Monday, November 17, 2008

“The Yellow Wallpaper”

Temmi Adeyeni
Period 11
Ms.Brown
“The Yellow Wallpaper”
In Charlottes Perkins Gilman’s story, The Yellow Wallpaper, she tells the story of a woman who was considered a “true woman”. Though this story holds many main ideas, the one that sticks out the most is that being part of the “cult of true womanhood” can have some mental effects on the woman. In this case, the woman in this story is drained by the fact that her husband was putting her up on a high pedestal. Charlotte Perkins Gilman proves this argument through the use of detail and imagery.



By Charlottes Perkins Gilman using a plethora of detail and imagery, she is evoking the idea that this woman is miserable and tired. She is tired of being smothered by her husband. He does not really want her to do anything and she just sits around and watch the day go by. The woman describes her house and estate in a very distinct manner that helps the audience come to the conclusion that she is bored with the relationship. Each day is slowly dragging along with no significance. “It makes me tired to follow it”, “I did nor feel able”(Gilmer 7). The woman has turned into a lazy person, who expects everything to be done for her. She hates this idea, because she knows it is changing her as an individual. Having to live up to the standards of “cult of true womanhood”, was tiring, draining and most importantly weakening to her well-being. She is being mentally affected in the sense that she knows she is getting weaker and to get her power back, she “attacks” everything that reminds her of her situation. This is where the Yellow Wallpaper comes into play. In the story, the Yellow Wallpaper is being described as “repellent”, and “unclean”; she goes on to state that she should hate the wallpaper herself, since she had been in the room long enough. This reinstates the fact that she was sick of being lazy and not having anything to do. She did not want to be in the lap of luxury. These mental effects went as far as affecting her marriage. It seemed like her husband loved her a lot but the feelings were not reciprocal. She is aware of the fact that she is unfair to him, because she keeps on mentioning that he cared for her a lot. She feels that if she drew closer to her husband, the fact that she was being treated like an insolent would only get worse. This makes her angry, because if she tries to get out of the relationship nothing good could come out of it. She would lose her title as a “true woman” and therefore be shunned by the society. Nothing good would come out of it.


In conclusion, Charlottes Perkins Gilman thoroughly explains to the reader the mental effects of being a “true woman”. She shows that it is not only draining to the women on the outside looking in, but also to the women on the inside.

Annotated bibliography

Temmi Adeyeni
1001274
November 15, 2008
Annotated Bibliography: Pediatrician
Anonymous. (2005) . Adolescent Sex-Ed . The Washington Times . Retrieved
November 14, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main idea of this article is to express that there is going to be a lot of pressure on pediatricians. People will always look up to them to knowing what to do in every situation. This can go to such an extent that they take on some of the roles that a parent would normally take on. This article entertains the idea of pediatricians teaching their pre-teen and teenage patients about sex. This argument is being presented to me through the amount of detail that the writer uses. She explains a lot about what exactly the pediatricians had to talk about with their patients. Some of these things intertwine with moral values ,which parents should be teaching their children. By including all the detail, it makes it seem like the writer does not really like this idea. The flaws of this idea lies in the fact that the writer did not ask enough questions and figure out why it is urged that pediatricians teach their teen female patients about their sexual escapades. Had she have done that , the argument would be stronger. This article, however, teaches me that to be a pediatrician you have to sometimes pick up other people’s slack. Whether it is the other doctors’ or the parents’ themselves. You have to be ready for anything.
Anstett, P. (2004) . Flu shots plans specify how to ration vaccine . Detroit Free Press . Retrieved November 14, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main point of this article is to inform readers about the people that were eligible to get the Flu Vaccines. This main point was presented using the rhetorical trope, logos. She exhibited the use of logos by stating facts and statistics. Numbers were used when she was speaking about ages and amounts of vaccine given. Children 6-23 months old, children 6 months-18 yrs old taking aspirin, pregnant women, Senior citizens/ nursing home residents, Health care workers in direct patient-care jobs, Caregivers and household contacts of children younger than 6 months. The leftovers were going to be given to healthcare workers who care for high-risk patients. The flaws in this argument lie in the fact that she does not answer questions that can be derived from reading the article . For example, How are the vaccines going to be paid for? What chemical in the Flu Vaccine that makes it so effective in different people with different medical backgrounds ? Its almost like she leaves the readers with a cliffhanger. She also does not offer me an explanation as to why the vaccines are not available to everyone. These flaws could be fixed by her diving deeper into the topic and uncovering the hidden details leaving no question unanswered. She could have had someone else look over it and answer all the questions they might have had. This article helped to show me that pediatricians are at high demand during Flu season. As you can see in the list of qualifiers, a good chunk of them are little children. Being that a pediatrician is a children’s doctor, from this article, I know that if I become a pediatrician, I will be busy at different points of my career when kids are in danger of getting sick. It lets me know that I am in the risk of catching different diseases from my patients. Basically, this article is giving me the physical risks of being a pediatrician. On the other hand, it increases my interest in this career, because by administering the Flu vaccine, I am helping to keep children safe.
Gehrke-White, D. (2002) . Ritalin needed to keep kids safe and Healthy, psychologist says . The Miami Herald . Retrieved November 14, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main idea of this article is that children should not be offered the same medicines as adults. In this case, Ritalin , a mental psychotropic drug is being argued over on whether it should be offered to children or not. Some say that Ritalin and other drugs should still be used and others argue that they are not necessary for little children. The ones that support Ritalin say that it is among a group of psychotropic drugs given to maintain or improve behavior, emotions or thinking. The ones that opposed Ritalin say that society also has to look at other problems contributing to children being hyperactive or having problems concentrating instead of just taking the easy way out and giving medication. The rhetorical trope that is used in proving this argument is logos. The writer uses a lot of facts to back up his main points such as: The Florida State Legislators and some statistics. By using logos and supporting both sides of the argument, it makes the argument unbiased and therefore everything is fair. The flaw in this argument lies in the fact that the author fails to mention or look into any scientific research that is trying to find an alternate for Ritalin . The article would have been much stronger had he have done that. This article taught me that to be a pediatrician you have to have some sort of patience. For example: if a child comes in with a sickness, you have to be willing to make some lifestyle changes and figure out the root of the problem before you take the easy way out and give medications.

