Top 100 Literature Essay Topics - 2023

The use of tone in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a powerful exploration of the theme of mental illness, and the author's use of tone plays a crucial role in conveying the story's underlying message. Through her use of language and imagery, Gilman creates a sense of foreboding and unease that gradually builds throughout the story, culminating in a shocking and deeply unsettling conclusion.

From the very beginning of the story, the tone is ominous and unsettling. The narrator's descriptions of the house, particularly the room with the yellow wallpaper, are filled with a sense of dread and foreboding. The use of words like "queer" and "strange" serve to underscore the narrator's unease, and suggest that something is not quite right about her surroundings.

As the story progresses, the tone becomes increasingly claustrophobic and oppressive. The narrator's confinement within the room, coupled with her growing obsession with the yellow wallpaper, serves to heighten the sense of unease and tension. Gilman's use of vivid and detailed descriptions of the wallpaper, with its "repellent" and "revolting" pattern, creates a sense of disgust and horror that is mirrored in the narrator's own mental state.

One of the most powerful artistic details that Gilman employs to convey the story's tone is the narrator's own internal monologue. As she becomes more and more fixated on the wallpaper, the tone of her thoughts becomes increasingly desperate and unhinged. Her repeated attempts to rationalize her own behavior, even as it becomes more erratic and dangerous, serves to highlight the insidious nature of mental illness and the ways in which it can distort one's perceptions of reality.

Finally, the tone of the story shifts dramatically in its final moments. As the narrator succumbs completely to her mental illness and begins to hallucinate, the tone becomes one of utter despair and horror. The final scene, in which the narrator has completely lost touch with reality and identifies herself as the woman trapped within the wallpaper, is a chilling reminder of the destructive power of mental illness and the ways in which it can rob us of our sense of self.

In conclusion, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a masterful example of the power of tone in conveying a story's underlying themes and message. Through her use of language, imagery, and internal monologue, Gilman creates a sense of unease and foreboding that gradually builds throughout the story, culminating in a shocking and deeply unsettling conclusion. The story serves as a powerful reminder of the devastating impact of mental illness, and the importance of recognizing and treating it with compassion and understanding.