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Modern American Literature: Rise of Realism

Choose one of the stories to apply feminist criticism to the reading. Identify the protagonist and antagonist and describe their relationship as it relates to the theme. How does the relationship to the foil, if there is one, reflect the theme? Identify whether the protagonist is round or flat, dynamic or static. Support your response with examples from the text.
 * Chopin’s “Story of and Hour” and Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”**

In Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” the main character has lost her husband and she has already had heart problems. In the end of the story you see Louise Mallard change from a week powerless individual who is morning the loss of her husband to someone who is ready to take on the world. In the end her husband was not dead but was only thought to be and he walks in and Louise dies, “From a joy that kills.” Louise is the protagonist of the “Story of an Hour” she was always held back by society’s view of what women had the power and ability to do. She loved her husband very much but when he died she saw that she was finally free to be whatever type of person she wanted she didn’t have to be a house wife anymore. At the end of the story she had transformed into an empowered individual who was ready to face the world she was happy for her husband’s death some much so that when he walked in the door it not only gave her an immense shock but crushed everything that she had come to realize. Freedom can come from anything even tragedy for any one and anything. We all have rights that should never be infringed upon but often times they are. In the “Story of an Hour” louse’s right to do what she pleased with her life was taken and smothered out by society’s belief that men were better than women. If this had never happened then Louise would not have died but been over joyed by the fact that he was still alive but instead it killed her to know that she was still and “slave” to the beliefs of society. Life is too short to not do what you want to do or be who you want to be. The “Story of an Hour” is a great example of how true this statement is. If you conform to what others want then that can leave no room for what you need or want to do which can destroy you. Never allow people to take who you are and what you believe.

//Nice job with word choice and your summary! Good analysis of the story and application of feminist criticism. Sentence fluency -- you have one run-on where you need punctuation of some sort (semi-colon, period, comma + coordinating conjunction) Conventions: just be sure to go back and check spelling :) (week, louse's) Organization is solid! great "so what ending" too. Great work! Keep it up!//

Select an example of imagery that creates the mood of the story? How does the mood of the setting reflect the character’s motivations driven by their id, ego, and superego?
 * Crane’s “Mystery of Heroism”**

Stephen Crane’s “Mystery of Heroism” Fred Collins is in the army it doesn’t ever say wither he is in the Confederate or the Union army. He is in the middle of a battle and he gets thirsty his ID keeps telling him he’s thirsty and that he should go get a drink from a well in the middle of the battle field. This field is being torn apart by cannon fire, it was once a beautiful meadow but now was a war torn hell scape. Fred Colins is a kind of human representation of the horror of war and what it can drive people to do. Stephen Crane has a remarkable ability to describe in great dramatic detail the scenery of war, and the feelings of Fred Collins. Wither it is the dark uniforms of the soldiers that are so caked with dust and mud that it looks as though they had been wrestling with the enemy for weeks. Or if he is explaining with an awe inspiring detail, how the is a tremendous roar of the artillery each time it fires which send a great firey angle that destroys whatever it touches. The imagery used in the story is tremendous and it left me quite utterly awe struck. Fred Collins is a great character to use psychoanalytic criticism on for the fact that there are so many things in war that are just crazy and unexplainable the motivations of a man in war can be hard to determine if you can see them at all. Fred’s Id wanted to get a drink but also wouldn’t allow him to for the simple fact that he would DIE. Now his friends are making fun of him because he keeps talking about the well and getting water. But now his pride comes in which can create a very strange sense of bravery when threatened. So his pride overwhelms his Id and makes him go. He is at the well and takes canteens for the whole regiment so he isn’t waiting his time. As he is filling the canteen a cannon shell strikes the well and take off the well the canteen fills so slowly he throws them down and fills a bucket instead. On his treacherous journey back to his regiment he sees a dying man who as he passes he asked for a drink. Fred’s superego kicked in and made him give the man a drink. The “Mystery of Heroism” is a great story to show how war affects not only the people involved but the landscape. War is terrible but in every instance there are exceptions of heroes risking their lives to help others.

//Conventions: Careful -- id isn't capitalized :) emphasizing words in an essay should be done with italics, not capitalization. Again, lovely word choice -- doing an excellent job here (war torn hell scape) (awe inspiring detail) this is GREAT!// //Excellent job!//

How does the author indirectly characterize the protagonist through the use of dialect? What does this tell us about the character? How are they influenced by their id, ego, or superego? “April Showers” by Edith Wharton is a story of a little girl who has written a “beautiful, and compelling” story that she has planned to have published by Home Circle after she sends it in she is tortured by anticipation. Theodora has to take over for the role of her mother, who is very sick. Her father is a doctor that you never really no what his reaction is to situations. Her father meets her at the station and says that it was, “Such a good night I thought I’d have a stroll down to meet you.” This is both a relief an caused imines fear and dread. She is lead by her id to rush to Boston to confront Home Circle for the mistake they made, she dint tell anyone she just left. Her father comes to meet her because he knows her pain and for the same thing had happened to him. In the “Invalid Story” the narrator of the story has lost a dear friend who’s last wish was that his friend take s him back to his home town and gives him to his family. His friend is stricken with grief but chooses to take his body back anyways. (superego). The narrator meets an interesting character named Thomas he is in the box car that the “body” is riding in. This character is obviously from the south and very undereducated from the way he speaks and acts. Just before they set off someone puts limburger cheese on the box which make them both think that the body is already starting to decompose. and as they go on the stench gets worse as they go. in the end they both get increadably sick from going in and out of the cold to war because they couldn't stand the stench
 * Wharton’s “April Showers” and Twain’s “The Invalid’s Story”**