ENGL 120H - Final Exam - Professor: Barbara Schapiro PDF

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Drowne 1 Nicole Drowne Professor Schapiro English 120 Honors 21 December 2020 Final Exam I.

Short Answer Section 1. Title: “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Author: Charlotte Gilman a. Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” depicts the narrator’s husband John as a neglectful partner who isolates his wife, has complete control over her, and supposedly does it for her own good. She is stuck in her toxic relationship; writing is the only thing that allows her to express her feelings and validate herself. This constant separation from the real world, or any normal social contact whatsoever, drives her to the point of mental insanity. In the room where she is trapped, the nameless narrator describes the yellow wallpaper as both “disgusting” and “intriguing.” The color and the patterns are revolting at first because how she feels about the wallpaper is reflective of how she feels toward her own situation. We are seeing the mind of a very depressed individual as she even becomes fond of the wallpaper once she sees an imaginary woman “creeping about” it. Of course, this woman is only a symbol of herself, who is slowly descending into darkness and must “creep” around in order to prevent John from coming into the room. Since this hallucinated woman is so similar to her, the narrator almost becomes protective of the woman on the wallpaper. At the end, she rips down the wallpaper as her insanity consumes her and she believes that this woman must be freed from the wall, revealing the narrator’s deep desire to escape as well. Hence, as John enters the room and “cries” to his wife, it is clear that he is utterly shocked at the scene before him. He sees the chaotic mess of his wife wrapped in wallpaper, so his immediate reaction is to faint and fall “right across [her] path by the wall.” Despite his presence, the narrator continues to “creep just the same,” indicating a deeper meaning of the phrase than just her avoidance of her husband stopping her from liberating the woman in the wall. It is more emblematic of her frail position in a male-dominating society as a female; she must remain passive and exhibits a child-like helplessness, which is only what is expected in such a patriarchal atmosphere. Furthermore, the narrator angrily states that, “and I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back,” showing the association she makes between her and the imprisoned woman in the wall. Although she appears to finally express her resentment toward her husband in the end, she still “creeps over” him even after he has fainted. Evidently, the

Drowne 2 narrator has successfully freed the woman, which parallels her own gain of freedom and potential independence. However, there is still residual anxiety and fear from her husband’s abusive tendencies toward her. Moreover, the narrator may have escaped the psychological torture from her husband and now has some sense of liberty, but she has sacrificed her sanity in return. Therefore, it is more of a personal victory because she still remains crazy due to the trauma she is experienced. 2. Title: “The Dream of an Hour,” Author: Kate Chopin a. In Chopin’s “The Dream of an Hour,” Louise feels unbridled happiness when her sister delivers the news that her husband Brently died in a railroad disaster. Although she dreadfully sobs and retreats to her room for privacy at the beginning of the story, Louise realizes that she is an independent woman, which enlivens and excites her. Her joy is forbidden by society and their expectations, yet she cannot help but feel elated that she has a newly open future. When looking out the window in her room, she observes the simple features of nature; trees, rain, gathering clouds, and birds singing. The sadness and shock she feels about Brently’s death seems to fade and she is suddenly bursting with warmth and hope for her life as a widow. The open window that Louise stares out of represents the vast array of opportunities she will have as a single, independent woman after her husband’s supposed death. Initially, this appears to be a rather abnormal reaction to the death of one’s husband, however the reader must take into consideration the patriarchy that shadows Louise’s ability to choose her own path in life. Thus, as the quote suggests, “she would live for herself” and her actions would actually be her own. Her husband’s death has helped Louise gain a sense of personal identity, separate from her role as simply his wife. Furthermore, Louise claims that all marriages are capable of stifling the couple’s independence, hence the “blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” Without the demanding ties of marriage controlling her life, Louise has found her own selfdetermination in which she can live for herself and no one else. In this quote, Louise does admit to loving Brently through their years of marriage, however this truly does not triumph “in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being.” To Louise, simply the mere thought of becoming an independent woman is enough to make her more fulfilled than she ever has been. Nonetheless, even as Louise chants “free! Body and soul free!” as she stares out of window of possibilities, it is noted as her whispering these phrases of newfound free will. The fac that “she kept whispering” displays the lasting impact that domineering societal standards have on a fresh widow. As happy as Louise is to start living her own life, she is also aware that this must be a private celebration so as to avoid suspicion from

