Which of the following is a well crafted personal response to the prompt?

Question

The Prompt: In your opinion, what makes a character in a story powerful? Based on your definition, do any of the characters in the story have power?

Which of the following is a well crafted personal response to the prompt?

The Prompt: In your opinion, what makes a character in a story powerful? Based on your definition, do any of the characters in the story have power?

I think that the tax collector had power.

I think the young people in the story have some power because they haven’t completely given up yet. The residents do not feel empowered and instead are content to wait for decisions to be made for them, as illustrated by their “undeniable sense of relief” when the petition gets refused.

The description of the setting helps to show how isolated this town is from the influence of other towns or even the capital.

Answer 1

The second response is a well-crafted personal response to the prompt. It clearly presents an opinion about which characters hold power, offering a rationale for that choice by contrasting the young people's drive with the resigned attitude of the residents. It provides specific examples from the story to support its reasoning, which makes it more persuasive and relevant to the prompt.

In contrast, the first response is too brief and lacks explanation or depth, while the third response focuses on the setting rather than directly addressing the character's power, making it less aligned with the requirements of the prompt.