After reading "Perilous Stuff" and "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper" consider the following questions:Who wrote "Perilous Stuff" and what possible motives might you infer from how the letter writer signed at the end? Do you agree or disagree with the writer who claims that "such literature contains deadly peril."
Paraphrase Gilman's intention in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" (based on her rationale from "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper"). Do you think she was successful? Why or why not? Use details from the articles as well as your own experience with the story as evidence.
A doctor wrote "Perilous Stuff," but he did not write his name at the end. I disagree with his or her viewpoint that literature is bad for mental health. Anyone who goes crazy from reading something was crazy to begin with.
ReplyDeleteGillman wrote the book because she wanted to show how listening to someone as protective as her physician (portrayed by John in the story) can make one go crazy. She was successful because when I read the story I felt like it was listening to John's rules and not living life made her go crazy. It also was in the fact that a doctor changed his treatment of patients and one family changed the treatment of a woman who was in a similar situation and she recovered.
Sam Kapust
The writer who made this protest against “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a Boston physician who believes it should not have been published. Seeing “M.D” at the bottom of “Perilous Stuff” shows the reader that he is a very reliable source. This is a form of ethos or credibility. I agree with the reader who wrote “Perilous Stuff” who claims, “Such literature contains deadly peril.” Even though Charlotte Perkins Gilman said that her story saved one woman from a similar fate, I believe it hurts people more then it helps them. As the writer states, “whose lives have been touched by this disease, it must bring the keenest pain.” I’m sure this story brings back bad memories to those who have recovered.
ReplyDeleteGilman’s intention in writing “The Yellow Wallpaper” was to be naturally moved by rejoicing by this narrow escape. She wrote it to send a copy to the physician who “so nearly drove her mad.” The biggest intention of her writing was to save people like her from being driven crazy, and she believes it worked. Even though I don’t agree with her intentions, she was successful. She was given the attention she wanted from writing this. Gilman’s writings changed a woman’s life by getting her to recover. The response she wanted was given to her, which made it successful. - Bridget
After reading "Perilous Stuff", I would think that either a doctor or someone who has experience this type of the illness would right this letter due to the M.D. signature. I think if it was a doctor he or she is trying to prevent people from further developing an illness from this reading due to its "deadly peril". If it is someone who has previously suffered an illness, they may be trying to avoid going back to that illness. I see the writers point in "Perilous Stuff" but after reading "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper", I disagree with the writers point. Gilman gives several examples of how her story has helped people avoid illness so it seems that it has had to opposite effect and hasn't damaged people.
ReplyDeleteGilman's point of writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was "..to save people from being driven crazy.." And from what it seems like it worked in her favor. I think she was successful in her writing this story because she talks about a man who altered his treatment for the better after reading "The Yellow Wallpaper" and another women who was saved from suffering from a similar illness after reading Gilman's story. I think Gilman was successful by not only in a way telling her story of an illness but exaggerating it and making it interesting and creepy. She says she suffered "..from a severe and continuous nervous breakdown tending to melancholia and beyond." Even the the story of "The Yellow Wallpaper" is not detail by detail her suffering of the illness she says she wrote it with "embellishments and additions.." which I think makes it even more effective and interesting.
The author of "Perilous Stuff" signed with M.D. making me believe he or she is a doctor. The author goes on to say that she thinks Gilman's writing is dangerous and should be prohibited. Gilman then wrote "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper" to disprove the author of "Perilous Stuff". Charlotte Gilman says that she wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" to save people from going insane. This is a direct rebuttal to what was said in "Perilous Stuff". Gilman goes on to say that her writing has actually helped people which discredits anything that "M.D." said in he or shes writing. So yes i think Gilmans writing is effective.
ReplyDeleteI think the doctor Gilam refers to when she wrote "Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper" is the doctor who wrote "Perilous Stuff." I think he wrote this as a comeback to what Gilman said about him in her passage: "...and sent a copy to the physician who so nearly drove me mad. He never acknowledged it." I disagree when the doctor says "such literature contains deadly peril." I found the story very interesting and it made me think about what it would be like to be mentally insane, and that I am lucky that I am not.
