1. Why does the author likely include the story of
William Offett in the beginning of the passage
(Paragraphs 1-6)?

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.