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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”**

Modern American Literature In the book “**//__The Yellow Wallpaper”__//** by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the story talks about life when patriarchy was the main way of the society. In this story the main character is the wife of Dr. John, who is controlling what the wife can and can’t do. Mrs. Jane, the protagonist, is feeling ill and wants to do what she liked to do. Mr. John, his sister, Jenni, and the yellow wallpaper are the antagonist; which are trying to pursue or discourage her from being free to do what her soul and heart desires. They will not stop at all costs even if it means isolating her from the whole world. When Jane is awake at night, she believes the wallpaper moves in the moonlight and there is a thing behind the paper that is trying to escape but can’t. Since she has arrived in the colonial mansion, she’s been angry, sad, happy, and depressed without any explanation that could describe her as a round character while her husband, John and his sister, Jenni are just flat with one emotion. Jane is a dynamic character, because she tears and shreds the wallpaper and goes crazy in the process of tearing down the wallpaper while John and his sister Jenni just continue with what society is ruled. I believe that Mrs. Jane represents all of these descriptions as a protagonist, round, and dynamic character that over comes the barrier in the life of society which is living by a patriarchy without freedom of choice by rebilling and going insane in the process and continues her life.

Mystery of Heroism In the story //__“Mystery of heroism”__// by Stephen Crane, the protagonist Private Collins is thirsty and wants water from the well across the battle field by the wreckage of a house but is to frighten to do it. The mood of the setting scene is showing what is occurring during the battle with guns firing and batteries booming from both sides. The character has many feelings throughout the whole story, he feels anger, fear, regret, and scared while enemy artillery is firing at him. Collins shows his behavior as soon as his friends dare him to go across the battle field and get a drink of water, so he asks the captain of the company to get some water from the well. The captain agrees to let Collins go, but asks him if it is really necessary. In the end Collins helps fulfill a dying captain’s last wish; to have a drink of water. I believe that the author is trying to get the reader to think what a hero is. So what was the reasoning behind the author’s story?

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? April Showers  In the story //__“April Showers”__// by Edith Wharton, it tells a tale of a teenage daughter who wants to be a writer but also must take care of her family because her mother believes it is the job of the older sister. Can she ever finish the book? Theodora’s id wants her to write a story because she refuses to even live a life as a wife whose only job is to clean the house. Theodora’s superego is telling her to take care of the chores and also take care of her siblings. She forgets to take care of what was at hand and continued to write her story. Her ego suggested that after her story is sold and published, she should use the money to send her brother Johnny to a bordering school. So she also will take care of her sister by getting her the best doctor.  In the story //__“The Invalid Story”__// by Mark Twain, it tells a tale that the narrator’s friend asks him to return his body back to his family to be buried. When the narrator arrives at the train depot, he grabs the wrong box and puts it in the boxcar and eats a supper. When the trip is somewhere between Ohio and Illinois the box begins to stink and his id wants him to get rid of the box but his superego tells him to fulfill his dead friend’s wish. The ego is to stay in the boxcar with the “coffin” and tries to cover the smell. It only gets worse so when they arrive in Wisconsin, he discovers that the “coffin” is actual a box full with guns.
 * Wharton’s “April Showers” and Twain’s “The Invalid’s Story”**