Gillham, C. (2007). More than just Push-ups. Newsweek, 149(25) . Retrieved November 15, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main idea of this article is that pediatricians hold a special significance in a child’s life. In this article, before the child could go lifting weights with a personal trainer, he had to go see a pediatrician. This shows that pediatricians serve a purpose in a child’s life. The rhetorical trope that it used in supporting this argument is ethos. Ethos is being used in the sense that the man’s father wanted to keep his child safe by taking extra precautions. He wanted to .let his son have a good time, but in a safe way. He is showing ethos, because he is showing good parenting skills. The flaw in this argument is that it does not include a standard workout routine for a boy his age. Had he have added the standard workout routine, he would have had a stronger argument. This article taught me that being a pediatrician is a big responsibility. They have to be ready for anything. All their patients look to them before they make any decisions that may affect them. They have to know the patient inside and out so they can prescribe the right medicines and make the correct lifestyle changes.
Goddard, J. (2005) . Children draw Real Darfur . Toronto Star . Retrieved November 14, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main idea of this article is that as a pediatrician, you have to be willing to expand your horizons and help out all the children of the world and not just the ones that willingly come to your office. She is showing that you are not just a doctor to America’s children, but to the whole world’s children. You always have to be ready to help and serve the less fortunate. The writer gets his or her point across by using ethos. The rhetorical trope, ethos, is being revealed through the fact that the pediatrician even went down there. It shows that she has a good character and that she is willing to leave her country, put her well-being on the line to help someone else. She is also using going to Darfur as a hands-on learning experience. By going down there, she is not only earning about the effects of the war on the children and their mental and physical wellness; She is learning about herself as an individual and also as a doctor. The flaws of this article lies in the fact that the words she used to describe the pictures were kind of flat. There was a lack of imagery. The imagery would have been stronger had she took time to describe the pictures that she saw on the walls and put some emotion behind it. She should have went beyond thinking literally and think figuratively. This article helped me to learn more about being a pediatrician. It made me understand that I will have to step out of my comfort zone ,if I want to gain more knowledge about being a pediatrician. It will not do anything but make me a stronger pediatrician.
Hansen, L. (2002) . Panel makes Recommendation on Cold Medicine . Weekend Edition Sunday . Retrieved November 14, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main idea of this article is that as a pediatrician, you have to do what’s right for the patient. Do not prescribe to another child what you would not prescribe to yours. Every child that walks into your office has to be treated with the same respect and feel the same love as your own children receive. This idea is being shown through the rhetorical trope, ethos. The doctors are showing good character in the sense that they are aware of what is going on in the medical world. If they were not aware of all the new scientific discoveries, they would not be able to help their patients as best as they could. So by finding out about it shows that they care about their patients just as much as they care for their own children. The flaw in this argument lies in the fact that she did not talk to enough people to get their insight on the topic. It was just one person’s opinion and that is not really fair, because not every pediatrician feels the same way. One person can not speak for all. However, this article did help me in the sense that I now know that everything that works for adults has the possibility of not working for children. The same organs might be present, but they work at a different pace.
Norris, M. (2004) . Flu Vaccine Surpluses . All Things Considered . Retrieved November 14, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main point of this article is to indirectly inform the readers about the rules and guidelines of being a pediatrician or any kind of doctor. It is explaining that as a doctor, you have to abide by certain rules. That no matter how much you may care and want to help someone, if whatever they want to do is not within those rules ,then you can not do it under any circumstances. The rhetorical trope that was used in this situation was ethos. When the doctor refused to give the unqualifying child a Flu Vaccine, she is showing good character and therefore showing me and other readers interested in this career that if she was able to stand her ground then it should not be a problem for them. By showing good character, it definitely makes it easier for a reader to believe the things that she is saying and to take them into consideration. The flaws in this article lie in the fact that she did not go enough into detail as to what demographic they were going to give the extra vaccines to. To fix this flaw the writer should have followed up on the story and close the article in a convincing manner. However, this article was very helpful in the sense that it informed me about the mental requirements of being a pediatrician or any kind of doctor. For example: moral ethics, and strong-mindedness. The subject of this article is a pediatric administrator who ordered too many Flu Vaccines. She ended up not needing all of it and they expired and eventually went to waste. This is where moral ethics come into play. She ordered much more than she needed instead of taking just a small amount. By doing this, she shows me that I should not take more than I actually need. I should not be greedy, because I might take away from others who are less fortunate. As a pediatrician, this is helpful to me because everything is always limited and I can not afford to waste anything. Strong-mindedness shows when she refused to give the Flu Vaccine to the child that was not in high risk. She had to be strong in saying “NO”. It teaches me that there will always be patients that will want you to do things fro them that you know is dangerous for your career as well as their well-being.
