First Person Narration in Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpap

First Person Narration in Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow paper and Edgar Allen Poes the Black CatIn The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The BlackCat By Edgar Allen Poe, two short and sinister stories, 1st person tale is employ by both authors to create atmospheric tension andunease. By using 1st person narration, a story told by dint of the eyesof mavin person present in that story, the authors can get far moreintimate and detailed in the individual characters feelings andemotions. This makes it an invaluable style of writing if the readersargon intended to empathise with the character. It is controlledvoyeurism, peering into anothers consciences and seeing the worldthrough their eyes. In the case of baleful stories such as these, thistechnique can have a prominent effect on the way atmosphere and tension iscreated in the story.One advantage of using the number 1 person is so that you can see thelogical system and reasoning of the main characters, and how they deal withtheir actions and consequences. For example, In The Black Cat, Poeuses 1st person narration to try and rationalise the actions of theman in the story hearing the reasons coming straight from the mind ofthe character creates a far more convincing motive than thoughts andactions being described in the third Person.I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped thepoor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes fromthe socketThe cool and logical way the character tells the story, attempting tojustify his actions and explain his situation, creates a feeling thatwould not be possible to create in any other narrative. Gilman uses 1stperson narration in a very sim... ...n the first personFOR the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen,I neither expect nor solicit belief.Insists the narrator, intent on telling us anyway.The voyeur comes into play as we are captivated by this persons taleof woe and misfortune, told in many ways. To look into lives, mindsand out through eyes of someone else but you is extremely tempting,even when only offered in writing. Both authors exploit this, but indifferent ways.In these stories, Poe and Gilman have used The first person narratorsto great effect. These particular stories are much more suited to the1st person than the third, because they all require reasoning andself-justifications that a 3rd person narrator could not provide withthe same sincerity. Two very different, but equally dark stories areboth set off short by their narrators.