The first reading I enjoyed was Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles”. The main character in the plat is a sheriff, his wife, the county attorney, and Mr. and Mrs. Hale. The opening scene is all of them in John Wright’s kitchen. Mr. Hale tells the sheriff and attorney how he a visited the house on the day before day and Mrs. Wright greeted him but her demeanor was little suspicions. She told him that her husband was upstairs dead. She says she was asleep when someone choked her husband to death. All the men suspect she is the murderer. While the men look for evidence in the house they criticize Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping skills and that really irritates Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter, the sheriff’s wife. While the men continue to look around the house, they missed the bad fruit preserves and bread that was left out the box, a quilt that she didn’t finish, a half cleaned table, and an empty birdcage. The men were preoccupied looking for scientific evidence and end up completely missing the psychological signs that Mrs. Wright was miserable living with Mr. Wright cold-natured attitude. I enjoyed this reading this play because the men in the play were typical men-folk. They put on this persona that they are the most important creatures on Earth. They act as if they were Sherlock Holmes himself when in actuality they are not nearly as vigilant as the female characters. Their high-mighty attitude made the women feel inferior and because of that common feeling they form a bond between the three of them. Through this bond they decided to keep the evidence they found and Mrs. Wright’s secret to themselves. Taking the box with the dead bird was them demonstrating gender loyalty and an act of rebelliousness against a the self-righteous male-dominate... ... middle of paper ... ...vil War. Great job Professor Bracewell! Works Cited Cheever, John, The Wrysons,. " American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 318-323. e-Book. Glaspell, Susan , Trifles. " American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 166-176. e-Book. Hughes, Langston, The Negro Speaks of Rivers. " American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 222-224. e-Book. Oates, Joyce Carol Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 333-344. eBook. O’Neill, Eugene, The Hairy Ape. " American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 180-209. e-Book. . Roethke, Theodore, “My Papa's Waltz " American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 308-309. e-Book.
...f qualified gentlemen. Another theme of the play is whether a person should prefer their humane instinct or the law, which is mostly represented towards Mrs. Peters, who is “married to the law‟ yet has empathy for Mrs. Wright. The law that the attorney says Mrs. Peters is married to, is a patriarchal law that dominates women and makes them matters of the system. These women’s dedication truly lies with each other and their struggle to survive a domineering civilization. If during a marriage a woman is secluded and subjugated, her only sense of self lies within the common struggle. At the end, she signifies that her responsibility towards her fellow woman is more significant than the law and stays faithful to her sex. In fact, they might have a concealed longing to do the same thing with their husbands as a rebellious to the continuous domination from the men.
At the start of the play, all of the characters enter the abandoned farmhouse of John Wright, who was recently hanged by an unknown killer. The Sheriff and County Attorney start scanning the house for clues as to who killed Mr. Wright, but make a major error when they search the kitchen poorly, claiming that there is nothing there ?but kitchen things.? This illustrates the men?s incorrect belief that a kitchen is a place of trivial matters, a place where nothing of any importance may be found. Mrs. Peters then notices that Mrs. Wright?s fruit froze in the cold weather, and the men mock her and reveal their stereotype of females by saying ?women are used to worrying over trifles.? The men then venture to the upstairs of the house to look for clues, while the women remain downstairs in the kitchen where they discuss the frozen fruit and the Wrights. Mrs. Hale explains that Mrs. Wright, whose maiden name was Minnie Foster, used to be a lively woman who sang in the choir. She suggests that the reason Mrs. Wright stopped being cheerful and active because of her irritable husband.
One of the most important tools that an author uses to convey his message to the reader throughout the text is his language. It plays a vital role in setting the overall tone of the text and helps in foreshadowing with crumbs of symbols and imagery. This essay focuses on the play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, first performed on August 8th, 1916.
...box with the bird in it. The men enter with some condescending remarks toward the women to which neither Mrs. Hale nor Mrs. Peters remarks. The county attorney says that it seems pretty clear that Mrs. Wright is guilty but that he has failed to uncover any evidence that would explain any motive. The women do not mention that they have found the bird. They know that proof of motive is the most critical piece of evidence against Mrs. Wright and that when she is tried in court, she will not technically be judged by a group of her peers. Women are not allowed to vote and, therefore, cannot be members of a jury. If the court does establish a motive, Mrs. Wright will surely be convicted by a group of chauvinistic men. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters know the motive but decide to take the law into their own hands and, in doing so, demonstrate both autonomy and fellowship.
