Why do we feel the need to fit in and be "normal"? ~ The Yellow Wallpaper and The Story of an Hour

 Life update and class readings about women

The struggles of trying to fit in and face pressures from people, while also trying to appreciate yourself

Although I have been talking about various topics from our Intro to English class, I wanted to take the time to talk about a subject I have been thinking about recently. I also believe this topic is a common thing people experience multiple times throughout their lives. This topic includes various feelings as a result of pressures from society and wanting to be included and appreciated.

Society has created the terms introverted and extroverted. Many people, including myself, dislike terms that broadly define people in certain terms. Everyone is special and unique in their own ways, including how they interact with other people. Some people may seem quiet, or as other people like to say "introverted", but in reality they love to talk with people and do a bunch of activities with people once they get to know them. On the other hand, people that talk with everyone at any moment are considered to be on the extroverted side. Many people confuse the idea of a person being quiet with them being fully introverted and the same way with being talkative, thus being extroverted. These two terms are restricting by defining someone by an overall category with certain characteristics they are expected to possess or they should act a certain way. Unfortunately societal pressure expands to body image, beauty, academic or athletic performance, and so much more. Peer pressure is another large issue that many teenagers, students, and even young adults have to face while growing up trying to get approval from the people they may or may not know.

Despite talking mainly about what I have experienced I also wanted to connect this idea to readings and part of works that spread this message. In various works we have read so far the idea of women being oppressed, uncomfortable, and unsure about their role or identity in life mainly resulting from societal pressure. The short story "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin deals with the subjects of confinement, liberation, woman entrapment, and the injustices women had to deal with in society but in their own homes. Louise struggles with emotions of grief but relief at the same time. She desires a life beyond her marriage and restrained to her home and the responsibilities. Although she experiences freedom it does not last long when her husband returns alive, resulting in her death still being constrained to her husband. During later time periods women were expected to act a certain way or have a happy marriage, encouraged by society. Women were not really listened to and they were led to feel stuck without being able to voice their feelings or thoughts. 

These ideas are also seen in the story "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Gilman. The short story addresses topics such as the poor treatment of mental illness, domestic life, gender roles, and the struggles women faced with people misunderstanding their self expression. The main character discusses her thoughts of possibly dealing with a mental illness and being ignored by everyone else in society. Throughout the story there is a lingering mystery of what is actually going on with the woman, her madness, and what is going on with her thoughts or interactions with the wallpaper. Her husband refused the feelings and emotions the woman was going through, which reflects the common idea that society ignored the mental issues women were experiencing. Although all of these subjects are not as present in today's society, they still remain in little ways encouraged by societal and peer pressure. Society needs to address the ways pressure affects people and the way they think about themselves and other people.