Life in the Iron-Mills Response Prompt

Life in the Iron-Mills is essentially a story within a story, beginning with

the fable centered around the narrator, then continuing as if the new story were
one that the narrator is telling. The storys narration begins with vivid imagery, but
includes pronouns in these descriptions, The air...stifles me (Davis 1) and I
open the window (Davis 1). We know from the use of the present tense and the
first person that the narrator is telling things directly to the readers. The story
continues to include the most important or central break in narration; the shift to
the inner story. As the narrator begins, My story is very simple (Davis 3), we
know that the story (the Wolfes story) has begun.
While the narrator in this story is somewhat ambiguous, we can derive
certain information about his or her background The setting of the first story gives
us insight to the narrator's background, letting us know that he or she is most likely
a lower class citizens who experiences the same life the storys characters do. The
narrator chooses his language carefully, including phrases like, ...come right down
here with me into the thickest of the fog (Davis 2) in an attempt to align
himself with the story, and insert himself into its background.

Prompt Two Response

While I dont think all Realism is necessarily boring, I do agree that
Realism's main drive is to exaggerate the world around us. Based on the other
stories weve covered that include elements of Realism, a central part of these
stories is the power of symbolism and the dramatic human mind. Naturalism, on
the other hand, is more honest and simplistic. Rarely does an author use blatant
symbolism in favor of an explanation. In most cases, Naturalism
rejects unnecessary details and deflects happy endings to emphasize the harsh truth
of life.
Edith Whartons sentiments about life contrast the brutally honest,
straightforwardness of Naturalism that Norris describes. Wharton takes great care
to show the randomness and whimsy in which life will deal some, but her extreme
examples contrast the bland, mundane view Norris paints of Naturalism. In To
Build a Fire, Jack London creates his picture of a world surrounded by suffering,
pain, and ultimately defeat. There is no happy ending for the hiker, only the
brutality and indifference of nature coming to claim his life at the storys close.
This story, while showing the indifference of nature and the expos of lifes
brutality, also depicts the extreme outcome of life Wharton describes (tightrope).

Prompt Three Response

Both the narrators of The Palace-Burner and The Yellow Wallpaper had
their stories built around a central theme of oppression. Both women are placed in
oppressive situations; specifically marriage, in the case of The Yellow Wallpaper.
In The Yellow Wallpaper the narrator knows that something is wrong with her,
whether depression or a mental illness, but her husband, a physician at the time,
deliberately ignores her worries and suspicions. Her husband patronizes her, almost
to the point of humoring her illness, eventually bullying and threatening her if she
doesnt get better. In The Palace-Burner, according to the narrator, the idea or
concept that a woman would be able to rebel or fight for a cause that she believes
in was considered to be revolutionary.
From the central themes and plots of these two stories, we can infer that not
many womens opinions or ideas were valued by the close of the nineteenth
century, and were taken at face value. Both of these stories have linings and themes
of feminism, or more specifically the idea of gender equality and female
empowerment. The women in these stories react to the oppressive behavior and
situations they live in and around, shattering the ideas and social constructs of the
nineteenth century.

Prompt Four Response

Before a reader judges or analyses Mrs. Mallard, he or she must first take the
storys setting into account. In the late nineteenth century, women were still
fairly ruled and ordered around by men; more specifically, their husbands.
During this time, it could be said that marriage had the consequence of the removal
of a womans free will. With the death of her husband, a new world was
(re)opened to Mrs. Mallard. Its important to know that while Mrs. Mallards
reaction to her husbands death is far from completely grievous, she is not wholly
rejoicing the death of her husband, but rather the birth of her new life. Her
husbands death brings her freedom, or more clearly, independence. Technically
this does paint her as the picture of selfishness as shes so focused on her gain from
her husbands passing, but it doesnt necessarily make her cruel.
While it seems rare in our world (country, class) to view marriage as
anything but a union of love and trust, there are many cultures thriving today in
which marriage is far from a happy occasion to the female. In these places,
marriage is also a trap, eradicating a womans freedom and free will. It is certainly
true to say that Chopins critique of nineteenth century marriage is completely
applicable in the world today.