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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. The Yellow Wallpaper Kelsey Bastian She crept around the lonely room on her hands and knees. Torn yellow wallpaper covered the floor. She was going crazy; going around and around the room. In the story, The Yellow Wall-Paper, there is a definite difference between the role of a man and of a woman as well as how they differ as far as their roles in a daily life and routine goes. Jane, the narrator, was expected to obey her husband, John. He forbids her to see her friends and her being the woman; she had to listen to him. Due to the way society portrayed women back in the day, they weren’t allowed to make decisions of their own because the “man of the house” so to say, always had the final word. Human beings tend to stereotype which in turn limits certain groups to doing certain things. In this case, Jane was being restricted from doing just about anything because her husband said so. Jane and her husband John moved into a mansion and had planned to live there for three months. Their bedroom was bland with yellow wallpaper as the main décor. Jane claimed that she saw a woman creeping behind the wallpaper. Every step Jane took, everywhere she looked, she saw a woman trying to crawl through the distorted pattern, but every attempt led to failure. Jane had had signs of depression and by keeping her locked up in her room all day, didn’t make it any better. Her husband who was a physician claimed there was nothing wrong with her. The protagonist in this story is Jane. She is the main character throughout the story. She writes in her journal about incidences that occur each day. The protagonist is society. Had society back then not created the stereotype that men are inferior to women; her husband wouldn’t have been as easily able to control her. She wasn’t allowed to make decisions for herself and even though she knew something was wrong with her, she was told there wasn’t because that was what her husband said. She probably wouldn’t have suffered an extreme case of depression and anxiety. The contrasting characters are John and Jane. Jane suffers from depression and believes she is less than her husband. John knows he is “higher in rank” than her and seems to take advantage of that. Jane is a round character because many sides of her are portrayed in this story. She is sad, depressed, hopeful as well as hopeless. She is also a dynamic character because she does change a little throughout the story. At the beginning of the story, she is “normal” but by the end she is creeping around the border of the room, her shoulder against the wall, going around over and over. Jane had changed throughout the story dramatically. Humans create stereotypes that can change a person completely. Had it not been for societies’ thinking of the man being in charge, she probably wouldn’t have been the way she was.
 * Chopin’s “Story of and Hour” and Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”**

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”**

** Mystery of Heroism  ** In the story __Mystery of Heroism__ by Stephen Crane, Collins, the protagonist, had a decision to make; be selfish or selfless. Being under the peer pressure and influence of his friends, the antagonists, didn’t make the situation easier on him. Having to decide whether to do the right thing or not is a difficult decision and can determine the outcome of the situation you are in. “On the ground near [Collins] lay the old well bucket with a weathered rusty chain attached to it. The canteen wasn’t filling up with water quick enough so he tossed the bucket into the well. It struck the water and suck to the bottom.” Crane wrote. Collins tried to move quickly because reality started to set in as he lay face down on the ground. Picking up the bucket, he ran for his life in the direction in which he came. Water was splashing out of the wooden pale as he ran. Along the way he passed a man who was stuck under his horse. The man asked him for water but Collins kept running. His Id was telling him to run faster and to not look back because he not only wanted the water for himself, but he feared that if he stopped his life would be at risk. However, his superego saw the dying man lying lifelessly on the battlefield pleading for water. He wanted to help the man but Collins knew he would be putting his life in danger. His ego had to quickly decide whether he should go back or keep running. Coming to the conclusion that doing the right thing would be the best thing to do, he raced back to the soldier and began to pour water into his mouth. Crane writes, “Brown earth was being flung in monstrous handfuls. From beyond a curtain of green woods there came a stupendous scuffle. It sounded as if two animals the size of islands were fighting.” The sight of the battlefield was unbelievable. The once cozy, little cottage that was placed in the center of a sea of green grass was now demolished, and as for the sea of grass that once enveloped the cozy little cabin, was now covered with bullet shells and dirt. The sound of cannons and guns being fired randomly into the air and towards other soldiers made shrieking, whistling sounds. The horrific squeals of the dying horses echoed for miles. Sweat slid down the soldiers’ muddy faces, leaving a shiny trail behind and crept into their mouths. Confusion and chaos had taken over the battlefield. Doing the right thing is not always the easiest thing to do. Whether or not your ego decides to go with your Id, what feels right at that very moment, or it goes with your superego, what is right and wrong, is up to you.

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 Wharton portrays the character, Theodora, as a young girl whose financial ranking is in the upper class. The way she talks says that she is well educated and respectful towards her father. When she says “father of father,” it shows a sign of respect. She never calls her father, dad, either. Theodora wanted to write and publish her novel, her Id, yet her superego reminded her of her responsibilities and that she needs to take care of her family. In the end, her ego decided to publish her novel and when it made lots of money, she would put it towards helping her family out. In the end, Theodora didn’t end up getting her book published. The Invalid’s Story by Mark Twain Twain portrays Thompson, as a low class, probably not well educated, man. Twain wrote, “t’would’a’ben a dumb sight better, all around, if they’d started him along last summer.” The way he talks and how he jumbles his words and the order they are placed in shows that his vocabulary isn’t as extensive as Theodora. Thompson’s Id wanted to get rid of the body but his superego wanted to return the body. In the end, he went with his superego and just dealt with the horrendous smell which ended up being Limburger cheese.
 * Wharton’s “April Showers” and Twain’s “The Invalid’s Story”**