Write a 4-page essay in which you develop an argument on an issue raised in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” In developing your argument, you need to incorporate at least two of the secondary sources related to the story. Note: You are not required to do further research for additional sources.
For “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the three secondary sources include Gilman’s “Why I wrote ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,” pp. 258-59; Mitchell’s “The Evolution of the Rest Treatment,” pp. 259-63; and Kellogg’s “The Ladies’ Guide in Health and Disease,” pp. 264-68.
Be sure to define the issue carefully, write a clear, specific thesis sentence, support your thesis with specific textual evidence in the story, and organize your ideas through topic sentences.
Different from our first two essay assignments, this one requires that you use secondary sources to make your argument about the story. Therefore, as you develop your essay, you need to consider how the secondary sources will contribute to your writing specifically. One may help you identify an issue in the story while another one may provide support to a point you want to make in your analysis of the story. The secondary sources may also serve as an opposing view to your argument. Meanwhile, please keep in mind that the secondary sources are secondary, and are useful only in helping you make an argument about the story. In other words, your essay need to focus on your analysis of the issue in the story, and the secondary sources can be used when they are relevant in helping you make your points.