Trifles I would like to make three major points. Major #1: Since this is the first play we’ve read, the stage direction really caught my eye and I tended to consider it very seriously in determining the meaning of the work. The most obvious direction, which the essay by Parrish discusses, is that neither Mr. nor Mrs. Wright ever appear in the play, and Glaspell was the first to use this type of direction (which was later recognized as uniquely her own.) Other important examples of the play’s direction (not spoken lines) are: (. she is disturbed now and looks fearfully about as she enters).
The women in the play display softer qualities by casually gathering evidence. While the men search upstairs, the women gather evidence through small talk, examining finer details such as noticing the stitching in the quilt, the men laugh when they overhear their conversation. The fact that the women were able to notice a small detail which ended up revealing a piece of evidence for the case shows that women are mistaken as unintelligent by men when the men laugh to their small talk. This reveals that in order to solve a problem it may be easier to look at
The females begin responding “stiffly” rather than “quietly”(7) as before. This adjective usage serves to support the speech even more by allowing readers to see the progression from silence to a bold rebellion in the women regarding their husbands, for “by hiding the canary Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are also going against their husbands” (Bee2). Indeed, this act was the major act of defiance that secured the women’s strengthened devotions to each other rather than their husbands. Peters especially undergoes a drastic transformation when she eventually joins in as “support of her fellow oppressed women” (Block B 1). When, at the climax of the story, the bird is hidden from the men in the sentimental tin box, Glaspell exhibits the tension with the selection of detail. She chooses to focus on the clammy hands of Mrs. Peters as she stuffs the tin away and the quivering voice of Mrs. Hale as she denies knowing any information about the crime. The descriptions of the seemingly miniscule and weakening objects around her house match the “quiet desperation” (Schotland 3) Foster repressed until it overflowed the night before. Considering that the adjectives show how burdensome it is for the women to conceal the evidence, it truly demonstrates how strong the relationships between them has grown based
Mrs. Minnie Wright is the prime suspect in Trifles, a play by Susan Glaspell, taking place in and around a farmhouse in 1916 where the owner of the farmhouse, Mr. Wright, is found dead. Likewise, Emily Grierson is believed to have murdered her partner, Homer Barron, in “A Rose for Emily”, a short story written by William Faulkner taking place in the early 1900’s. During this time period, women were cast into low positions in society and although Emily and Minnie’s living situations are quite different, the women show other similarities growing ever so lonely and depressed leading them to murder the men in their lives.
Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles, seems to describe the ultimate women’s suffrage story. No longer will men have an upper hand against women after reading this story. Cleverness will be the key to retaining power from the men in this story. The one thing that woman are criticized for, the idea that women tend to look at the ‘little picture’ instead of the ‘whole picture’, will be there path to victory. Two stories of revenge are told in this story, the revenge of suppression and revenge of being portrayed as ‘unsophisticated, unintelligent’ women. First we have the story of Mrs. Wright and the struggles with her husband, John. Married women throughout history have been portrayed and played the role as being inferior to the husband in marriage. This seems to be the case with Mrs. Wright. Even though John’s public image was somewhat respectable, it was obvious that behind close doors the story was different. There is evidence of abuse in this marriage. First, the discovery of the broken door leads me to conclude that John was very physical and anguished. Second, it is assumed that Mrs. Wrights husband had broke her canary’s neck. The canary, which of course had to be caged, was represented as the old Minnie Foster herself. The canary is a beautiful, free spirited bird that had a sweet voice, as Minnie had at one time. This was the end of the line and ‘Minnie Foster’ was about to be reborn. She would stand up for all those abused and suppressed house wives across the world and makes the first ‘final’ decision she had ever been allowed to make. The bird’s cage was her jail. The bird’s death was her freedom for the fate of the bird was the fate of her husband. John was discovered with a rope tied around his neck, the freedom of a women who could no longer be held down. This was the first implementation of women’s power in the story. The women at Mrs. Wright’s home played an important role in the story as well. The ‘professional’ detectives were busy about the house finding clues to indict Mrs. Wright in the murder case. They ridiculed the women in the house by ‘putting them in their place’ as typical ladies, so worried about small things and useless ordeals. Mrs. Hale noted the stitches in the quilt to be erratically stitched as if something were wrong.