ReplyDeleteI think Gilman wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" to make people realize that the life of someone who is becoming mentally insane and how it is not easy and not easy for the people around them, because of personal experience. She states: "For many years i suffered from a severe and continuous nervous breakdown tending to melancholia--and beyond." I think she was successful because I personally realized the life of the insane.
Stephanie V
We can assume that "Perilous Stuff" was written by a doctor or someone with an extensive amount of medical knowledge. The motives of this short letter were to protest the allowance of "The Yellow Wallpaper" to be published in a magazine and to demonstrate the potential danger that the short story could cause. The writer elaborates that "such literature contains deadly peril." Most likely, the doctor is afraid that reading such a detailed account of insanity will actually drive people insane, especially those whose dementia is hereditary. I agree with the writer to a certain extent. I do believe that if one suffers from slight anxiety, or a nervous disorder, and reads "The Yellow Wallpaper," that it can be a determining factor in what sets off full insanity.
ReplyDeleteWhen Gilman wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper," her intentions were to rejoice that she had escaped insanity and to save people from being driven crazy. Gilman was partly successful, as she stated that it "saved one woman from a similar fate" and that "[the doctor] had altered his treatment of neurasthenia sine reading 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" However, I think that the story is elaborate enough to get inside the head of one who is on the brink of insanity. It perfectly portrays insanity from someone who experienced it first-hand. Overall, the story was meant to help and, for the most part, has been successful.
Lauren Hill
ReplyDeleteThe writer at the end signed the article “M.D.” which stands for doctor of medicine. The possible motive for signing the letter like that is proving his credibility in criticizing Gilman’s work. I disagree with the claim that “such literature contains deadly peril.” Many works of literature push boundaries and this is another one of those works. Gilman’s intention in writing “The Yellow Wallpaper” was to help people out, to help them realize what could be wrong in their lives and help them try and change it. I believe that she was successful because she saved a woman from going insane and even changed a doctor’s treating method. So, by creating her work she was successful.
A medical doctor wrote Perilous Stuff to severely criticize it and probably to display his outrage of the mockery "The Yellow Wallpaper" made of the medicinal profession. I do agree that "such literature contains deadly peril" because one could claim that it was John, her physician, who drove her over the edge of insanity.
ReplyDeleteGilman wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" to describe the "experience" of having a nervous breakdown. She sought the help of a physician who told her to "live a domestic life," however this act drove her almost over the point of sanity. I believe she was successful at this because she clearly demonstrates that it is the physician's fault for her immense mental breakdown.
A medical doctor wrote "Perilous Stuff" as shown by the signature at the end. He most likely was trying to make an appeal to ethos with this letter in that his reasoning probably was; since he is a doctor, he knows what he is talking about and therefore should be taken seriously by the people who read this. I do not agree that literature like this can cause deadly peril. Perhaps if mental derangement has been a part of some ones life in someway then it may be difficult and unwise for them to read this. However, in general it is an interesting and entertaining short story for one to read.
ReplyDeleteGilman's intention in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" as described in "Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper" is basically to save people from making the same mistake she did in using the "rest cure." I do think she was successful in this purpose. She often mentioned how her husband firmly recommended she rest with his rational being that he was a doctor. She continues the story and leads us all to see that because she was stuck in the room with that wallpaper and her constantly wandering mind she eventually lost it completely.
At the end of Perilous Stuff they signed it M.D which suggested it was written by a physician who criticized her story because of her negative view on the medical profession. I do not agree with the writer who claims that "such literature contains deadly peril" and that is because I believe it is beneficial and not dangerous to those who feel trapped in anxiety and suffer from severe nervous breakdowns. I believe that those who read this and related to Gilman were helped tremendously by knowing that someone was going through the same as them. Gilman's intention in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was to 'save people from being driven crazy' because it originated in her own experience as a patient. She suffered from depression and her physician recommended bed rest which in the end made her more crazy so she went back to doing what she loved, writing, and realized the physician was wrong and wanted to note the misdiagnosis with exaggerations and hallucinations of what she was feeling. I believe she was successful in her intentions in proving the physicians methods wrong because that physician changed his treatment methods.
