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Common american themes in literature
Themes of American literature
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Bendel-Sismo argues that “A Jury of Her Peers” redefines America’s definition of justice through the use of empathy; an appeal to the reader’s emotional and symbolic senses. The men in the story, all representing a form of the law, take a more traditional approach to justice by hunting for clues that pinpoint the murder on Minnie Wright. The women in the story become Minnie Wright’s peers and empathize with Minnie by realizing they all live a similar life. In the end, the women in the story justify Minnie’s actions as vengeance due to John Wright’s symbolic murder of Minnie and hide the evidence discovered, which proves that justice cannot be seen without
Symbolism is a literary device in which words, phrases or actions allude to something more than their literal meanings. In the short story “A Jury of Her Peers”, a major example of symbolism is the quilt. The quilt is perhaps the biggest example because it can be tied to many other examples of symbolism within the story, and can also be interpreted in different ways.
The film A Jury of her Peers, is similar to the play, Trifles because it highlights similar points that are referenced in the text and is clear it was used as a basis for the foundation of the film. The names of Mr. and Mrs. Wright are changed to Mr. and Mrs. Burke. The use of facts to outline the climax, are the same as used in the play. Such as the building of suspense of the discovering of the bird and its strangulation and whether Mrs. Burke or Mr. Burke is to place blame. However, as an adaptation, opinions are added into the original framework of the play to add a touch of personalization. The film interprets the drama as a murder mystery, as the attorney and the sheriff search the household to find evidence to place blame on Mrs. Burke. A jury of her Peers, works to portray the emotions of Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, as they discover items that would, (if found by the men) possibly prove her guilty (Bourne, 2013).
In both of Glaspell’s pieces, the main character, Mrs. Wright, is accused of killing her husband. Minnie Wright was a farmer’s wife who didn’t have much contact with the outside world. The murder investigation took place inside her home. Three men are used to investigate the case and two women come with them. The women were no help to the men, but solved the case but also protected Mrs. Wright from any wrongdoing. The three men tried to find a motive, but the case remained unsolved. Susan Glaspell show’s in the two pieces how women are disregarded in investigative matters.
Hedges, Elaine. "Small Things Reconsidered: Susan Glaspell's' 'A Jury of Her Peers'." Women's Studies 12.1 (1986): 89. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
In this male dominated investigation, it is empathy that truly is the mark that allows the investigation to be solved from an unsuspected place. Void of empathy, nothing can genuinely be understood. Empathy is the foundation with which we can see the world and understand the reason behind everything whether for the good or bad. Condoning the action of an individual is not taking into account their situation or what other options were available to them considering any existed. Labeling a criminal is putting an individual into a category of black and white without considering the complexity of the matter or the many shades of gray the world presents. In the eyes of the law, Mrs. Wright was a murderer. To those who could empathize with her struggles she was a survivor—despite her wrongdoing. Justice is found in this play, or rather the term may be favored as mercy, that Mrs. Wright was a victim who believed in her heart she chose the only path that lead to
Men always have the tendency to judge too quickly. In “A Jury of Her Peers”, by Susan Glaspell, Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Minnie Foster and Mr. Henderson are attempting to look for the motive of Minnie killing her husband. The story starts by Mr. Peters informing the group, except for Minnie, while she waits in jail, that when he stopped by the day before to give Mr. Wright a telephone because the couple lived really removed from the rest of the town, he asked Minnie where Mr. Wright was and she calmly answered that he had been hung the night before. Then, the men head upstairs to look at the crime scene, while the women sit around the kitchen to talk. Accidentally, the women figure out the motive of the murder by talking about kitchen supplies, “trifles” as the men call it. They decided not to inform the men to keep Minnie from being convicted because her husband was equally guilty as her. In the short story, “A Jury of Her Peers”, Glaspell employs strong details and details devices to argue that the purpose of the story is how Glaspell portrays men, that a person must not be judged based on off of the external appearance and that the little details in life always are important.
