Name______________________________
Ms. Wu
AP Literature
19 August 2014
“The Yellow Wallpaper” Socratic Seminar Preparation #1:
The Narrator’s Development from a Different Perspective
Objective: To analyze how Charlotte Perkins Gilman develops the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper”
from a different perspective
Directions: Analyze the narrator’s development from beginning, middle, to end of the short story from a
different perspective. Choose ONE perspective and write from that voice. Your response should be
typed, double-spaced, MLA formatted. Paper copy+ Turnitin. Need both.
Perspective 1: The Narrator’s Doctor
If you were the narrator’s doctor, how would you explain her condition and development? What would
you record privately about what you observe from this distinct perspective? What would you say as you
watch the narrator change? Write three medical journal entries analyzing the narrator’s condition and
development from the story’s beginning, middle, to end from the perspective of the narrator’s doctor.
Make sure you address the narrator’s final actions and words as her doctor.
Length: 3 paragraphs, typed, double-spaced
Perspective 2: John the Husband
If you were John, how would you explain the narrator’s condition and development? What would you
record privately about what you observe from this distinct perspective? What would you say as you
watch the narrator change? Write three journal entries analyzing the narrator’s condition and
development from the story’s beginning, middle, to end from the perspective of the narrator’s husband
John. Make sure you address the narrator’s final actions and words as her husband.
Length: 3 paragraphs, typed, double-spaced
Perspective 3: Jennie the Sister-in-Law (John’s Sister)
If you were Jennie, how would you explain the narrator’s change and development? What would you
record privately about what you observe from this distinct perspective? Write three journal entries
analyzing the narrator’s condition and development from the story’s beginning, middle, to end from the
perspective of the narrator’s sister-in-law Jennie. Read Jennie’s interactions with the narrator closely
(650, 652, 653, 655). Make sure you address the narrator’s final actions and words as the narrator’s
sister-in-law and fellow woman. Length: 3 paragraphs, typed, double-spaced
Perspective 4: The Yellow Wallpaper Itself
If the wallpaper could talk, what would it say? As the wallpaper itself, how would you explain the
narrator’s change and development? What would you say about what you observe from this distinct
perspective? Write three journal entries analyzing the narrator’s condition and development from the
story’s beginning, middle, to end from the perspective of the yellow wallpaper. Make sure you address
the narrator’s final actions and words as the yellow wallpaper. Length: 3 paragraphs, typed, doublespaced