ReplyDelete"Perilous Stuff" was written by a physician, whose job was threatened by Gilman's story. Anyone who reads this story would lose faith and trust in physicians, and physicians would lose money. This is why he claimed that her story is dangerous and should not be printed. This claim is completely unwarranted, and in fact the oposite may be true. When Gilman wrote "why I wrote the Yellow Wallpaper," she explains her intention to save people from insanity and to show physicians the flaws and downfalls of conventional treatment. She also tells how the story has carried out her intentions by telling us that it saved at least one woman from a similar fate, and that a physician changed his treatment of neurasthenia after reading this story. I agree, that the story is more helpful than it is harmful. The reason the narrator of the story went insane is that she was locked in a room most of the time. She did not experience the real world, and so she created her own world in which shadows were people and the wallpaper was a prison. If physicians continued to use their previous treatments, many people would suffer the same fate as the narrator.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Perilous Stuff is written by a family member of someone is mentally ill. I believe that the author wrote the piece because they were offended by how "They yellow Wallpaper" dismissed mentally illnesses a a phase. I'm sure that the person signed the essay the way that they did because they were sending it into a public news article and didn't want to receive ridicule for their remarks of a very popular piece. I believe that the intentions of Charlotte Perkins Gilman were to write a piece that could help people that are in a similar situation that she was in. She was obviously successful because she states that a woman was suffering from a similar case to her and after reading her story the family put her into everyday life and she fully recovered. Also the specialist that she had gone to changed his treatment for mentally ill cases after reading her story.
ReplyDelete-Patrick Yager
The author of "Perilous Stuff" was probably a doctor who was a proponent of the "rest-cure," and was therefore sensitive to its criticism. I do not believe that this story "contains deadly peril" but instead promotes understanding of those with mental illness and the progression of medicine. Perhaps if this work was more condemning of the patient and less of the controlling husband who inadvertently caused her breakdown through insensitivity, this work would have been perilous.
ReplyDeleteGilman's intention was to provide propaganda against the ineffective treatment and discourage its practice, which was apparently successful in the case of her former specialist in nervous diseases. I think that the manner in which the novel was written is more entertaining and conducive to the morbid fascination described in "Perilous Stuff" than it is argumentative against the rest cure, but ultimately it does provide reason to question the rest cure. Her background as a mental patient on the brink of collapse also makes her story seem more legitimate because it leads the reader to believe that she is an authority on the subject and a success in combatting her own depression, so her method of overcoming without the help of the specialist was obviously successful. The fact that it is still being read over a century after its publication provides evidence that it was an effective and forward-thinking piece.
I think that a medical doctor who didn’t want to attach his name to the note, but wanted people to know what his profession was wrote “Perilous Stuff” by signing it with “M.D.”. I don’t agree with his statement that the short story is “such literature contains deadly peril.” Though it was filled with abstract ideas that are not mainstream, I don’t think, “The Yellow Wallpaper” was “deadly” to any reader. It’s a person’s own choice to read what they want.
ReplyDeleteI think that Gilman was successful by giving her readers a taste of what it’s like to feel the way she did when she followed the doctor’s orders for her illness. The main character had crazy obsessions about the vacation house’s wallpaper and even paranoia. Her goal of the piece was to explain to her doctor how she felt from his “cure” and how it obviously did not cure her nervous breakdowns. In the end her piece was successful because the doctor “had altered his treatment of neurasthenia.”
The author of "Perilous Stuff" was a doctor or a medical professional because of the "M.D." included in the signature. This is the author trying to establish themselves to give a opinion as a professional on the subject (example of ethos). I disagree with the claim that "such literature contains deadly peril." because this is an extreme and worst case scenario.
ReplyDeleteGilman's intentions in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was to show her own story of a mental breakdown and how that problem affected her life so others could realize their similar problems and seek help. I believe she was successful because it says that she has saved at least one person from a similar fate of hers. This shows that her story is successful.
