An Obstacle

1. Analyze the poem through the lens of the Bunker Hill or Solomon stories. In what ways is the speaker’s experience similar to the event? In what ways does it differ? Support your claim with text evidence.

2. Why does Gilman make the choice to personify Prejudice? What is the effect of this literary device on the poem? How would the poem have been different if prejudice remained an abstract noun? Support your claim with text evidence.

3. Analyze the speaker’s actions in terms of her gender or The Many Talents of Women. She speaks “politely,” reasons “quietly,” flies “into a passion,” and begs until she feels “helpless.” Then, in the “ecstasy of woe,” she is inspired to charge against Prejudice as if he isn’t there. Which of her actions are stereotypically female? Which are stereotypically male? Why is it that she finds her greatest strength when she feels helpless and woeful? Support your claim with text evidence.