Drowne 3 those around her. However, when Brently turns out to be alive and returns home, he yanks this secret joy and freedom away from Louise. She dies of “heart disease” and, as the doctor claims, the overwhelming amount of joy in her heart from her husband’s return. But, ironically, her sudden passing was caused by the shock of Brently’s return and that she has lost this new idea of independence. In other words, when Louise turned from that window which held her liberated future plans, all of those opportunities disappeared; she would be forced to return to a married life with no true happiness. All in all, Chopin tends to suggest how inherently oppressive all marriages are, even if you may care a lot for the other person. 4. Title: A Doll’s House, Author: Henrik Ibsen a. In Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Nora is considered the doll of the play because she is her husband's possession and plaything. Even in the beginning of the play, the description of the setting indicates that Nora and her family live in a doll house; the “handsomely bound books” and “a porcelain stove.” Thus, it is no surprise that Torvald and Nora play their roles all too well. While Nora’s behavior is playful and silly as a “doll” of a wife should be, Torvald acts as the proud man of the house, playing along with her by calling her his “bird” or “squirrel.” Clearly, they are both trying to fit the traditional expectations of marriage. Nora is well aware of how superficial her relationship, but she takes advantage of it, hence why the male figures in her life treat her like a helpless child. Nora is rather morally and maturely stunted from this constant “dollhouse” life as she moved from the sheltered life at her father’s house to that of her husband’s house. However, Nora begins to act in ways that do not fit her standard role; she begins to do things without her husband’s knowledge, like eating macaroons and swearing occasionally. More importantly, Nora takes out a loan, without Torvald’s approval, in order to potentially save his life and the future of their family as well. Here, Nora strongly believes that her good intentions justify her illegal actions; Torvald does not feel the same way. Torvald claims that taking out loans will ruin a marriage; this is ironic because Nora’s reveal that she took out a loan to save his life enrages Torvald so much that he ends their relationship. However, when Torvald learns that Krogstad is not prosecuting them for Nora’s actions, he tries to salvage his marriage and convince her that she needs him to survive. He claims that she did not have “sufficient knowledge to judge of the means [she] used,” meaning that Nora made the mistake of taking out a loan because she was simply not smart enough to think otherwise. Torvald insists that Nora does not “understand how to act on [her] own responsibility,” yet the entire reason that she decided to break the “rules” and pursue a loan was to prevent Torvald from spiraling out of control; she did this as a favor to him. He wants Nora to lose any amount of selfmotivation or self-rule that she has in order to “only lean on [him]” as

Drowne 4 “[he] will advise and direct [her].” Even more degrading to Nora, Torvald claims that “womanly helplessness gives [her] a double attractiveness in [his] eyes,” indicating that women are so incapable of supporting themselves that it is makes them more alluring to the male gaze. As if the objectification and dehumanization that women must endure is not attractive enough to men, it is also important that females exhibit no level of incentive on their own behalf. Nevertheless, Torvald takes pride in being able to acknowledge “that he has forgiven his wife” after the terrible decision she has made; the one that was meant to cater to his well-being. Clearly, Torvald likes the idea of being in love with Nora; he is ready to return to their artificial relationship. But, rhe “miracle” that Nora was hoping for her is that Torvald would take the blame for her forgery. She wants her husband to sacrifice himself for the sake of her wellbeing, similar to how she thought of him when taking the loan out despite the consequences she would face in the future. Of course, she was hopelessly disappointed in the end. This appears to be the last straw for Nora as she refuses to return to such a sadistic relationship, and she can only adhere to her role for so long. Ultimately, she decides to put herself before her role as a mother and a wife. Overall, this shows that women are socialized to prioritize others over themselves; it took Nora the entire play to realize this. 5. Title: “Trifles,” Author: Susan Glaspell a. In Glaspell’s “Trifles,” Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find themselves wrapped in the aftermath of Mr. Wright’s murder as they reflect on their past relationship with Mrs. Wright. Throughout the story, it is clear how demeaning the husbands, including the detective and sheriff, are to their wives. Yet, ironically, the men search the upstairs in hopes of finding evidence, when in reality, the two women are able to comprehend what caused the murder from looking at the scene in a female perspective. As Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find all of the evidence downstairs, Mrs. Wright’s behavior does not seem as horrid or abnormal as they once thought. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters see that Minnie started quilting a blanket, but some of the stitches are “all over the place” and they discover a dead bird, which has been strangled. The women conclude that Mr. Wright had maliciously killed his wife’s pet bird, which must have set her off to end his life. However, the women also are aware of how abusive and hateful Mr. Wright was toward his wife, so it is evident that her murderous actions were built up by years of mistreatment and ignorance. There is a distinct difference between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters’ relationship with Mrs. Wright as Mrs. Hale has experienced both the loss of a son and a cat. She understands the more meaningful connections that a woman makes with their children, and even loving pets, that make marriage more tolerable. So, to have such an emotional connection cut off so suddenly is