According to Charlotte Perkins Gilman, she stated in "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper," that a boston physician made protest in The Transcript, writing "Perilous Stuff." We know it was a boston physician but the way he signed it could make him more than a physician. It is possible that instead of M.D standing for medical doctor, it could stand for mentally deranged; almost like he wrote "Perilous Stuff" knowing what it was like to be mentally deranged. So when he signed the paper, instead of his name, he just put M.D.; mentally deranged. It is a possibility because he may have written this protest of publishing this kind of work because he read it and it brought up feelings of his horrible times and doesn't feel like people should have to experience this kind of feeling. I do not agree though with this writers claim that, "such literature contains deadly peril." Charlotte wrote the story because she loves writing, she went through a difficult time, and wanted to open up about it and help others. The story provides an in depth look at what it is like to be mentally deranged; in an interesting, creepy way; I see no "deadly peril" in it as this writer may.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte Perkins Gilman wrote "Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper" because she wanted to reach out to other people with the same problem as her and do what she could to help them. By writing about her experience and then making it more of a story she was able to make it interesting enough for people to read and for people to take something from it and learn; learn to stay calm and live life even with mental derangement and you will overcome it and stay in control. Charlotte listened to a specialist who told her to sleep and not do anything for the rest of her life and to not write which was what she loved to do; she almost went over the top insane until she began doing what she loved and living life again; that is when she was able to recover and live a normal healthy life. She wanted people to read this and learn to just live and do what you love and keep going and moving forward in life and that is when you will be healthy and happy. I do believe she was successful because we learned from reading that the more she was kept locked up in a room by herself, day and night, alone with her thoughts and that wallpaper, the more she went crazy and the more she went insane. She spent her whole time in "getting better" trying to escape this room and trying to escape to write freely and do what she wants; we learn that is what we need to do.
The person that wrote "Perilous Stuff" signed it M.D. I believe that means they are a doctor. I think that they are trying to establish their credibility that they know what they are talking about so more people will believe them. I disagree with this writer because I don't think that just because the story is about a "dreadful disease" that does not mean it is cause deadly peril or anything such. I think that this author is off base when he says that the story cannot give pleasure to any reader because many people enjoy reading stories like this for the very reason he dislikes it, that it "contains deadly peril."
ReplyDeleteGilman's intention of writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was to prevent people from being driven crazy. I think that she was successful because she says that it worked and she also says that it "saved one woman from a similar fate" and a specialist changed his treatment of neurasthenia after reading the story.
Megan Bernth
An M.D. wrote an article titled "Perilous Stuff" which criticized Charlotte Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper". Gilman's short story went far into detail about a woman who goes crazy after being confined for too long. This M.D. clearly writes negatively about her story because the methods that this M.D. gives his mental patients is totally misleading, and by writing this he/she may get a chance at getting he/she's patient back. Though I do tend to agree with the M.D.s statement "such literature contains deadly peril" because of the fact that reading a mental illness story like this may make the reader become paranoid and revert back to their old ways.
ReplyDeleteYet I do believe that Gilman's attempt at getting help that will actually work for real patients with her story because I think her piece will make possible mental illness patients more aware of their condition and the help that they need. According to Gilman, the piece of literature has "saved one woman from a similar fate..." and had a great mental illness specialist change his method of treating "neurasthenia".Those were the results within a span of 14 years, leaving no doubt in my mind that as time passed, more and more people found help due to Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper".
An M.D. wrote an article titled "Perilous Stuff" which criticized Charlotte Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper". Gilman's short story went far into detail about a woman who goes crazy after being confined for too long. This M.D. clearly writes negatively about her story because the methods that this M.D. gives his mental patients is totally misleading, and by writing this he/she may get a chance at getting he/she's patient back. Though I do tend to agree with the M.D.s statement "such literature contains deadly peril" because of the fact that reading a mental illness story like this may make the reader become paranoid and revert back to their old ways.
ReplyDeleteYet I do believe that Gilman's attempt at getting help that will actually work for real patients with her story because I think her piece will make possible mental illness patients more aware of their condition and the help that they need. According to Gilman, the piece of literature has "saved one woman from a similar fate..." and had a great mental illness specialist change his method of treating "neurasthenia".Those were the results within a span of 14 years, leaving no doubt in my mind that as time passed, more and more people found help due to Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper".
