The dilemma that mary faces when she must decide whether or not to become a heroine, like the ones that she reads about at school, can best be described as

answer: common sense was the pamphlet that thomas paine used to convince reluctant americans to abandon the goal of reconciling with britain and to accept that independence was the only option to preserve their liberty.

the pronoun reference replaces a noun, but you have to make sure there's no room for confusion.

in the first sentence "her" could be referring to shely or to the sister. the answer there is "shelly called her sister and told her about the new baby."

in the second sentence "it" could be referring to the roof or the floor. the answer there is "since the roof leaks on the family room floor, we need to repair the roof."