Does the plot grow out of the characters, or does it depend on chance or coincidence? Did something at first strike you as irrelevant that later you perceived as relevant? Do some parts continue to strike you as irrelevant?

Read the attached The Yellow Wallpaper and write an analysis of 2 pages (double-spaced) on the aspects below, written in journal format or essay format.

Plot
Does the plot grow out of the characters, or does it depend on chance or coincidence? Did something at first strike you as irrelevant that later you perceived as relevant? Do some parts continue to strike you as irrelevant?

How are the storys events sequenced and patterned? Do cause-and-effect relationships order the storys events, creating its plot?

Does surprise play an important role, or does foreshadowing? If surprise is very important, can the story be read a second time with any interest? If so, what gives it this further interest?

What conflicts does the story include? Conflicts of one character against another? Of one character against the setting, or against society? Conflicts within a single character?

Are certain episodes narrated out of chronological order? If so, were you puzzled? Annoyed? On reflection, does the arrangement of episodes seem effective? Why, or why not? Are certain situations repeated? If so, what do you make out of the repetitions?

Point of View
Who tells the story? How much does the narrator know? Does the narrator strike you as reliable? What effect is gained by using this narrator?

How does the point of view help shape the theme? After all, the basic story of Little Red Riding Hoodwhat happensremains unchanged whether told from the wolfs point of view or the girls, but if we hear the story from the wolfs point of view, we may feel that the story is about terrifying yet pathetic compulsive behavior; if we hear the story from the girls point of view, we may feel that the story is about terrified innocence.

It is sometimes said that the best writers are subversive, forcing readers to see something they do not want to seesomething that is true but that violates their comfortable conventional ideas. Does this story oppose comfortable conventional views?

Does the narrators language help you to construct a picture of the narrators character, class, attitude, strengths, and limitations? (Jot down some evidence, such as colloquial or formal expressions, ironic comments, and figures of speech.) How far can you trust the narrator? Why?

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