The author of "Perilous Stuff" is most likely the Boston physician mentioned in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper." At the end of "Perilous Stuff" the author signs M.D. which most likely means that this person is a doctor. The author is using ethos, showing his or her credibility due to being a doctor. I do not agree with the author because I thought that the short story "The Yellow Wall Paper" was very interesting and exciting. In fact, opposed to what the author said, I did have pleasure in reading the story.
ReplyDeleteGilman writes that her intention in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was to save people from being crazy. Apparently she was somewhat successful. She claims that her story helped to save another woman from the same fate. She also says, "I was told that the great specialist had admitted to friends of his that he had altered his treatment of neurasthenia since reading "The Yellow Wallpaper."
I inferred that the writer of "Perilous Stuff" was a doctor and that he signed simply "MD" so that he was anonymous, but also sneaking in the idea that his opinions are important because of his profession. I personally don't think I am in position to answer whether the statement the author makes about "deadly peril" is true or not. If I were to assume I would say that a person struggling with mental derangement would not benefit from reading this because of the eeriness and strangeness presented in the writing.
ReplyDeleteI think her intention was obvious - to explain why she wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper". I believe she didn't meet her goal, even though those two instances listed of people who benefited from reading this piece (the women of a familiar fate and the man who altered his treatment of neurasthenia). I can only imagine that if I were crazy and read that, I would be crazier. For instance, when I watch a scary movie and then watch another shortly after, it doesn't make me less paranoid. The second movie makes me just as frightened, if not more.
From the M.D signed at the bottom of the letter i can infer that the writer was the physician that incorrectly prescribed Charlotte. My reasoning for this is that the M.D must ether be the mans initials or more likely the acronym for Medical Doctor. I agree with the doctors idea that no good will come to anyone by reading this story. But i do disagree that just because of that fact that it should possibly not be published. EVeryone has the right to free speech, and if she wants to write something sick and twisted like this, then good for her.
ReplyDeleteHer basic message or idea for writing the story was to inform or show families who were dealign with similar situations with loved ones with mental disabilities how medical practices at the time were incorrectly prescribing patients. At one point she even says that " It has, to my knowledge, saved one woman's life from a similar fate-- so terrifying her family that they let her out into normal activity and she recovered." I think she was successful with getting the message across AFTER reading the follow up story explaining her true intentions. Her original piece didn't show her message as clearly as it could of or as well as the follow up writing did.
"Perilous Stuff" was written by a person who is very sensitive and contradictory to the story The Yellow Wallpaper. I believe it was someone who wanted his or her opinions to be known to society because it's a very controversial topic that could instigate a lot of hatred towards him if others are in disagreement, but he also wanted to let society know he is an important person (M.D. meaning doctor) so that he could put some value on his signature. I somewhat agree with the writer who claims that "such literature contains deadly peril" because it definitely does create "danger" for those who are vulnerable to this topic of mental hysteria; they might feel outraged that their current state is being portrayed in the way the author wrote about it because it might not be completely correct, or they might feel insulted. But, using the word deadly was in my opinion an exaggeration; it is not that serious.
ReplyDeleteGilman's intention in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was to help those who were suffering from mental hysteria or treating it. By writing it, she expressed what this issue was like when she experienced it (although it's fiction a lot of it was similar to her past), and therefore people could either learn what to do themselves if they were going through the same problem, or doctors would notice the faults in the way they were treating patients. I think she was very successful. In the second to last paragraph, Gilman tells readers "Many years later I was told that the great specialist had admitted to friends of his that he had altered his treatment of neurasthenia since reading The Yellow Wallpaper." This proves how helpful her story was because it persuaded an actual doctor to admit his faults and change the way he treated patients with this illness, which is very difficult for doctors to usually do. After reading the reasons why she wrote this article, I also was very shocked at her intentions and how much they worked. It changed my views on it because at first I thought it was a pointless read written by a bored author, but now I understand her point of view much better.