Song, S . (2005) . Doctor‘s Orders. Time, 166(6) . Retrieved November 17, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main idea of this article is that Pediatricians/Doctors have the power and right to refuse a patient that they feel they can not work with. In this article, the doctors were refusing to give service to parents who refused to give their child vaccinations. This action can be justified , because if the child does not receive a vaccination, they are at a bigger risk of getting serious illness that can affect them forever and in a worse way. The rhetorical trope that is used to prove this argument is ethos. This is proven by ethos, because the doctor is showing good character . He /she knows that if the child gets a vaccine it would be at a less risk of catching a deadly and harmful illness. So, the doctor is showing that he cares about the kid instead of being cold and arrogant towards the child. This action basically reinforces the powers that the doctor has. It makes his/her authority stronger and more respectable. The flaw in this argument lies in the fact that the writer did not have any statistics as to how many people were affected by this change. It failed to answer questions such as : Did the doctors who enforced this policy lose some of their patients? How did this new change affect the hospitals that these doctors worked in? Had the writer include the answer to these questions, the argument would be stronger. This article taught me that as a doctor, I have to put my moral values ahead of everything else. If I feel that something is not right, I should be able to say “NO” and stand up for what I believe. I should not make it easy for people to step in my way. If I know there is a situation where no one would benefit from it, I do not have to do it. It shows me that I have the right to refuse a patient if I feel like they are not doing the right thing. Basically, this article empowers me as a pediatrician or any kind of doctor.
Walencia, K. (2006) . So long, soda…hello, fruit . Good Housekeeping . Retrieved November 14, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main idea of this article is that Pediatricians are partially responsible for the eating lifestyle of their patients. They have to help the parents get a kick start on raising the children on a good foundation. The writer proves this argument through the establishment of ethos. He uses ethos by building a relationship with the interviewer and including his own personal experiences. By doing this, he better convinces the interviewer as well as the readers. The flaw of this article lies in the fact that the writer over generalized and assumed that his ideas were going to work for every child out there. He did not focus on the fact that every child is different and responds to different things. To make the argument stronger, the writer should have focused on the different common types of kids and elaborate on how they respond to different eating habits. This article helped me to learn that as a pediatrician, you have to be able to organize things. In this article, Dr. Sears was able to put together a eating/lifestyle regimen for children. He shows that you have to know what children want and how they perceive things in order to help them make good decisions. You have to know what they are interested in to better persuade them to doing the right things.
Wetzstein, C. (2005) . Group changes tack on teen abstinence . The Washington Times . Retrieved November 14, 2008, from TOPICsearch database.
The main point of this article is that pediatricians, being that they still work with teenagers will always be critiqued, whether good or bad, on how they handle their teenage patients. In this case, The American Academy of Pediatrics changed their policy about promoting teen abstinence. At first, their policy was to promote teen abstinence, but they ended up changing it to promoting “safe sex” and offering contraceptives. The writer’s tool in proving her argument is diction. She uses quotes from other people’s critiques and thoughts on the situation to show how harsh they can get and that you have to be a strong person in order to deal with these critiques. She also collected different quotes to enhance the fact that people will feel differently about how you treat situations you come across. They either love you or hate you. The flaw in this argument lies in the fact that she did not include any statistics or facts to back up the arguments that were brought up. If she would have included facts and statistics, the audience would have been able to see the difference, if any at all, that their change in policy made in the lives of their teenage patients. Adding facts and statistics would have definitely made the argument stronger.
This article helped me to see the negative side/downfalls of being a pediatrician. It makes me to realize that someone will always be on my back and watching my every move and every decision that I make. But on the other hand, I still want to do this job: I will be changing and making easier the lives of teenagers.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Edgar Allan Poe Lit. Response

