37 pages 1 hour read

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

An Obstacle

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1884

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Literary Device Answers

1. B. Prejudice is personified as an evil spirit who is hulking, foolish, and stubborn.

2. C. Bunker Hill is an early battle site of the Revolutionary War. The British and the colonists fought until the bitter end, with each side suffering casualties despite the British victory.

3. A. The biblical King Solomon was known for his wisdom, and the speaker says she tries to “reason quietly” with Prejudice.

4. A. Although Prejudice is an abstract noun with physical substance, its effects are felt by its victims.

5. D. The poem does not follow the style of traditional six-stanza poems of the time, just as the speaker, a woman, goes against tradition to battle prejudice.