For this week’s forum, respond to one of the following questions:

1. Chopin’s stories not only raise the question of a woman’s right to be an individual and to reject the demands of family and motherhood, but they also raise the question of how the liberated woman should use her liberty.  Discuss the female protagonists of “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm” as women who are capable of achieving a degree of independence.

2. Is it essential to an understanding of the “The Yellow Wall-paper” to know that Gilman experienced a mental breakdown similar to that experienced by the heroine of the story (see “Why I Wrote ‘The Yellow Wall-paper'” pg. 523), that Gilman was a strong advocate of women’s rights, and that she was an outspoken critic of the relationships between women and the men who dominated them? How does your knowledge or lack of knowledge of these facts change your understanding of the story?

3. Booker T. Washington published Up From Slavery in 1901.  In it, Washington argued for a “forgive and forget” attitude toward slavery.  He believed that slavery could be put in the past, and he encouraged African Americans to move forward.  In what ways is Du Bois’s work radically different?

4. Analyze Dunbar’s representation of African American life in the poetry we read. In particular, consider the tactics he utilizes in attempting to undermine the stereotypes that his characterizations appear on the surface to endorse. How successful are these tactics? Possibly examine the role of religion, irony, violence, and/or racism to back your argument.