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Annotated Bibliography on trifles
Gender roles shaped in literature
Analysis of Trifles by Susan Glaspell
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Trifle is a one-act play focusing on two women who discovers murder clues and the conventions of this play is drama. In this play the two women fulfills this conventions thoroughly. Actions of two women completely follows their personalities, but the cations of men seem imposed upon them. There are lot of symbols in this play like Mrs. Wrights bird- it symbolize her spirit, uneven sewn quilt- it symbolizes Mrs.Wright’s mental
condition.
Trifles” is a play written in 1916 by Susan Glaspell. The play’s audience consists of young adults to those in their late 50’s. Mrs. Glaspell takes a serious matter of domestic violence and uses her platform as an author to raise awareness about the issue. In the play “Trifles” a neighbor went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wright only to find Mr. Wright dead in his bed. He had been strangled to death by a rope. The neighbor questioned Mrs. Wright about the matter and her response was odd and suspicious. Mrs. Wright was taken to jail while the home is being investigated for further evidence. Mrs. Glaspell’s play “Trifles” effectively achieves the goal in raising awareness on domestic violence by the evidence of the crime and through pathos.
In the play Trifles, a handful of people are thrust into a situation that allows us to compare their personalities. The comparison of Mrs. Hale and Mr. Wright is captivating because both characters have striking similarities and differences that are well defined in the events that unfold in the Wright kitchen. Though both show emotions that are unlike from one another, they are similar in their organized lifestyles, and they conduct themselves in such a way to have the respect from others.
People interpret and analyze everything differently. “Trifles” written by Susan Glaspell is a one act dramatic play containing seven characters. Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama refers to a dramatic play as a form of “staged art” written to be performed or presented by means of acting. The scheme of the play is to find out who and why John Wright was murdered. “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell can be analyzed by its character’s roles in the play. The characters include John Wright, Minnie Wright, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale.
To begin Trifles does not sound like the name of a play about murder, it sounds like the name of a silly play, a trifle in and of itself. It is not however, the name is a subterfuge to hide its themes of justice, patriarchal dominance and women’s place within society. The women are not given their own identity, they are instead Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters identified by their husbands. The only exception to this is Minnie Wright who is not present throughout either story.
Merriam-Webster's Online dictionary defines a trifle as “something of little value, substance, or importance” (“Trifle”). Susan Glaspell's one-act play about the investigation of murder in a small farm town is titled Trifles. Ironically, there is nothing “trifle” about the message Glaspell presents in this play. Trifles was written in 1916 at a time when women were not treated as equal citizens in America. Trifles is one of the first plays to deal directly with the issues of women's rights and feminism (Pesano). Throughout the play, the men are blind to the clues, or “trifles”, that would help them solve the murder of Mr. Wright. On the surface, the “trifles” do not look like they have any importance or significance to the investigation when
In today's society, we generally view upon everyone as equal beings who deserve equal rights. At the turn of the 20th century, this particular view didn?t exist. Men clearly dominated almost every aspect of life and women were often left with little importance. The Wright?s embody this view of roles in Susan Glaspell?s play Trifles. Mrs. Wright was a typical woman who suffered the mental abuse from her husband and was caged from life. In Trifles, a mixture of symbolism of oppression illustrates Mrs. Minnie Wright?s motives to kill her husband and to escape from imprisonment.
Susan Glaspell's play, "Trifles", attempts to define one of the main behavioral differences between man and woman. For most of the story, the two genders are not only geographically separated, but also separated in thought processes and motive, so that the reader might readily make comparisons between the two genders. Glaspell not only verbally acknowledges this behavioral difference in the play, but also demonstrates it through the characters' actions and the turns of the plot. The timid and overlooked women who appear in the beginning of the play eventually become the delicate detectives who, discounted by the men, discover all of the clues that display a female to be the disillusioned murderer of her (not so dearly) departed husband. Meanwhile, the men in the play not only arrogantly overlook the "trifling" clues that the women find that point to the murderer, but also underestimate the murderer herself. "These were trifles to the men but in reality they told the story and only the women could see that (Erin Williams)". The women seem to be the insightful unsung heroes while the men remain outwardly in charge, but sadly ignorant.
