line. it explains the being shut in prose idea
Because they liked me "still" --
being trapped in a closet makes me feel like you could do nothing but be still because you are trapped in a closet anyway. there is not an inch to move around in. they thought they were keeping her still but she was writing away without them even knowing anyway. this makes me think about the thoughts
I have about things and how I keep them to myself sometimes. Certain things are not talked about. This line makes me feel pain and confinement I wouldnt want to be kept still and not be free
Still! Could themself have peeped --
this line makes me think of the behind the scenes idea. you never know whats happening behind the curtains
 And seen my Brain -- go round --
If they were looking then they would see the behind the scenes work that was going on.
They might as wise have lodged a Bird
don't hurt the birdies! I think that this corresponding with the next line because its not finished but I think that the two combined are trying to explain that she didnt do anything wrong and she is being "shut up" for no reason at all
For Treason -- in the Pound --
the closet is the pound. this makes me think of a dog pound. being stuck somewhere you dont belong because nobody wanted you or because you wandered and got lost
Himself has but to will
If you want something you have to get it yourself. if you dont have motivation to do it  then you can do nothing.
And easy as a Star
once the motivation is there then its easy
Abolish his Captivity --
being figuratively stuck means that you can just get right out of the situation by breaking the ties of the captivity with your own will 
And laugh -- No more have I --
When you realize you are strong enough to do something you will laugh at how someone thought they could cage you and how you let yourself stay trapped

I think what sticks out the most to me is just the fact that throughout such a small and short poem, such a huge journey goes on. it starts with Dickinson is being oppressed and she finally comes out free. the other thing that stands out is the fact that she is overcoming the captivity of her life and this inspires me to do the same thing. She's not letting them oppress her anymore.