"I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot and grit about the paps with a golden girdle" (Revelations). As you can see here, Edgar Allan Poe, in "The Pit and the Pendulum", used mainly the rhetorical device , imagery. He was able to vividly show and let the audience fell what the prisoner was feeling at that moment in time. The kind of suffering was unbearable . Jeanne M. Malloy, however, takes the idea of imagery one step further, and identified it as "apocalyptic imagery". In her analysis of "The Pit and The Pendulum", Malloy elaborates on this topic so thoroughly that it becomes the most significant main idea in her writing piece. Jeanne M. Malloy argues her main point of Poe's use of "apocalyptic imagery" by assessing the correlation in the events that occurred in the Book of Revelations to the events that occurred while the prisoner was going through his tough time. For example: The Seven Candles. In the opening of "The Pit and The Pendulum", the narrator sees seven candles and when he first saw them, he thought of angels wearing an aspect of charity and then turning into heads of flames. In Revelations, there were seven golden candlesticks who were also angels and had eyes as a flame of fire. Malloy felt that by Edgar Allan Poe including this in the opening of the story, he brings the readers into a nightmare world of punishment, dissolution, and death. He is introducing the audience into a world supplied with violence, pain and horror that the prisoner was feeling at that moment. Another correlation that was made by Jeanne M. Malloy is the fact that the Book of Revelation proclaims that that judgement and the destruction of the world will be followed by the creation of a new heaven and a new earth ; Edgar Allan Poe concludes "The Pit and The Pendulum" with blaring trumpets , "fiery walls and a thousand thunders". Malloy stated that a start of the second coming if Christ. Basically, there is a rebirth/resurrection. This ultimately goes back to the idea of apocalyptic imagery. Poe is implementing some of the things that occurred during the apocalypse into his writing. For example the darkness and the plagues. Edgar Allan Poe just chose to focus on the mental effects of things.

While Malloy may have had good arguments concerning Poe's writing, she still falls short in some areas. She definitely exhibited some flaws in her argument . Malloy , in her analysis, kept referring to Edgar Allan Poe's writing in "The Pit and The Pendulum " as inconsistent compared to his other pieces. It seemed like she was shunning the piece, because it was different. The flaw in her argument is that she failed to assess his personal life and situation at that moment in time that could have influenced his writing. There is no proof that she even took the time to evaluate his growth as a writer as well as an individual. Not having this makes her argument vague,because she is staying at the surface of the piece and really isn't asking herself why he could have veered away from his usual writing style. To make her argument stronger, she should have evaluated his growth and compare "The Pit and The Pendulum" to his other works and analyze how and why it was so inconsistent.