03-55-9-6

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”**

The impact of society The story I choose to do is the yellow wallpaper by Gilman. The theme of the story would be that stereotypes limit people and how they are seen. Back then, women didn’t have much say as to what they did and in the story Jane was doing what her husband told her to do. He and Jane’s brother were the patriarchy in the story and she was just the woman that had to do what they say. The protagonist is Jane because she is going through all of this and she is writing it in her diary. She is also the narrator. I think that the antagonist would have to be society and how people viewed women back then. If the men weren’t the head guy in charge, then john wouldn’t have treated her like she didn’t have a choice. Jane would be considered a round character because you see some sides from her. You see her feeling down and depressed, and you also see her losing it and feeling “better.” She is also a dynamic character because she changes throughout the story. In the beginning she feels sick and it’s just her depression and she doesn’t look like she’s dealing with it too well. But as the story went on, she started saying that she feels better and in the end she loses her mind and that’s what she thought was her feeling better. The main point of this story is just telling us that we can’t let someone try to make decisions for us that we don’t want. It can sometimes drive us and mostly women back then crazy having to do nothing but what is expected from us from society. Unfortunately this is what women had to go through every day back then.

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”**

In the story Mystery of Heroism by Steven Crane, the man collins is in the infantry fighting in the civil war. The other soldiers in away dare him to get water and that is what makes him want it soo much. Then he asks his captain if he can get some from a well that’s in the middle of the battlefield and he goes out to get some. Then as he makes his way back, he sees a man that is wounded and he asks him for some water. At first he refuses but then goes back and gives him a drink. Then he makes it back to the place with the water and it spills. In this story, it sort of explains that anyone could be considered a hero even when it doesn’t seem that way. the mood of the story for me was chaotic and full of pride but also fear. The battlefield, where all the gunfire is happening, the burning house that got blown up, and everything in between are all chaotic things. A part where I think the pride is at is when collins asks his leader guy if he can go get some water from a well that’s in the middle of the battlefield. His id wants water not only because hes thirsty but also to prove a point to everyone else that he wants the water. Another good example of id is when the mad asked collins if he can have a drink of water. His id said to jusk keep running and he did, but that’s when his superego kicked in, it told him to go back and give him some water because it was the right thing to do. But then his ego said to improvise a little and just splash some water in him and keep on running. From this I can see his hands shaking from the fear he feels and splashing water in the mans face. The mood at this point is in a way fear of getting shot or something bad happening. But at that point is when the act of heroism sort of plays in. it might not be the best example but it shows how he used his id ego and superego with the man. The story to me has a good example of what a hero is and that not all heroes have to be big and famous or do something that affected the world. Collins shows a good example of that in the story and I think it works well with real life.

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”**