13-55-9-6

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__ there are many exciting characters. This is the type of story that starts off bad then ends up being a tragedy. In this story the protagonist would have to be Mrs. Mallard. She is the main topic of this story, everything good and bad happens around her. The antagonist in this story would be societies standard on women. This is because if women were actually free they wouldn’t have to go through all of the stuff that they’re men put them through. Mrs. Mallard would still be alive if she was “free.” These two things connect with the protagonist and the antagonist because the theme would be “Freedom comes from a tragedy.” Which in this story happens to be true? In __Story of an Hour__, the protagonist is a round character. She is seen in this book as sad, happy, depressed and overwhelmed with joy. She was very sad when she found out her husband was dead but then she became very happy because she thought she was going to be free which didn’t end up that way at all. As her husband walked through the door she instantly had a heart attack and died. In this story the round character (Mrs. Mallard) is also dynamic. She changes from the beginning to the end. A main way she changes is that she was alive then she died. But she goes through an emotion wave which made her feel everything good or bad. In the end of this they all learned that being free is a life or death decision.

//Nice intro:) Nice job defining protagonist -- interesting interpretation of the story with your theme! Great work! (but why the question mark at the end of your second paragraph?) Good work supporting your ideas with examples from the text; although, I would have liked to hear more about why she is dynamic. Good work in your conclusion connecting your theme to your last idea.

I would like to see you work to flesh out your introductions and conclusions -- you have great starts! They just need to be solidified into full paragraphs.//

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”**

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?
 * Wharton’s “April Showers” and Twain’s “The Invalid’s Story”**