Respond in 3–5 complete sentences. Choose from one of the following prompts: Choose a piece of literature from this semester with which you identified strongly. Describe the theme of this selection and give details from the selection that support your choice. Choose a character that you particularly liked or disliked this semester in a piece of literature. In 3–5 sentences, explain how he or she is characterized in the piece. Select the link to access the Short Answer Rubric.
One piece of literature from this semester that I identified strongly with was "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The theme of the selection revolves around the suffocating constraints of societal expectations on women and the detrimental effects of being trapped in a powerless role. The protagonist's descent into madness and her obsession with the wallpaper symbolize the loss of self and autonomy that come from being trapped in a confined space, both physically and metaphorically. The vivid descriptions of the wallpaper's pattern, which the protagonist sees as oppressive, mirror her own feelings of entrapment within her domestic life and societal expectations.
