Silence is not Golden

 

Silence is like a dark slow death for some people that you cannot escape like prison of the mind. How would you like to not be able to speak and to suffer silently? This is what happens to individuals who are not loved by others. Simon and Garfunkel once said in the song, the sound of silence “people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening, people writing songs that voices never shared and no one dared disturb the sound of silence.”(Simon and Garfunkel 1965) Suffering internally is like a cancer that plagues the mind and it destroys a person’s ability to grow intellectually and emotionally. Silent suffering is what occurred in the story, The Yellow Wallpaper and also in The Hills like White Elephants. Silence in itself is against what human nature and it becomes like a splinter in your mind driving you mad. Self-expression is taking in both stories and I will use the theme of silence to express this deeper.

            The woman in The Yellow Wallpaper was suffering from not being able to express herself to society, and there comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write a word.” (Gillman pg. 317) This is dehumanization from silence of a person. To cut a person from human interaction is demoralizing and to me it destroys their right to be free. This is a saddening thing to do to a person because it rips apart their right to think and express themselves socially and critically. This is what happened to many women during this time when the Rest Cure was used to help woman who were suffering for nervous conditions. I feel this would not help a person by feeding them and not letting them exercise. The wallpaper is very ironic, and is used in a way to describe herself.

            John treats her like a child and not like his wife. “What is it little girl? Don’t go walking about like that you’ll get cold.” She was only to feel better by walking and she wished he would take her away. This is disrespectful to his wife, and I think he is treating her like a patient instead of his spouse. Then he says, “Bless her little heart! She shall be as sick as he pleases! But he lets improve the shining hours by going to sleep and talk about it in the morning.”(Gillman pg.) It looks like he doesn’t care if she gets better. He also thinks she is causing herself to become more ill. He is not showing any love towards her at all.

            In, the Hills Like White Elephants, the girl in the story is suffering silently. “I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let them be.”(Hemingway pg.115) This is not just a simple procedure, back then an abortion made a woman baron. Nowadays abortions don’t cause a woman to be baron and the technology was not as advanced as it is today. “Then I’ll do it because I do care about me.” (Hemingway pg 116) she is starting to feel depressed and not appreciated. She would be killing a human being by doing this and I feel she is getting second thoughts. “We can have the whole world. No we can’t it isn’t ours anymore. It’s ours. No it isn’t and once they take it away, you never get it back. But they haven’t taken it away. We’ll wait and see.” (Hemingway pg. 116) She is feeling very scared about having the abortion and when it is finished she will never be able to have a child again. “What did she say asked the girl that train is coming in five minutes? The girl smiled slightly at the woman, to thank her.” (Hemingway pg. 116)

            “Do you feel better?” he asked. I feel fine she said. There’s nothing wrong with me I feel fine.” (Hemingway pg117) In the last quote she was feeling better when they stopped talking because she was fed up with talking about the abortion. Next she is appearing to be fine, but in reality she is still suffering because she is feeling guilty about going through with the procedure she will be emotionally and physically scarred for life if she does this to herself. If the story went any further I think she would not get the abortion.

            In the Yellow Wallpaper she is not allowed to write when her husband or the housekeeper are around. “She is perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession. I verily believe she thinks it is the writing which made me sick! But I write when she is out, and see her along way off from there windows?” (Gillman pg. 319) Then she feels that if she was able to write freely without interruption, she would feel better because it calms her soul. “I think sometimes that if I were only well enough to write a little it would relieve the press of ideas and rest of me.” (Gillman pg. 318)

            In Hemingway’s, Hills Like White Elephants the women are starting to get aggravated because Jig won’t stop talking. I don’t feel anyway. I just know things. I don’t want you to do anything that you don’t want to do. But you’ve got to realize. Can’t we maybe stop talking? (Hemingway pg. 116) The song, the sound of silence by Simon and Garfunkel, is a scary thing that can destroy a society without intelligent activities come to the surface.

            The theme of silence and silent suffering was shown in both short stories with both characters going through depression and being dehumanized. This is not a way to live without a voice or choice in certain situations. To be able to express yourself and to make your own choices in human right under democracy.