Drowne 5 traumatic and heartbreaking. Hence, she understands why Mrs. Wright killed her husband out of frustration from being depressed and lonely. Whereas, Mrs. Peters has a rather cold and straightforward view of the murder and did not relate to Mrs. Wright in the way that Mrs. Hale does. In this quote, Mrs. Hale tells Mrs. Peters that, “‘I wish you’d seen Minnie Foster,’” referring to Mrs. Wright with her first and maiden name and exemplifying the difference between a happy single woman and a miserable woman crushed by an awful marriage. Mrs. Hale feels absolute guilt about not visiting Mrs. Wright when she clearly needed a friend the most as she exclaims, “‘oh, I wish I’d come over here once in a while.’” In a way, Mrs. Hale displaces the more shocking crime of Mr. Wright’s murder with that of her own guiltiness and shame for not socializing with Mrs. Wright when she had so many opportunities to do so. She even says to Mrs. Peters, “‘That was a crime! That was a crime,’” showing her regret of not spending enough time with Minnie, despite her being afraid of Mrs. Wright’s abusive home environment. As indicated throughout the story, the women are the only ones able to recognize the evidence of Minnie’s wrongdoing because only they can understand a female’s motives, especially in the male-controlled society they live in. Even though their marriages have more subtle misogynistic tendencies, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters ultimately understand that the oppression a wife feels through years of marriage can be enough to drive her to murder. Not to mention, Mrs. Wright’s husband was outright physically and emotionally abusive; there was only a matter of time until Minnie cracked under the maltreatment. With this in mind, the women end up hiding the evidence from the men as their husbands continue to belittle them until the end of the story. The women decide to do this out of pure sympathy for Mrs. Wright because they are aware of the despondent and depressed life she lived. At the very end, the women even mention “knotting” Mrs. Wright’s quilt in order to emphasize Mr. Wright’s strangulation; a subtle hint that they know and understand Minnie’s dire circumstances far more than any man could care to find out. 7. Title: “Odour of Chrysanthemums,” Author: D.H. Lawrence a. Lawrence’s “Odour of Chrysanthemums” shows the life of Elizabeth Bates and how she reacts to husband’s prolonged absence to their family dinner. When she receives news that he has in fact died in a terrible mining accident, Elizabeth is bewildered and does not know what her future will entail. For the first half of the story, she does not even know whether or not he is alive; this causes her mentality to shift to darker places. For instance, her husband consistently would go out to drink and return to their house at absurd times; it is clear that any one of these times he could have turned up dead She was forced to think about things she never thought she would have to consider. Even if she was a widow, she is still a