1. "Perilous Stuff," written by to Editor of the Transcript, was an attempt to debunk Charlotte Gilman's success and motives in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper." He wrote this to inform the editor that such a story was inappropriate and gave the "keenest pain" to those people read it and have suffered relations to the Paranoia in the story. He also believes that people who have potential to inherit such a disease may end up being influenced by this story; this will cause "deadly peril." If readers struggle against the mental derangement they may be in peril of going crazy after reading this story. I disagree with such statements because Gilman has already cited the success from the story. By writing this story she changed the treatments of many physicians which in turn helped victims of such diseases rather than hurt them. The story also helped wide spread knowledge of such a disease so that people who suffer lives where this disease relates to them can understand the pain and see how to handle it correctly. Overall, I do not believe this writing cases deadly peril, instead it causes widespread awareness.
ReplyDelete2. Gilman wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" in order to share her suffering with others and inform them of proper ways to treat her Paranoia. She wanted other physicians, as well as the general public, to know the the "rest" treatments are not effective. I think she was successful because she stated that the story did in fact save the life of another woman, whose family treated her similarly. There was most likely many other cases where other men or women were saved by the new knowledge found by reading this story. It was also successful because she found out that her physician ended up changing his methods of treatment, which indicates that others may have also realized how it is obsolete.
I feel that the person who wrote Perilous Stuff was written by someone who has gone through what Gilman had wrote about and completely disagreed with what happens when you have a complete emotional breakdown. The possible motives of the person who wrote the letter might be someone that fears that if they sign their name they could be treated for what Gilman was treated for. I do not agree that "such literature contains deadly peril" because people write to get things known, or to let something out, I do not believe that something someone truly feels can be classified as "deadly peril."
ReplyDeleteGilman's true intention in writing The Yellow Wallpaper was to let the physician that tried to help her know what they really did. However in reality this piece which was originally written in spite of someone turned into a "good specimen of one kind of writing." I think that she was unsuccessful, yet successful at the same time, since "he never acknowledged it." But she has also taught many people a type of writing, and has also influenced many people over the years.
I believe the person who wrote "Perilous Stuff" was a critic, or some form of a doctor. I believe this person's motives was to get it off magazines and books so that way people wouldn't be able to read it. I honestly don't agree, because every piece of literature does have its down points, but they're written in a certain way because it was intended. So no, I don't think it 'contains deadly peril' but rather it was meant to seem deadly.
ReplyDeleteGilman's intention in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was to not go insane. When she went to the doctor and he said to not do any writing, she obviously went mad. I know that if someone told me I couldn't write or read or draw, I'd go mad too. I'd go mad because all these things are such a big part of me, and I don't know what I'd do without them. Also, they're great ways to release stress and other unwanted emotions. So I think she was successful, because it got her feelings out, it got her thoughts out that were bottled up inside. Like when her family didn't want her to write but she wrote anyways. She did it because she had to, because if she didn't she WOULD go mad.
It can be assumed that "Perilous Stuff" was written by a physician, because the end of the letter was signed by "M.D." (medical doctor). I think by signing this way the author is showing the validity in his point by giving his credibility as a physician (ethos). I disagree with his claim that "such literature contains deadly peril" because it is simply a story, it's not meant to make people go crazy, it's meant to entertain.
ReplyDeleteIn "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Gilman informs curious readers, naturally, her motives for writing the story "The Yellow Wallpaper." She herself was mentally ill for some time and although no where near as bad as the main character in her story, it still effected her life extensively. Her main purpose for writing this story was to scare people out of becoming this mentally ill, to scare them into getting help faster. She shows an example of a woman who's family was so terrified from the story they let her out into the world and she recovered. Gilman's overall reasoning was to make people aware of the dangers of being trapped from society and to seek fast help for the mentally ill, or as she puts it, "not to drive people crazy, but to save people from being crazy."
"Perilous stuff" was written by a doctor who believes that "The Yellow Wallpaper" is an evil story that causes "the keenest pain" and "lunacy." I believe the writer signed the letter as "M.D." to show that he is a doctor, so he knows what he's talking about, but he didn't put his name because he was afraid of people criticizing him.
ReplyDeleteGilman's intention on writing "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper" was to tell how she got the idea from her earlier years suffering from a severe mental breakdown and to help herself and others. I believe she was successful because she managed to save lives with the literature and one specialist even changed the way he treated patients because of the story.
