2. which sentence is punctuated correctly?
a the meeting was only supposed to be an hour, however, it ran for
nearly three hours.
ob the meeting was only supposed to be an hour; however, it ran for
nearly three hours.
oc the meeting was only supposed to be an hour however, it ran for
nearly three hours.
od the meeting was only supposed to be an hour: however, it ran for
nearly three hours.

B. The meeting was only supposed to be for an hour; however, it ran for nearly 3 hours.

Explanation:

A semicolon is most commonly used to link (in a single sentence) two independent clauses that are closely related in thought. When a semicolon is used to join two or more ideas (parts) in a sentence, those ideas are then given equal position or rank. Use the semicolon if you have two independent clauses connected without a conjunction. Also use the semicolon when you already have commas within a sentence for smaller separations, and you need the semicolon to show bigger separations.

as for symbolic actions, the narrator's tearing down the wallpaper in an attempt to find the "woman" in the wallpaper represents her struggle to retain or regain her sanity.   the wallpaper has been part of her confinement and by her tearing it down, she is freeing herself from that confinement.

where is the passage at?