A-Level English Comparitive Coursework

Hi! I also made the decision to look at The Bell Jar and The Yellow Wallpaper for my coursework, do you think that because this is a popular choice it will be harder to get the top marks? My question is looking at how society's refusal to grant women autonomy has driven women to hysteria...

However, I have been informed that when using The Yellow Wallpaper for coursework, it is necessary to use it in synthesis with another Charlotte Gilman Perkins short story. I was just wondering if you have heard this too and if so, do you have any suggestions about what other Perkins text would be good to compare against The Bell Jar?

Thanks!

Hello!

I definitely don't think it makes it harder to get the top marks! As long as what you produce is good and you're happy with it, you can access the top band because they are just marking your work against a mark scheme. It's like all the other texts, just because everyone is doing the same question doesn't mean it is difficult to score high marks/

What board are you doing? I'm doing Edexcel so no I didn't have to use another Perkins short story because on the official guide, Edexcel said it was fine to use it with another book, which was lenghtier- the Bell Jar.
So I'm not sure what other Perkins short story you could do but if you have to have another one, I can look around and let you know!

I think your question is really interesting but just make sure you have enough to say- what do you consider as 'society's refusal', what aspects are you going to focus on. My question was really simple- I just did explore how mental distress is explored because it lets you go anywhere with it!

Hope that helps!

Thank you, that gives me peace of mind! I'm with AQA and it states that I must mother Perkins text in synthesis with The Yellow Wallpaper- I'm thinking of looking at her short story- 'An Extinct Angel' as this explores how society has effectively silenced women and taken away any form of freedom. Although this doesn't explore mental health, I think it would definitely strengthen my argument for society refusing to grant women autonomy. After speaking to my English teacher she seems to think that I can still focus my essay on Perkin's The Yellow Wallpaper, but just use An Extinct Angel throughout my essay where appropriate. What do you think?
I have come up with a rough paragraph by paragraph structure for my essay;
- Introduction
- Paragraph 1- How have the texts portrayed the protagonist’s descent into madness?
- Paragraph 2-How have the texts focused on treatments to mental illness and how do they differ due to medicinal progression?
- Paragraph 3-The progression of gender roles between 1890 and 1950 and how these are portrayed within the texts.
- Paragraph 4-How can women’s descent into madness be blamed on patriarchal pressures in both texts?
- Paragraph 5: How does power play prevent the protagonists from recovering in both texts (how this relates to patriarchal practices in medicine)?
- Conclusion
Do you think this structure would work well and answer the question effectively?

Personally, I think if you have to use a text in synthesis with 'The Yellow Wallpaper' you should give it an equal weighting because I reckon they want you to do another text because the Yellow Wallpaper is only 40 pages long, so is very short. So, I wouldn't use it to just back up my points but actually give it an equal weighting.

Do you know what your word count limit is for the coursework? Becuase my one was only 3000 and doing 5 points is way too much!
I only did 3 points because you need to explore each point in a lot of depth. i.e. you need context, quotations, critics for each point you make, so I would stick with 3 or 4 points max.

If your question is looking at how society has driven women to hysteria then I don't think your point for paragraph 1 really works- because if you look at how the descent to madness is portrayed then I think you will be overlapping a lot of your other points.

I think paragraph 2, 4 and 5 are very good points, that work well! They are distinct points as long as you don't talk about medicine in your fifth paragraph.

I would do:
One paragraph on how medical treatments results in hysteria.
TBJ- it results in Esther attempting suicide.
TYW- protagonists' descent to madness as her creativity is oppressed and she becomes addicted to the figures behind the wallpaper.

A paragraph on patriarchal pressures like you said.
TYW- infantilastion of the protagionist as well as the dismissal of her opinions
TBJ- Marco & Buddy Willard.

A paragraph on social gender roles, particularly how the female is restricted.

Can I ask what year your in? 12 or 13?
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions- more than willing to help

Thanks so much, this is super helpful! After looking at other texts I can use in synthesis with The Yellow Wallpaper, I'm struggling to find texts that also link with the idea of mental health. Therefore, I'm thinking of maybe changing my question slightly to something along the lines of how society's refusal to grant women autonomy had led to a deterioration of the self for the protagonists (need to figure out how to word that- let me know if you have any suggestions!). I think this will then allow me to link another Gilman text that's not specifically about mental health but allow me to still discuss the protagonists declining mental health in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Bell Jar.

