This is one way to go about planning your fiction paper. It is missing the details of my lecture, but it should still help you. Pay special attention to the thesis and the outline.

1. Preparing an Analytical Paper
“The Story of an Hour”
“TheYellow Wallpaper”

2. Two Stories
 “The Story of an Hour”
◦ Brently Mallard (husband)
◦ Louise (repressed)
 Appears dead
throughout much of the
story
 Seems to be good friend
with Richards
 Given only clues about
how Louise feels about
him
 “TheYellow Wallpaper”
◦ John (husband)
◦ Narrator (depressed)
 Appears controlling of
the narrator‟s actions
 Is a respected doctor
 Narrator states how she
feels about her husband

3. Similarities Between Two Stories
 Both men seem
controlling or
oppressive.
 Both women are
mentally weak.
 Both stories take place
about the same time
(“TheYellow
Wallpaper” 1892) &
(“The Story of an
Hour” 1894).
 Liberation is a theme
of both stories.

4. Thesis Development

5. Thesis Development
 In “The Story of an
Hour” and “The
YellowWallpaper,”
the main characters
feel oppressed by
their husbands and
find liberation in
unique ways.
 In “The Story of an
Hour” and “The
YellowWallpaper,”
the husbands appear
typical for the time
period, yet for the
main characters, they
are oppressive, and
both women find
liberation in their
own way.

6. Some Sources
 “TheYellowWallpaper”/”The Story of an Hour” –
19 October 2011 - http://alexandratliterature.blogspot.com/2011/10/yellow-
wallpaperthe-story-of-hour.html
 “TheYellowWallpaper” – Short Stories for Students
– Sections that are useful:
◦ “John,” “Psychological Realism”
◦ “Critical Overview”
◦ “Criticism: Rena Korb”
◦ “Criticism: Greg Johnson.”
 “The Story of an Hour” – Short Stories for
Students – Sections that are useful:
◦ “Criticism: Barbara C. Ewell”
◦ “Criticism: Madonne M. Miner.”

7. Frailty
 Louise has a weak
heart, so her friends
and family try to
protect her from any
news that is shocking.
 The narrator suffers
from melancholy, and
her husband has
brought her to a
summer home for a
rest cure.
 In “The Story of an
Hour” and “TheYellow
Wallpaper,” the
husbands appear
typical for the time
period, yet for the
main characters, they
are oppressive, and
both women find
liberation in their own
way.
 In the late 1800s,
women were
considered the more
frail and weaker sex.

8. Husbands
 “The Story of an
Hour” has a 3rd
person narrator who
hints at Brently‟s
controlling nature.
 “TheYellow
Wallpaper” has a 1st
person narrator who
speaks about how
her husband controls
her.
 In “The Story of an
Hour” and “The
YellowWallpaper,”
the husbands appear
typical for the time
period, yet for the
main characters, they
are oppressive, and
both women find
liberation in their
own way.

9. Freedom
 Louise learns her
husband has died and
feels free for the first
time she since
married.
 The narrator searches
the wallpaper for
answers and eventually
finds freedom through
the wallpaper.
 In “The Story of an
Hour” and “TheYellow
Wallpaper,” the
husbands appear
typical for the time
period, yet for the
main characters, they
are oppressive, and
both women find
liberation in their own
way.

10. Outline
 Introduction
 Frailty of the main characters
◦ Louise‟s physical frailty
◦ Narrator‟s mental frailty
 Dominance of the husbands
◦ Descriptions of Louise‟s husband (Brently)
◦ Descriptions of Narrator‟s husband (John)
 Freedom attained by the main characters
◦ Louise‟s death at the shock
◦ Narrator‟s escape from the room over husband‟s
body
 Conclusion

11. Frailty of Main Characters
 “The Story of an Hour”
 “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard
was afflicted with a heart
trouble, great care was taken
to break to her as gently as
possible the news of her
husband‟s death.”
 “She was young, with a fair,
calm face, whose lines
bespoke repression and even
a certain strength.”
 “Now her bosom rose and
fell tumultuously.”
 “There was a feverish
triumph in her eyes,…”
 “TheYellow Wallpaper”
 “…there is really nothing the
matter with one but
temporary nervous
depression--a slight hysterical
tendency-- what is one to do?
 So I take phosphates or
phosphites--whichever it is,
and tonics, and journeys, and
air, and exercise, and am
absolutely forbidden to „work‟
until I am well again.”
 “there is nothing to hinder
my writing as much as I
please, save lack of strength.”

12. Husbands
 “The Story of an Hour”
 “She said it over and over
under the breath:„free, free,
free!‟”
 “She knew that she would
weep again when she saw the
kind, tender hands folded in
death;”
 “There would be no powerful
will bending hers in that blind
persistence with which men
and women believe they have
a right to impose a private
will upon a fellow-creature.”
 “And yet she had loved him--
sometimes. Often she had
not.”
 “TheYellow Wallpaper”
 “John is a physician,
and perhaps--(I would not say
it to a living soul, of course,
but this is dead paper and a
great relief to my mind)--
perhaps that is one reason I
do not get well faster.”
 “There comes John, and I
must put this away,--he hates
to have me write a word.”
 “He said I was his darling and
his comfort and all he had,
and that I must take care of
myself for his sake, and keep
well.”

13. Freedom
 “The Story of an Hour”
 “There would be no one to
live for during those coming
years; she would live for
herself. ”
 “‟Free! Body and soul free!‟
she kept whispering.”
 “When the doctors came
they said she had died of
heart disease--of the joy that
kills.”
 “TheYellow Wallpaper”
 "What is the matter?"
he cried. "For God's sake,
what are you doing!"
I kept on creeping just
the same, but I looked at him
over my shoulder.
"I've got out at last," said
I, "in spite of you and Jane.
And I've pulled off most of
the paper, so you can't put me
back!"
Now why should that
man have fainted? But he did,
and right across my path by
the wall, so that I had to
creep over him every time!

14. Criticisms
 Use a quote about
women & men &
marriage in the 1800s.
 Use a quote about
Brently‟s controlling
nature.
 Use a quote about
John‟s controlling
nature.
 Use a quote about
seeking freedom.