The Yellow Wallpaper 1 Ward

"The Yellow Wallpaper" deals with the themes of

• Patriarchy and the subjugation of women

• the struggle for women's rights

• the stigma of mental illness

• all of the above

This story is ironic because

• We know information that the other characters don't.

• Sarcasm is used to express the opposite of the literal meaning of the text

• Actions are having the effects opposite of the intended effects.

• the overall mood is creepy.

What is the relationship like between John and the narrator?

• It is a loving relationship, in which both parties have an equal say in matters.

• John is a pushover to the narrator's every whim and complaint.

• The narrator secretly hates John and wants out of their marriage as quickly as possible.

• The narrator resents John's control over her, but she remains silent.

What actions of the narrator show that her mental state is beginning to deteriorate?

• Her focus on finding a purpose to the pattern in the wallpaper.

• Her determination to open the bars on her windows and escape.

• Her clawing and scratching on the doors of her room.

The narrator faces the challenge of…

• Being listened to by the people around her

• Learning to walk again

• Finding the end of the pattern in the wallpaper

• Overcoming the loss of her child

Which of these is an example of irony in the story?

• The narrator believes the wallpaper is making her better but it is not.

• John is the only person in the house who realizes the wallpaper is dangerous.

• The narrator catches Jennie staring at the wallpaper instead of cleaning.

• The baby exhibits extreme self-control at the moment it is born.

The author organizes the short story by

• Starting in the middle of their summer to create more suspense

• Starting in the middle of their summer to make the reader think key events have already happened

• Ending with the narrator’s creeping over her husband’s body to create a tone of eeriness

• Ending with the narrator’s creeping over her husband’s body to create a tone of closure

How would you describe the narrator's attitude towards her husband?

• Caring

• Jealous

• Defiant

• Submissive

The narrator’s mental illness is most clearly demonstrated in which of the following quotes

• I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good.

• It is the strangest yellow, that wallpaper! It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw—not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things.

• John knows I don’t sleep very well at night, for all I’m so quiet! He asked me all sorts of questions, too, and pretended to be very loving and kind. As if I couldn’t see through him!

• I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did? I suppose I shall have to get back behind the pattern when it comes night, and that is hard!

The speaker's husband is best described as

• controlling and practical
• loving and thoughtful
• skilled and sarcastic 
• cold and serious