Also totally agree with your point about focusing on less points in more detail! I believe my word count is around the 3,000 mark as-well. I'll definitely get rid of paragraph 1 as this is unnecessary and will be talked about in my other points anyway, like you said. Additionally I'll get rid of paragraph 3 and just talk about the gender roles (and how these have changed over time) in paragraph 4 which focuses on the patriarchal pressures.

Thanks again for your help, I've just got to find another Gilman text that fits in with my plan now! I'm in year 13 but for some reason my school started our Lit coursework really late!

Oh, I'm in year 13 too!

I've been researching what other texts you could use in synthesis. Have you had a look at Women and Economics by Gilman. It's so annoying that you have to do another text because then you have to retract the focus from mental health!

In terms of your question, maybe you could word it like: Explore how Plath and Gilman portray the deterioration of the female as a result of repressive societal conventions.

I'll keep thinking!

Yea it's super annoying! I'm planning on studying psychology at uni next year, so really wanted to look at the mental health aspect of the books. I really like your idea for the title, thank you! In terms of another Gilman text, it has to be from her collection 'The Yellow Wallpaper and other stories' and needs to be pre-1900. I'm with AQA and they have a lot of regulations as you've probably figured! I have looked into 'Women and Economics' though and this might still be useful to reference in my essay.

I'm thinking of looking at her short stories 'An Extinct Angel' and 'The Giant Wistaria' (along with the 'Yellow Wallpaper') as these all portray women to be victims of a patriarchal society. Therefore, I'll be able to compare these three texts to the Bell Jar in equal measure. I've got a rough idea of the three main points I could make in the essay:

1. How the women in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and 'The Bell Jar' are victims to mental suffering caused by a patriarchal society (in this I'd also talk about patriarchal medicinal practices and power play in the texts)
2. How the women in 'An Extinct Angel' and 'The Bell Jar' are stripped of their autonomy, thus allowing them to be described as a victim in a patriarchal society.
3. How the women in 'The Giant Wistaria' and 'The Bell Jar' are confined to particular gender roles and therefore victim to a patriarchal society.

Yep that all sounds good!
Just make sure that whilst your planning you have specific areas of focus, otherwise your essay may become too generalised.

Let me know if you need any more help!

Good luck!!

Hiya, me again!
I'm coming to the end of writing my first draft and just wanted to ask how many secondary sources I should use in total. Currently, I have used 5 (books/articles), do you think I should aim to add more?

Yea it's super annoying! I'm planning on studying psychology at uni next year, so really wanted to look at the mental health aspect of the books. I really like your idea for the title, thank you! In terms of another Gilman text, it has to be from her collection 'The Yellow Wallpaper and other stories' and needs to be pre-1900. I'm with AQA and they have a lot of regulations as you've probably figured! I have looked into 'Women and Economics' though and this might still be useful to reference in my essay.

I'm thinking of looking at her short stories 'An Extinct Angel' and 'The Giant Wistaria' (along with the 'Yellow Wallpaper') as these all portray women to be victims of a patriarchal society. Therefore, I'll be able to compare these three texts to the Bell Jar in equal measure. I've got a rough idea of the three main points I could make in the essay:

1. How the women in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and 'The Bell Jar' are victims to mental suffering caused by a patriarchal society (in this I'd also talk about patriarchal medicinal practices and power play in the texts)
2. How the women in 'An Extinct Angel' and 'The Bell Jar' are stripped of their autonomy, thus allowing them to be described as a victim in a patriarchal society.
3. How the women in 'The Giant Wistaria' and 'The Bell Jar' are confined to particular gender roles and therefore victim to a patriarchal society.

Hiya, me again!
I'm coming to the end of writing my first draft and just wanted to ask how many secondary sources I should use in total. Currently, I have used 5 (books/articles), do you think I should aim to add more?

Hello,

I was in the same boat as you a couple of weeks ago! I had no idea what to do and spent ages reading different books and looking into different genres etc.

I have chosen The Bell Jar and The Yellow Wallpaper, which a lot of people do seem to do! I am looking at the role of patriarchy on mental health!

I would say find a theme that you are interested in and explore around that. (Honestly, it's easier said than done!)
Also, don't worry about trying to be unique because that makes everything a lot more difficult!

Hope that helps!