Societal Truths: The Trifles

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Societal Truths While works of fiction are not real by definition, they often contain themes and story elements relevant to current social and world issues. Trifles, a 1916 play written by Susan Glaspell, and Legally Blonde, a 2001 movie directed by Marc Platt, share the overall theme of feminism. Kelly Marsh, a student of Mississippi State University, evaluates the two stories in her essay, “Dead Husbands and Other ‘Girls’ Stuff’: The Trifles in Legally Blonde,” and concludes that the similarities between the stories demonstrate the unchanging nature of certain women’s issues, and that the differences show how feminism has evolved over the years. Marsh makes an excellent connection between the two stories; however, the credibility and coherence of her essay are compromised by use of inadequate evidence and inconsistent organization. Legally Blonde is a story …show more content…

For example, Marsh states, “the defense attorney in Legally Blonde fails to understand the implications of...the way a Delta Nu feels about a man who wears a thong, and the rules of perm maintenance,” (202). The attorney never actively dismisses these, but Marsh implies that he does. In another instance, Marsh quotes a Legally Blonde character who says that the woman accused of murder, “made her living by telling women that they’re too fat” (202), which is correctly quoted, but is out of context without including Elle’s statement that the woman in question would never, ever do such a thing (Legally Blonde). Additionally, on page 204 of her essay, Marsh claims that Elle’s sorority sisters, “focus their energies on making themselves more physically attractive to men,” but only supports this bold statement with one minute quote from the movie. While these instances of subpar evidence may seem inconsequential, they significantly reduce the overall credibility of the

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