118 For Instructors: “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Pre-Discussion:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Most of you have probably read this one before. This is a famous piece that a lot of high school teachers like to assign because it is short and is old enough that we do not have to worry about copyright infringement. A lot of times the focus is on the treatment of women, the idea of mental illness, and some even argue that the time and people in the mansion are all part of her delusion. However, as your teachers may have argued in high school, this story is trying to do much more than to make people feel bad for the protagonist.
In order to make changes in our society, we cannot always rely on lawmakers. We can protest, sign petitions, and call or write our representatives, but that does not always work. Sometimes, rather than engaging with those who write the laws, you need to engage the people. However, most people do not care about things that do not directly affect them. So then what do you do? One way to make people pay attention to a problem is to show them a problem in a way that they might care about it. That is what artists have done for a very, very long time.
One of the unique aspects of writing is that it can both tell a story and make the reader think about the problem without actually telling them what they should think. We know this story is about the treatment of women, both mentally and physically, during a time when women had few rights. That is surface level type stuff. How is writing doing that? One of the ways that this and other writings do this is by making a social commentary.
“The Yellow Wallpaper”
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1952
In-class work:
- For this assignment, you should consider what social commentary is this text making. Consider when and where it was published.
- What can we learn about how women were treated during this time, both physically and mentally?
- What can we learn about how people who may be suffering from mental illness at this time period?
- As you read deeper into the text, what does this text mean? It says one thing, and that is what it says on the surface, not focus on what it means?
- Now that you have read this short story and answered questions about the story, please find a video that presents the story as a film.
- What differences did you notice between the film and the story you read?
- How did the meaning of the story change as you viewed it as a film rather than a story?
- What you would you have done different?
Essay Assignment
For this assignment, you will be analyzing the text in a way where you talk about what you think the text means and how your meaning changed as you looked at the material presented in class. As you write about what you think the text means, discuss a time when you felt helpless or misunderstood and compare this time with how the main character was treated in the story. PLEASE do NOT write about anything that may be too difficult to talk about and remember that other people will be reading your work, so do not talk about things you would not be comfortable telling others. Please pull passages from the text and discuss how your life has been similar or different. Finally, discuss which portions of the text influenced you the most.
This essay must be at least 1000 words and no more than 1250 word. You will be graded as follows:
| Superior (A)
25 points |
Good (B)
20 points |
Acceptable (C)
14 points |
Needs Improvement
(D) 12 points |
Failing (F)
10 points |
Not Submitted
0 points |
|
| Essay objective (analysis) | Demonstrates mastery performance and/or skill toward this objective. | Demonstrates above average performance and/or skill toward this objective. | Demonstrates moderate performance and/or skill toward this objective. | Demonstrates partial performance and/or skill toward this objective. | Demonstrates lack of performance and/or skill toward this objective. | Not submitted |
| Grammar and sentence structure | For the most part, the submission is free of grammatical and spelling errors. Sentence structure is sophisticated and varied | Though the submission may have occasional grammatical errors, the errors do not interfere with the reader’s understanding of the writer’s main ideas. Most sentences are properly developed and varied. | There is one pattern of error or many proofreading errors, but these do not cause reader confusion. Sentence structure is adequate, but many sentences lack thoughtful development and variation. | There are errors in sentence structure or other grammatical errors that cause reader confusion. Sentences may be too simplistic and lack proper development. | There are significant errors in sentence structure or other grammatical errors that cause reader confusion. Sentences are simplistic and underdeveloped. | Not submitted |
| Audience and Purpose | The writer demonstrates an exceptional understanding of the subject and shows consideration of the audience (readers). | For the most part, the writer demonstrates an understanding of the subject and shows consideration of the audience, but with the essay may be less sophisticated than a “Superior” response. | For the most part, the writer demonstrates an understanding of the subject and shows consideration of the audience, but one or both of these areas may need attention. | The essay may be weak in either audience consideration or understanding of the subject called for in the assignment. | The essay demonstrates a lack of serious consideration of the audience and shows the writer’s lack of understanding of the subject called for in the assignment. | Not submitted |
| Content and Development
(direct citation of the literature and other sources as needed) |
The thesis of the essay is supported with details and strong examples throughout the essay, as required by the assignment. | There are adequate details to support the main idea (thesis), but more details are necessary to fully understand the writer’s ideas. | More details are needed to fully understand the writer’s ideas. Some examples are unrelated to the main ideas of paragraphs and/or to the overall thesis of the essay. | The submission is on topic, but the development of the response is lacking. The essay also may have problems with tone and/or approach to the assignment. | The development of the essay is very weak and does not meet the minimum expectations of development for a college-level writing assignment | Not submitted |
| Overall Score | 100 | 80 | 70 | 60 | 50 |
