Essay Questions

Does Stevie Smith symbolically use the title “Yellow Paper” in his literary work to develop the novel’s themes? If so, please explain.

It sounds abnormal to the reader that Stevie smith decides to write her novel prompts on the yellow papers as opposed to the normal white paper. The yellow paper is symbolically used to notify the reader that the author is not so sure of what she is writing. This implies that her novelist work is more of try and error but through determination, she ends up compiling a very interesting novel, which attracts the attention of readers. Her writings are usual and humdrum just like the works of Pompey. Towards the end of her novel, she precisely notifies that reader that her novel may not be comparable to other novelists but she has made her point known. Therefore, the reader is able to conclude that the ‘yellow paper’ is symbolically used to imply that Smith is not an experienced writer but she is determined to be one.

Which theme is most dominant in Stevie Smith's text?

Smith puts considerable focus on the theme of satire and social criticism using characters like Pompey and Karl. In the entire novel, the reader can see that Pompey criticizes bad culture. Smith concentrates more on Pompey's viewpoints and inner thoughts rather than her actual life situations. Her opinions and ideas are geared toward shaping society to attain order and justice. For instance, she takes most of her time to criticize Nazi German's repulsive nature for the right purpose. When Pompey proceeds to visit Karl in Germany, the reader can allude that she is vesting Karl Max. From her viewpoint, Germany society is damaged because it still embraces the repulsive nature in most aspects. The satirical flavor is the novel is further enhanced when Pompey returns to London and meets Freddy. He proposes to her and she accepts his proposal. Her acceptance of the proposal makes the reader think that she has accepted to allow feelings to be controlled by men.

Provide one example of how the author uses irony as a literary device.

The author uses the irony of gender to disapprove the social norm that women are inferior to men. Historically, the reader knows that men are superior in most aspects including leadership, influence, and power. However, the author uses Pompey to illustrate that given an opportunity, a woman can play a critical role in restoring social order and justice to society. For instance, despite being a woman, Pompey plays a critical role in fighting social injustices. She is also satirical and sarcastic from the way she gives her opinions.