LIfe behind bars

            "Then in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard." Pg 7

            The wallpaper and the figures it holds obviously play the role of everything the woman internalizes.  Gilman does an amazing job at bringing this paper to life.  He first uses it as a tool to foreshadow in the passage when the wallpaper is first introduced on page 2, "they suddenly commit suicide--plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions and "if I had to live in this room long".  Also on page 3, "pattern lolls like a broken neck".  Gilman then uses the wallpaper to give the reader a clear image of the world this poor woman lives and eventually dies in.  He accomplished this throughout the whole story, but the quote above really stood out to me.  She feels trapped behind the bars her husband built and only finds one way out, death.  With this quote alone, Gilman could reach so many people in this world who feel trapped within themselves and are forced to hide behind darkness.