...Recognizing symbols while reading literature is important. What is symbolism? A word, object, or person that means something in addition to itself. Susan Glaspell used a lot of symbolism in her story A Jury of Her Peers. A few of the symbols are the basket, the bird, and the birdcage. All of the symbols affect our reading of the story as well as the characters in the story. The basket represents the Wright’s house and clue of murder weapon. The basket was the place where the investigators found the dead bird as well as the house was the place where the investigators found the body of Mr. Wright. The basket represents the evidence of the murders. “They turning to the sewing basket’’(p.564) ’’There’s something wrapped up in this piece of silk.” (p.565) The basket was a clue to the murder weapon, because the women found out about the quilt pieces. The women found Mrs. Wright was good with knotting rope together which is the weapon that was used to kill Mr. Wright. “We think, that she was going to knot it.” (p.565)...
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...Men’s Pride Leads to Downfall in Glaspell’s “Trifles” “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles,” says Mr. Hale in Susan Glaspell’s play, “Trifles.” While demeaning women and their concerns is criticized as sexist in the twenty-first century, mere decades ago people accepted sexism as common and even warranted. Since the male-dominated society considered women’s tasks less important than men’s, men treated women with a lack of consideration. In the 20th century drama “Trifles,” Glaspell challenges the suppression in effect during her lifetime, basing the play on a series of news stories she wrote about the real-life court case of a woman prosecuted for murdering her husband. In “Trifles,” Glaspell uses symbolism to show that male sexism causes a lack of empathy which leads to men’s failures as much as it does women’s. From the first scene to the final line, Glaspell uses spatial symbolism to reason her case about the detrimental effects of men’s stereotypes of women. According to the stage direction, the initially timid female characters, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters “...come in slowly, and stand close together near the door,” clearly displaying a reluctance to enter a widow’s empty home. However, as Mr. Hale, the sheriff and the county attorney “go at once to the stove,” they discuss what happened the previous day. When Mr. Hale had first knocked on the door to request Mr. Wright’s help, he tentatively entered when he thought he heard “come in”; now that Mr. Wright is gone...
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...Frohlich 1 Makenzee Frohlich English 1020 Mr. French 18 December 14 Symbolic Beyond Sexism “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles,” says Mr. Hale in Susan Glaspell’s play, “Trifles.” While demeaning women and their concerns is criticized as sexist in the twentyfirst century, mere decades ago people accepted sexism as common and even warranted. Since the maledominated society considered women’s tasks less important than men’s, men treated women with a lack of consideration. In the 20th century drama “Trifles,” Glaspell challenges the suppression in effect during her lifetime, basing the play on a series of news stories she wrote about the reallife court case of a woman prosecuted for murdering her husband. In “Trifles,” Glaspell uses symbolism to show that male sexism causes a lack of empathy which leads to men’s failures as much as it does women’s. From the first scene to the final line, Glaspell uses spatial symbolism to reason her case about the detrimental effects of men’s stereotypes of women. According to the stage direction, the initially timid female characters, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters “...come in slowly, and stand close together near the door,” clearly displaying a reluctance to enter a widow’s empty home. However, as Mr. Hale, the sheriff and the county attorney “go at once to the stove,” they discuss what happened the previous day. When Mr. Hale had first knocked on the door to request Mr. Wright’s help, he tentatively entered when he thought he heard “come in”; now that Mr...
Words: 1334 - Pages: 6
