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In the Mystery of Heroism, Collins an Infantryman in the civil war is extremely thirsty during a heated battle. His friends antagonize him to the point that he seriously considers running for water at a well in the midst of the chaos. Eventually he does decide to go for the well he sprints through the battle and fills a bucket. On his way back gripped with and overpowering fear a dying mans last wish is for a drink of water. If he gives the man the water and gives into his superego is he a hero? Or just a person in the right place at the right time? What makes a hero? Does the person have to do something selfless and fantastic or take advantage of a situation and is Collins a hero? I personally think that his decision to go for water during the battle was a horrible decision and put his life in danger and once he was there his ID told him to run as quickly back to his ranks as possible. He is gripped by an internal fear as he passes a dying man who’s dying for his cause the man calmly asks him for a drink of water and Collins has a internal argument between his ID and Superego. His ID is telling him to sprint past the man and run to safety. While his Superego is telling him to stop and give the man what he wishes for a drink. Collins Ego mediates the argument and he decides to halfway stop and our water onto the man’s face and continues his frantic escape to safety. Is he a hero for halfway giving a drink of water to a dying man, no but he did show a trait of a hero because it was selfless and he was staring death in the face. In closing there will always be mystery surrounding heroism as the title of the book states. There’s no way to define a hero or say to be a hero you must do this. Collins made a dumb decision and was put in a position to make do something heroic, but he halfway did it and saved himself over the man.
 * __Mystery of heroism __**

__ Story of an Hour __ The __Story of an Hour__ is a short story based in the late 1800’s in which Louis Mallard is married to a man who is assumed dead. She has a weak heart so they try to break the news to her as gently as possible. Her sister Brentley Mallard is the one who informs her sister of her husband’s death. Louis’s first reaction is hysteria she cries’s with an extreme intensity and goes up to her room to be alone. Then she begins to think to herself that maybe just maybe it’s better that he’s dead because now she’s free of society’s hold on her. Just as she begins to like the idea of her new found freedom her husband walks through the door and she dies of “A joy that kills”.

In the __Story of an Hour__ Louis Mallard is the protagonist. She is a good loving wife with a weak heart who is informed that her husband has died. Her first reaction is extreme sadness then she starts to realize that she’s free and is almost happy that her husband has died. The antagonist in the story is society because Louis felt almost obligated to have a husband and to be what everyone expects. It’s very easy to apply feminist criticism to this story because it shows that women are almost forced into roles that they wouldn’t chose if society didn’t expect it from them. The flat character in the story would defiantly be Brentley Mallard because you only see her as the nurturing sister who’s trying to help her sister through a rough time. The round character is Louis Mallard because you see her at her saddest and at a state of peace and happiness then you see her death. The foil of the story I believe is Louis and her husband because their relationship brings out all of Louis’s feelings and shows that society has set expectations and goals for females.

In closing the __Story of an Hour__ is a great short story with a very surprising ending. The theme of the story is society has a goal set for everyone that may not be what you want and when your free of that oppression having to be pulled back into it may be too much to bear. Louis Mallard didn’t die of a joy that kills she died of having a taste of freedom just to have it taken back from her.

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”**