Question

In at least 150 words, describe what effect is achieved by narrating "The Yellow Wallpaper" in first-person point of view. How would this effect be different were it narrated in another point of view?

Answer 1

By narrating "The Yellow Wallpaper" in first-person point of view, the author expects the reader to learn about the story from the perspective of the character who serves as narrator. This means that readers will only know as much as the character perspective or point of view reveals, whereas by means of a different type of narrator - such as in third-person narrative, readers might learn aspects of the story from different perspectives, and different characters. In the case of first-person narrative, as the narrator is also a character, it is likely readers only learn about part of the information, or only a side of the story, which makes it a great narrative device, allowing the author to reveal a truth at the end of the story which will surprise the reader, and give him a full understanding of those situations in the story which may not be clear as they are told from the point of view of a character.

Answer 2

The fact that The Yellow Wallpaper is written in the first-person point of view gives the reader a much closer look to Jane's state of mind. By paying attention closely, the reader can get to understand what Jane felt, how her mental health was getting worse and worse and the many reasons why she didn't like the wallpaper. By reading it in first-person the reader gets to feel and see what Jane sees and feels that John doesn't understand and can't actually see. This effect would be completely different is the story was told in third-person point of view or if it would be told by John or the maid. It would be different because the reader won't get the same feelings that Jane has or wouldn't experience what Jane does. Therefore it would be much harder for the reader to sympathize with Jane's feelings and ideas, maybe it would be impossible to deeply understand her mental illness.