Both stories, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Tim O’Brien’s “Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?” use different points-of-view to assist the reader’s understanding of the story. In "The Yellow Wallpaper", Gilman’s first-person diary point-of-view expresses a more personal theme. This point-of-view helps the reader understand the main character’s submission to her husband, along with explaining the development of the main character in a more intimate matter. Antithetically, Tim O’Brien’s “Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?” uses a third person point-of view to deepen the reader’s understanding of fear in war and the false sense of safety. Thus, both authors utilize their points-of-view to better express their stories.…show more content… It’s third-person point-of-view portrays a different writing: fear, and a false sense of hope. Paul’s fear shows when the limited third-person author writes, “But, he was afraid, for it was his first night at the war, so he hurried to catch up, stumbling once, scraping his knee, groping as through blind;” (O’Brien, 1). The narrator speaks in a third person point-of-view that portrays a blunt, realistic sense of the fear Paul experienced. "Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?” first explains Paul’s fear, then shows how it affected him. Unlike the personal, romantic, first person view in "The Yellow Wallpaper", "Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?” has a more rational, third person view that helps the author get across the message of fear as candid as possible. Along with the portrayal of fear, the author also factually explains the false sense of security in war. Paul continues to believe that once he reaches the ocean, he will be safe from the battle. This thought consumes Paul; it helps him continue through the war. But, at the end of the story, the narrator says, “But even when he smelled salt and heard the sea, he could not stop being afraid,” (O’Brien, 4). Opposed to "The Yellow Wallpaper" with it’s more metaphorical meaning, “Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?” has a forthright way of speaking that obviously states the false sense of hope Paul has when attempting to escape the war. These examples, fear and false hope, were best expressed bluntly through the third-person point-of-view in the short story "Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?” For these reasons, the two stories "The Yellow Wallpaper", and "Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?” each have their own point-of-view that help explain the short stories in the best way
