"Respice Finem"

Looking up the definiton to "Respice Fine," it means "look at the end." This is something Ivan definitly did. Toward the end of his life he started to look at the beginning of his life. In the beginning, Ivan Ilych's life was somewhat pleasant, but still some loneliness inside him. Later when he becomes sick, he begins to realize he can not escape death. He also realizes he doesnt have any good friends. They dont really care about him dying they are more fixated on who gets his job or his promotion. With your family, you dying shouldnt be putting your family out of misery where they can be happier now. It seems it should be the opposite. You shoudnt have to wait until you are on your death bed to notice you didnt live a good successful life.

"Ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible."

Because Ivan set his life to be simple and ordinary, it led to something terrible. Ivan wanted a more successful job that pays more, but when he got the job it caused him to have problems with his wife and family but he just choose to ignore it. I think it also goes back to "money cant buy happiness." He focuses in so much on his career and exceeding in it, he just settles for his wife because he thought it would be a good career move. In the end he realized he could have done more promising things in his life and him dying will put his family out of misery. He also realizes that he has no close friends and know one really cares that he is dying.

Unreliable Narration: "The Yellow Wallpaper"

The story of "The Yellow Wallpaper," was told through an unreliable narration. I think a lot of narrators do this to help us better connect with the characters and allow you to have a common bond with them. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," since it is told in first person, you are getting the information from one person. You get the point of view from her perspective and how she feels about the other characters in the story. The downfall is, it limits the information given about John or his sister. If the story was told through John, everything would been completely different. It would have given you an outward look on how he views her and his thoughts and logic of how he is trying to make her better. Having the story told with an unreliable narrator helps you get insight on their thoughts and feelings and lets you know the character better.

The Yellow Wallpaper

The story of, The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is about a lady named Else and her husband John. The story is told through her journal entries that she is secretly writing because John doesn't think it is good for her. They rent out a house where Else can get better. Else is mentally unstabble and you learn throughout the story she is slowly getting worse and worse. In my opinion it sounds like the room they are renting out is already a mental insitution. The bed is nailed to the ground, there are bite marks on the bed posts, the windows are made for no one to get out, and the yellow wallpaper is all cracked. She stays up late at night just looking at the wallpaper and saying how much she hates it. Towards the end of the story she starts imaginning a lady shaking the wallpaper from behind. I think her being indoors so much didnt help her get better, it just made her more sick. She rips down the wallpaper which makes her feel free of John and his sister Jennie. He then faints as a reaction to her behavior. This shows that even when she is "free" he is still in her way. Looking at this story in first person you experience a lot of confussion. You only get one perspective on things which hear happens to be from a mentally ill person.

Chrysanthemums

In the story "The Chrysanthemums," by John Steinbeck,it signifies a lot. The two main characters in this short story being Henry Allen and Elisa Allen whom are married. Elisa seems satisfied in her marriage but doesn't seem too happy. The chrysanthemums are very pretty flowers but smell bitter. This compares to Elisa because she is masculine and is covered in a layer of clothes. The flowers are like her children that she doesn't have. She is protective of them, cares, and nurtures for them as well. When the old man comes along he asks about her chrysanthemums, saying a lady along the road wanted some. Her attitude then changes. She can not hide her excitement and becomes more confident and shows interest in him. She then takes a layer of clothing off which reveals more of her femininity and also shows weakness. By the old man showing interest in her flowers she reluctantly finds a pot for him to fix. On her way to town with her husband she sees her pot on the ground and shows weakness by hiding her face and crying. This can also signify the flowers and how they are weak and frail. The flowers still need to be nurtured to help them grow, just like Elisa needs her husband to help her grow.