Throughout the play Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, multiple themes have come about. One theme that stood out tremendously was man v. man. This came about when Mr. Wright stopped showing his wife, Mrs. Wright, attention. The two already had their differences such as how Mrs. Wright enjoys singing, while "Mr. Wright would prefer it to be quiet (Mrs. Hale, pg. 573)." When this occurred, Mrs. Wright needed something to keep her going, something to keep her happy, so she got a bird. She could sing with the bird and much more. Considering how quiet Mr. Wright likes it to be, him and the bird did not go hand in hand, so something had to be done about the bird." Mr. Wright choked the life out of the bird (Mrs. Hale, pg. 573)." Another example
Setting is a major part of the theme in a work of literature; however, the theme is also influenced by the characters , point of view, and plot. The time and physical location along with details of the setting are interconnected with the morals and attitudes of the characters throughout the piece. There can be many hidden ideas demonstrated throughout a work of literature from the setting. Trifles accomplishes this very effectively, displaying many underlying points from locations in the play and using many different props. While conveying the thoughts and emotions of the writer, the setting can also provide more information about the conflict of the work. The details of the setting of Susan Glaspell’s play Trifles provide clues for solving the murder of John Hossack.
In this play, the men and women characters are separated even from their first entrance onto the stage. To the intuitive reader (or playgoer), the gender differences are immediately apparent when the men walk confidently into the room and over to the heater while the women timidly creep only through the door and stand huddled together. This separation between genders becomes more apparent when the characters proceed in investigating the murder. The men focus on means while the women focus on motive: action vs. emotion. While the men...
A crime scene calls for careful consideration and attention to every detail. Making false assumptions and underestimating the importance of information can lead to a false verdict or conviction. The outdated stereotype of men's superiority over women, and the consequences of this ideology, is the theme present in the play "Trifles," by Susan Glaspell. The play features five members of the community, simultaneously investigating a crime scene, trying to expose evidence that may answer the question of who killed John Wright. The only obvious suspect in the play is Wright's wife Minnie. Throughout the play, the men present search the house, and seemingly overlook the investigating women as dim-witted and irrelevant. This notion ultimately leaves the men devoid of the evidence they need to convict Mrs. Wright. The play features many "trifles," or small details that many might overlook at first mention. These details, however, turn out to be very important, and not trifles at all. The mention of Mrs. Wright's cracked fruit contains great symbolism and parallelism to the mental state of the suspect being mentioned. Furthermore, the discovery of the strangled bird serves as not only basis for a motive for the crime, but also a look into the life and struggles of Minnie Wright. Finally, the quilt found in the house similarly provides more evidence and symbolism of the murderer. These objects, which may appear as trifles initially, are actually the basis in which to convict Minnie Wright.
Wright was described as a beautiful women filled with such joy and life until she married John Wright. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale feels sorry for her because her husband treated her so bad. Due to female bonding and sympathy, the two women, becoming detectives, finds the truth and hides it from the men. The play shows you that emotions can play a part in your judgement. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale felt sorry that Mrs. Wright had one to keep her company no kids and she was always left alone at home. “yes good; he didn’t drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debt. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters just to pass the time of day with him. Like a raw wind that goes to the bone. I should of think she would have wanted a bird. But what you suppose went with it?” Later on in the play the women find out what happens to the bird. The bird was killed the same way Mrs. Wright husband which leads to the motive of why he was killed. Mrs. Wright was just like the bird beautiful but caged no freedom not being able to live a life of her own. Always stuck in the shadows of her husband being told what to do and
Most of the actions take place in the kitchen setting which demonstrates the author’s deliberate move to show the important details about the wifely role. The women hold their conversation in the unkempt kitchen, a domestic sphere that reveals everything about the lives of women. While the men were busy searching for clues around the farmhouse, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale see some evidence in the trifle that Mrs. Wright had left in the kitchen. The women can deduce that the messy kitchen with dirty pans gives a signal of incomplete work. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter spend most of their time in the messy kitchen that significantly reveal Mrs. Wright’s state of confusion (Manuel 61). Mrs. Hale understands Mrs. Wright’s experiences of loneliness and desperation from the male-dominated circumstances. The female characters sympathize with her situation by acknowledging the forces in her life that made her take the roles including that of murdering her husband. The men overlook the evidence that the women can trace in the house, and their dialogue suggests lack of sympathy towards women as noted from their humiliation and sarcasm towards women. For example, the women can relate the death of the canary to the murder scene. The attorney shows how woman’s concerns are unimportant, instead of sympathizing with Mrs. Wright for what has befallen her, they portray their women