Critical Thinking Habits and The Yellow Wallpaper Essay

Critical Thinking Habits

There are many critical thinking habits used to get a better understanding of The Yellow Wallpaper. Some critical thinking habits are used more frequently than other and are more helpful. The critical thinking habits most helpful to understand The Yellow Wallpaper are asking questions, examining evidence, and accepting uncertainties.

Asking questions was a very useful critical thinking habit when trying to understand The Yellow Wallpaper. This critical thinking habit helps reveal what the author is trying to get across. For example, is the mansion mentioned in the story a summer home or an insane asylum? As the story begins, the house is described by the narrator as the most beautiful place makes me think of English places that you read about. Later in the story it is described as hideous and in need of remodeling. The narrator mentions the fact that there are many rooms and that there are bars on the windows and the beds are nailed to the ground. It is never mentioned in the story that it is an insane asylum, but the way it is described makes it easy to be assumed as one.

Another good question being asked in The Yellow Wallpaper is whether John is a physician, husband or both? At the beginning of the story it is mentioned that John is a physician. It states John is away all day, and even some nights when his cases are serious I am glad my case is not serious. Throughout the story she refers to him as dear. When it mentions John laughs at me but one expects that from a marriage, that shows that John can also be the narrators husband. At the end of the story, when the narrator is has her mental breakdown, John ends up fainting after seeing how far gone the narrator has gone. This also makes it seem like John is the narrators husband because he is so affected by the fact that the narrator has hit a point of no return. It just seems like if John were just her physician, he would not have fainted after seeing her have a mental breakdown.

Examining evidence is all about taking a more in depth look at what the author of the story has already written. This means examining what is written in the story and not any personal assumptions. Paying close attention to what is already written in the story can better help understand what is really going on. In The Yellow Wallpaper, before coming to the conclusion that the summer home in which the main character is staying in is a asylum or not, there must be some evidence to back up that assumption. By closely examining the story there are quite a lot of hints the writer throws out. Hints such as bars on the windows and the gate at the foot of the staircase, tends to lead the reader in the direction as to the summer home describe at the beginning of the story is actually an insane asylum. Examining evidence is one of the most crucial critical thinking skills because it makes the readers really pay attention to what the writer is trying to say about the story.

Accepting uncertainties is great way of eliminating certain content. When trying to get a better understanding of The Yellow Wallpaper accepting uncertainties comes in handy. For example, is there really a baby? A baby is mentioned in a little piece of the story but it is never said whether or not a baby actually exists. It is very possible that the reason the main character is in the insane asylum is because she can be suffering from postpartum depression. It is mentioned in the story that she is staying at the vacation home to be treated for mild depression but it never mentions that it is postpartum depression after having a baby. Since the main character is considered crazy it is hard to determine whether or not a baby actually exists considering the fact that is it only mentioned once. Looking beyond what is unknown can help readers better pay attention to what can already be figured out in the story. Therefore, accepting uncertainties is one of the most useful critical thinking habits because it helps the reader focus on what is really there in a story in order to get a better understanding of the story.

In conclusion, the critical thinking habits such as asking questions, examining evidence, and accepting uncertainties become most useful in determining the meaning behind The Yellow Wallpaper. By learning using critical thinking habits, a better understanding of the true meaning behind what the author is trying to expose is acknowledged.