James Passarelle
The author of "Perilous Stuff" is obviously someone who does not agree with writing about disturbing stories that really share truth that world may not want to here. He or she wants to stay anonymous because of how they signed their name, as M.D. I somewhat agree, because I certainly did not enjoy reading the story. But if society weren't allowed to publish stories like this, how would we grow as a society?
ReplyDeleteBasically, Gilman needed to get her ideas into the world about mental illnesses and the way people brush them off. This is was unfair to her and wanted to stop it from happening to other people. Why wouldn't she have a right to do that? To an extent I think she was successful because the treatment of neurasthenia changed after reading "The Yellow Wallpaper." On the other hand, people like M.D. clearly don't get it.
~Hayley Bester
In "Perilous Stuff" the narrator signs the letter with M.D. ( medical doctor) witch has a great appeal to ethos, because it establishes his credibility and thus gives him reason to discuss the "disease" of the women in "The Yellow Wallpaper". I believe that the narrator may be "John", the husband of the narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper", because in the story he was the physician, and in "Perilous Stuff" diction such as "wife" and phrases like "if such literature should be permitted" suggest that the writer is John. In the article "Why i Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper" Charlotte Perkins Gilman slightly describes the logic of her mental disorder, and explains that she wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" "to save people from being driven crazy". I do believe that this worked because in the article it says that "it has saved one women from a similar fate" and that "the great specialist...had altered his treatment of neurasthenia since reading "The Yellow Wallpaper". In my opinion "The Yellow Wallpaper" was successful with trying to help people of the same troublesome mental state however some of the descriptions and "the mental derangement" of the narrator were somewhat disturbing.
ReplyDeletei think Gilman was successful because in writing The Yellow Wallpaper she uses her real life experience to create her story. she said she wrote the story to help show people how bad her condition actually was and that people never really took Gilman seriously. when she finished the story she sent it to the physician who nearly drove her mad, and he never acknowledged it even though people have credited her story to "saving people from the same fate"
ReplyDelete"Perilous Stuff" was written by a disgruntled reader of "The Yellow WallPaper" who hated the piece and believed it contained "deadly peril." By the way he they signed the letter at the end, you can assume the person is a doctor who disagrees with the pieces lot due to his back round in medicine. I disagree with his claims and believe that this piece contained not the slightest of perils and was pretty entertaining. Gilman intention for writing "The Yellow Wall Paper" was to try and keep people from going crazy, by showing them that just sitting a room unentertained won't help. I Think she is successful because she makes an example out of the narrator of the story who just waits and does nothing in hopes of getting better, but ends up just going insane. Also, i find often that just sitting around with nothing to due, overwhelms your mind with such an amount of boredom that you can't stand it and your mood changes for the worse because of it. After long exposure to such circumstances, it probably could drive you crazy.
ReplyDelete-kyle rubin
JXP
ReplyDeleteM. D., who you can assume be a Medical Doctor, may have written this story to ban the story by stating that it gives pleasure to no reader and even hurts those who knows someone dealing with the disease. I disagree with their statement due to the fact that this is a story. She isn't deriding disease at all, she is just exposing some flaws in treatment for it. Books on war are written all the time and, in most cases, the author has never actually experienced war. The point of the story was to entertain and I believe Gilman did that effectively.
Gilman's intention in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was to criticize the "rest cure" and to save others from the situation she experienced when she almost went mad. I think she was very successful because it opened the eyes of each person who read it. GIlman also states that it "saved one woman from a similar fate" and it caused her doctor to "[alter] his treatment of neurasthenia since reading [her story]"
The editor of the transcript wrote “Perilous Stuff”. The editor probably was sending it to the author showing his distaste for the piece and his concern for the readers. I disagree with the editor because I, as a reader, enjoyed “The Yellow Wall-Paper.” The story was unique and fascinating.
ReplyDeleteWhen Gilman was writing “The Yellow Wall-Paper” her goal was to help mental patients get better help. She was suffering from nervous breakdowns and her doctor told her to stay home and not to write. She almost completely broke down when her friend helped her. Writing “The Yellow Wall-Paper” worked because after she wrote it and sent it to her old doctor she found out later that he changed his practice.