A story of murder, fear, and the temptation of betrayal is one that easily snatches up the attention of audiences. In “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, the author uses her southern female characters to emphasize the direct relationship between friendship and connection. Her plot circles around the disastrous discovery of their fellow housewife’s marital murder, and the events that unfolded causing their ultimate decision in prosecuting or shielding her from the men in the story. The author implements revealing dialogue and glaring symbolism to display the coveted relationships among the women, and the paths they take to personally understand the situation at hand with their own personal connections.
In the short story “A Jury of Her Peers” and the play “Trifles” the same story is use, but both the stories have different points of views. But not are only the points of views different but the way the entire story is set up. In “A Jury of Her Peers” , a short story, the author Susan Glaspell goes into great detail about the events leading up to the the meeting at the house. While in the play “Trifles” Susan Glaspell doesn’t give any background knowledge she just throws into the story. While both “ A Jury of Her Peers” and “Trifles” are both similar in plot but different in points of view and amount of content.
The crowded courtroom was absolutely silent as the 12 all white and all men took their seats at the jury box. Chief Justice Albert Mason, one of the presiding judges in the murder case, asked Charles I. Richards, the foreman, to rise. Mr. Richards was asked to read the verdict. “Not guilty”, replied the foreman. Even though the circumstantial and physical evidence pointed to Lizzie Borden guilty of killing her step-mother and father, the all-male jury, men of some financial means, could not fathom that a woman who is well bred and a Sunday school teacher could possibly commit such a heinous crime (Linder 7).
A story of murder, fear, and the temptation of betrayal is one that easily snatches up the attention of audiences. In “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, the author uses her southern female characters to emphasize the direct relationship between friendship and connection. Her plot circles around the disastrous discovery of their fellow housewife’s marital murder, and the events that unfolded causing their ultimate decision in prosecuting or shielding her from the men in the story. The author implements revealing dialogue with subtle detailing and glaring symbolism to display the coveted friendships among women above other relationships and that the paths they take to secure them stem from inveterate personal connections.
As the jury, you all have come to the conclusion that my client, Minnie Wright, is guilty of murder, but this crime was not premeditated, it was a crime committed while Minnie was unaware, and in a psychotic episode. Minnie Wright was a lively and carefree spirit before her husband John Wright entered her life, and everything changed for the worse. He kept her from her friends by moving her to a more isolated location, and kept her from calling people, because John Wright did not approve telephones due to the noises they made, and lastly he even went as far as killing her main source of social interaction, her little canary. These factors affected Minnie’s mental health, and she soon broke into a episode of insanity, unknowingly killing her
Matthews uses an anecdote from a Minnesota attorney general who to noticed that women jurors were “visibly affected by the exhibition.” Yet even with becoming overturn by emotion “a verdict of guilty was promptly returned” with even results from both men and women. A woman’s reception of information may be more emotional, however it does not cloud their judgement. They can be affected by their experiences and bias and still reach the verdict that men reach using reasoning and logic. This highlights the sameness in the qualifications of the sexes. The use of an example allows the audience to picture women in court easier and it illustrates their qualifications through real life instances. It is common for people to feel misjudged based on minimal information concerning them. In this situation, the audience is able to relate to the misjudging of women as being overly emotional. The topic of a jury makes the application easier and more credible because the women of the Minnesota jury are diverse, by the standard of the jury system, so they can represent for the larger group of all women in
The central theme in “A Jury of Her Peers” is the place of women in society and especially the isolation this results in. We see this through the character, Minnie Foster and her isolation from love, happiness, companionship and from society as a whole. Not only does the story describe this isolation but it allows the reader to feel the impact of this isolation and recognize the tragedy of the situation.
In Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers”, female characters face inequality in a society dominated by the opinions of their husbands. The women struggle to decide where their loyalty rests and the fate of a fellow woman. Aided by memories and their own lifestyles the women realize their ties to a woman held for murder, Minnie Foster Wright. Through a sympathetic connection these women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have greater loyalty to a fellow woman than to their husbands and even the law; this greater loyalty ultimately shows the inequality between genders.
Rollyson, Carl. "A Jury of Her Peers." Magill’s Literary Annual 2010. Ed. D. Wilson John and