Trifles by Susan Glaspell is a play that explores ideals in an intriguing and fascinating way. It is about the investigation into life of Minnie Wright after the discovery of her husband’s death. Three men and two women dive into the home of the Wright’s to uncover some of the mystery surrounding their lives and Mr. Wright’s untimely death. These men being the county attorney, Mr. Hale, and Mr. Peters. The women in the play being Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. By doing the investigation it is revealed the gender roles and the inequality among genders during that time period. Glaspell uses many elements within this play to bring a new depth. This play explores the inequality of genders and how this type of society impacts on individuals within that
“Trifles” is a one act play written by Susan Glaspell about a woman named Minnie Foster, who is accused of murdering her husband John Wright. Glaspell uses conflict between the characters, symbolism, and suspense to provide the reader with how different the men and women see the crime scene. Throughout this play, the men tend to assert their patriarchal dominance by leaving the women in the kitchen while they go upstairs to investigate the crime scene. As the play unfolds, the women begin to discover pieces of evidence among the mess in the kitchen which the men look over because; each of the items tends to be associated with that of a woman. The men focus on where the crime took place, rather than searching for evidence which could provide a motive behind the murder itself. Through the character’s actions, the use of symbolism, and suspense throughout the play, Glaspell is able to provide the reader with how men had superiority during this time period and how it creates a problem with solving the crime that takes place in the Wright household.
After reading the play Trifles, I have several assertions. Mrs. Wright felt controlled by Mr. Wright, so she killed him. Mrs. Wright felt trapped by Mr. Wright. Mr Wright’s killing of her bird is what caused her to kill him.
The play Trifles expresses a tone that is mysterious and never really reveals the truth behind the scenes. However, the works of the PowerPoint expresses the background of woman’s fight for rights against stereotypes to transcend the message in Trifles. There is humor in the way the woman stick together in Trifles rebelling because they didn’t plan to it can as first nature since they were being judged. The visuals will help intertwine the message from the text to reveal the message that the stereotyped will commonly
Trifles is based on a murder in 1916 that Susan Glaspell covered while she was a journalist with the Des Moines Daily News after she graduated from college. At the end of the nineteenth century, the world of literature saw a large increase of female writers. Judith Fetterley believed that there was an extremely diverse and intriguing body of prose literature used during the nineteenth century by American women. The main idea of this type of literature was women and their lives. The reason all of the literature written by women at this time seems so depressing is due to the fact that they had a tendency to incorporate ideas from their own lives into their works. Glaspell's Trifles lives up to this form of literature, especially since it is based on an actual murder she covered. This play is another look at the murder trial through a woman's point of view.
In the play Trifles, Susan Glaspell brings together three women through a crime investigation in the late nineteenth century. Glaspell uses symbolism, contrast of sexes, and well-constructed characters to show that justice for all is equally important to finding the truth. Perhaps the most prevalent literary device in the Trifles is the rich symbolism. Each of the women in the play are equally important, but come together to become more powerful. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters directly bond, while Mrs. Wright indirectly contributes from jail by leaving them small clues.
The setting of a story is the physical and social context in which the action of a story occurs.(Meyer 1635) The setting can also set the mood of the story, which will help readers to get a better idea pf what is happening. The major elements of the setting are the time, place, and social environment that frame the characters. (Meyer 1635) "Trifles by Susan Glaspell portrays a gloomy, dark, and lonely setting. Glaspell uses symbolic objects to help the audience get a better understanding for the characters. The three symbolizes used are a birdcage, a bird, and rope.
In Susan Glaspell play Trifles there is a murder investigation going on. The sheriff and the attorney feel that there is no important evidence in the kitchen where Mrs. Wright spends most of her time. Obviously, the man does not pay any attention to the women's world. The men constantly look over all the trifles that point to the motive of the murder and the evidence of a depressing life Mrs Wright has. Mrs.Hale and Mrs.Peters stays in the kitchen having a conversation. They begin to discover necessary confirmations of Mrs.Wright's guiltiness of murdering her husband, but they come to a conclusion that Mrs.Wright is not accountable for the murder.