-Melissa Stangel
I believe that a doctor wrote “Perilous Stuff”. They say that the story touches the lives of people with the disease, bringing pain. I understand what the doctor is saying about it being a little too graphic, at least for the time period (1899). "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper" is about what supposed "rest cures" could do to the mental stability of patients. In her own words, Gilman wrote: "It was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked." She sent a copy to the physician who had recommended a rest cure, and he subsequently changed his medical practices. Because of this, and how it had helped other people, I would say that Charlotte Perkins Gilman is successful.
ReplyDeleteThe writer of perilous stuff is the editor of "The yellow wallpaper" novel. One of the possible motives of the signing is to show the effects on which the novel puts on its readers. I agree that "such literature contains deadly peril" because it can have an effect on the reader in a instant of reading it. The story can put an effect on any one who reads it. Gilmans intention of writing the story was to compare it to her life experiences. For many years Charlotte suffered from severe and continuous nervous breakdowns. I thinks that Charlotte was very successful because it gave the ready a sense of felling like they had nervous breakdowns or if they were crazy. This is present when Charlotte was told to use the rest technique and she presented this in "The Yellow Wallpaper." I believe that she was very successful.
ReplyDeleteA Boston physician wrote "Perilous Stuff", and the motives behind this, as inferred by the signing, is that he, as a doctor, views this as bad for his patients, because of the depiction of the woman's insanity in the story. I disagree with his claims, especially after reading "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper", since it helped some woman that had mental problems from being like the woman in the story.
ReplyDeleteGilman's intentions in writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" was to protect woman from becoming like the woman in the story. I think that she is successful of this, because of the sentence, "It has, to my knowledge, saved one woman from a similar fate--so terrifying her family that they let her out into normal activity and she recovered. Also, I feel that she is successful, because after reading that I would never have anyone stay in bed and rest, if they were feeling mentally ill, out of fear that they would become even more insane.
I agree with the writer of "Perilous Stuff" that "The Yellow Wallpaper" contains deadly peril. The horror of the story is especially touching because it takes you into the mind of a person with a mental illness, and you begin to feel as if these events are happening to you also. That is why this story is so shaking, you feel vulnerable after reading it and begin to fear ever experiencing this mental illness.
ReplyDeleteGilman's "Why I wrote the Yellow Wallpaper" states that she wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" based on her own experiences. She was suffering from melancholia and nervous breakdowns and her psychologist told her to simply do nothing and refrain from work. She was nearly driven mad after three months of this and decided not to follow this method anymore because all humans need to do some type of work, it is what their existence is based on. From her own experiences she wrote about a woman that actually did go crazy and sent it to her psychologist is hope that he would change his ways. She was very successful because she proved how the deprivation of any activities from a human causes them to find other activities that aren't healthy and normal. But mostly she was successful because after she sent in her story to her old psychologist he altered his treatment of neurasthenia.
Liam Bass,
ReplyDeletePerilous Stuff was written by a doctor as it was signed M.D. The letter sates that the doctor believes this type of literature can actually cause anxiety related diseases in women. That this writing alone is harmful for women. However, Gilman believes the opposite is true and this can cure these types of mental diseases in women. That she herself was on the cusp of these anxiety diseases and her doctor told her to rest and not to ever write. But she wrote anyway and she believes that this cured her and she wrote this story to help cure these women. In "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper" she tells of a woman who claimed that she saved her from mental illness because of the story so I believe she was successful
The letter, titled Perilous Stuff was signed MD, meaning the letter writer was a Doctor. This doctor who signed his letter simply MD, obviously wanted to remain anonymous, meaning that they acknowledge that their actions might be considered somewhat childish in their defensive reaction to the story. I do not agree with his view point and personally find his reaction immature in his finger-pointing.
ReplyDeleteIn retaliation to this letter Charlotte Gillman (rightfully) defended herself, and explained that something similar to the story had happened to her, and pointed out that it was not only therapeutic to her but also proved a point. I believe she was very successful in her actions that she was level-headed in her explanation and pointed out what she had heard about her physician.