Stephen Crane's Story

I began to feel as desperate as the men in the dinghy when it got to the point in "The Open Boat" that even after seeing a man waving a coat, the omnibus and the group of people, they still were no closer to be rescued (104). Stephen Crane's story conveys man's isolation from God and nature. Regardless of the situation that man is in, nature is indifferent to the needs of man.

I think that each person faces a crisis in different ways. The captain remained dutiful yet poignant, the cook held onto what seemed naïve hopefulness, Billie who loyally rowed the boat, and the correspondent who was angry at the world for "putting" him in that situation. The character and personality that you carry with you through your life is most likely how you will face death as well.

Part I:

Gothic fiction is a type of creative writing that involves both horror and romance. It consists of drama, mystery, physical and psychological terror, the paranormal, darkness and curses. In "The Yellow Wallpaper", it provides accurate portrayal of how women in this era were viewed as weak, fragile, and this situation, mentally unstable. The author's husband, John, appeared to have her best interest at heart thus providing the element of romance. He seemed to love her dearly and spoke with affection towards her. Suffering from possible post-partum depression, the isolation of the yellow wallpapered room upstairs was driving the author even more insane (77). The author had no mental stimulation and began to imagine things that were not there. At first, I thought there might be a ghost in the mansion or some other element of the supernatural. Towards the end of the story it became apparent that the woman who was "creeping" around behind the wallpaper was not really there; it was just the woman's own struggle to escape the room.

I do consider the story women's libber. Gilman suffered from depression and was proscribed a "rest cure." She was allowed only limited mental stimulation and soon became desperate after near mental break-down. Gilman believed that the medical community at this time wanted women to remain weak so they declared many of them mentally unstable. This meant that women were to have no identity of their own. Today's more advanced treatment of post-partum depression includes a combination of professional counseling and antidepressants.

Part II:

I began to feel as desperate as the men in the dinghy when it got to the point in "The Open Boat" that even after seeing a man waving a coat, the omnibus and the group of people, they still were no closer to be rescued (104). Stephen Crane's story conveys man's isolation from God and nature. Regardless of the situation that man is in, nature is indifferent to the needs of man.

I