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mother and must face those challenges alone now. However, once she comes face to face with his dead corpse, Elizabeth has no choice but to admit that he was “eternally apart from her,” this makes her realize how sudden and imminent death can be. This moment of brief sadness becomes a moment of awakening for Elizabeth; she never genuinely knew her husband. His death makes her wonder if she can every truly know someone to the fullest extent in life. She comes to terms with the fact that “they had denied each other in life” and that their marriage did not even begin to deepen as the years withered away at it. In other words, “it had become hopeless between them long before he died” and this causes Elizabeth to reevaluate their entire marriage; maybe she could have been happier with him if more effort was put in on both their ends. She acknowledges that “he had been her husband” even though it was very “little” of the time that he actually tried to fulfill his expectations as her husband. Overall, Lawrence explores the idea of existential terror and how it can so quickly change a person’s perceptions; in Elizabeth’s case, she is both sad about her past and fearful of her future. Essay Section

In many of Chopin’s stories, there appears to be a thin line between the feelings of love and hate, even the subtle inclination that hate can be a kind of thwarted or frustrated love. A common theme in her writing also indicates that society’s expectations and pressures have an immense influence over the characters that try their best to fit these standards. Therefore, in “Desiree’s Baby,” “Madame Celestin’s Divorce,” and “A Respectable Woman” specifically, Chopin conveys that a particular social construct can determine a character’s entire outlook on life; their opinions, their beliefs, and, most significantly, their views of love and hate. In “Desiree’s Baby,” Chopin shows the race struggle that inhabited the southern states in the mid-1800s, and moreover how this suppressed the seemingly happy marriage of Desiree and Armand. Considering the overwhelming shadow that white superiority casts over the South, it is a wonder how Armand did not realize sooner that his son’s physical appearance symbolizes black heritage. Even more surprising, he does not find out until the very end of the story that his own blood is contaminated with that of slaves and impoverished black individuals. However, before

Drowne 7 this life-changing information is even revealed to anyone, besides Madame Valmonde, it is evident that Armand and Desiree are living relatively happy and carefree lives. As Chopin states in their almost “honeymoon phase” of being a new and joyous family, “marriage, and later the birth of his son had softened Armand Aubigny’s imperious and exacting nature greatly” (Chopin 3). As his dark demeanor brightens, Armand begins to treat the slaves with some basic human decency and enjoy the life he has built; the life he believes he is meant to have. Desiree strives to please Armand and maintain this sudden burst of happiness from him, but unfortunately this is only a conditional form of affection on his end. As Desiree observes herself, “Armand’s dark, handsome face had not often been disfigured by frowns since the day he fell in love with her” (Chopin 3). Armand’s love for Desiree may not have been as deep and full as her love for him, but that is because there is an underlying level of resentment toward Desiree and their son that he just not fully aware of yet. The delights of fatherhood and having a romantic partner as beautiful and kind as Desiree only temporarily disguise Armand’s awareness that he is raising the next generation of black slaves. Once he realizes the permanent damage that Desiree has done on his family name and home, this whimsical love turns into hatred toward her, with very little love left in the relationship. His treatment of Desiree shifted dramatically into complete cruelty as “when he spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from which the old love-light seemed to have gone out” (Chopin 3). Armand can no longer view Desiree as the attractive and caring white woman that he so desperately fell in love with, nor can he see his son as a product of their love. Instead, he is only the result of a disastrous mistake. Though Armand certainly appeared to love the idea of Desiree and the expansion they could make in his white and wealthy family, it is overpowered by the total detestation he feels toward those with black heritage. Although Armand harbored these hateful feelings toward the black community, it is society that has constructed such a

Drowne 8 negative view of black people and, vice versa, the highly held concept that white individuals are superior. Armand’s personal feelings and need for social acceptance are at conflict; ultimately, he chooses to twist the prior love he felt for Desiree into a loathing of the embarrassment that his family has caused him. In “Madame Celestin’s Divorce,” the story is told from the Lawyer Paxton’s point of view as the mysterious Madame Celestin captures his attention and keeps him coming back for more. Madame Celestin’s character and the situation that Chopin presents for her is rather ambiguous, but based on the lawyer’s perspective, it can be perceived that Madame Celestin is suffering from an abusive, and perhaps alcoholic, husband. It appears to be a combination between her image as a victim and her tendency to flirt with Lawyer Paxton that makes ...