Argue for why one of your chosen texts presents the answer to the question “why people/ societies create ‘others’” in a more effective way than the other text. There are several components of this assignment that you should address in your essay. Think critically about what purposes the ‘other’ in a society serves. For this part I want you to directly draw upon Stuart Hall’s text. Building on that, analyze how a text presents that ‘otherness’ and what argument it makes about it. Do not try to focus on the entire text. Rather, pick one or two components of the text; these can either be characters, setting descriptions, narrative points of view, pertinent themes, or symbols. Make sure whatever elements you choose to focus on are present in both of your chosen primary texts. For example, if you have chosen to analyze the narrative point of view in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ then you will similarly analyze characteristics of the narrator in ‘The Husband’s Stitch’ and make an argument about why one of these two texts is more effective in addressing our central question than the other text. To summarize, you have to analyze similar components in two texts providing a synthesis on why and how one text addresses the question “why people/ societies create ‘others’” better. Give textual evidence for your arguments and sufficiently analyze the quotations you choose. You are required to use two more secondary sources. These can be scholarly articles or opinion pieces from reputable sources. Follow MLA citation practices throughout your essay and provide a ‘Works Cited’ page at the end.
Thesis statement: While The Husband Stitch by Carmen Maria Machado and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Stetson both explore themes of othering through gender and power dynamics, The Yellow Wallpaper presents a more compelling answer to why societies create ‘others’ by illustrating the psychological consequences of marginalization and control, effectively emphasizing how the dehumanization of women reinforces social hierarchies.
Use the stories “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Husband Stitch,” and for the Stuart Hall part, use pages 276-331 to find evidence. And 2 additional sources to support the thesis. Also, create a more descriptive title for the essay, I couldn’t think of one.
Cite all sources on the work cited page and throughout the paper in MLA format.