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Susan Glaspell's Trifling Murder Or Vicious Slaughter?

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Susan Glaspell's Trifling Murder Or Vicious Slaughter?
Victoria R
Mrs. Moore
English 102
16 June 2013
Trifling Murder or Vicious Slaughter? Trifles, by Susan Glaspell is a well-known play throughout the English community. It is a suspenseful murder mystery that pulls citizens of a town together to try and seek justice after a homicide has occurred. This play begins with the audience learning that John Wright, a humble farmer, has been killed while he was asleep. His wife, Minnie Wright, has a very strange way of handling this grief and becomes the main suspect. During this play five characters, two women and three men, search the Wright home for clues, evidence, and a possible motive for the murder. It ends with the women finding a shocking discovery that they choose to hide from the men.
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Wright is not the killer. The fact that the five characters sent to search the Wright home did not come up with any clues, evidence, or show of a motive is very positive when thinking in terms of proving Minnie to be innocent. Another observation that can persuade the audience to be on Minnie’s side is the way the play portrays how she was forced to live. When the five characters begin to look around the house, they immediately start pointing out stuff that is wrong or needs attending too, stuff that should be getting cooked, and mistakes in the home that are mainly Minnie’s fault. Anyone who was forced to go from a full of life and free young woman to a submissive and quiet farmer’s wife can easily get sympathy from …show more content…
Wright’s death. The antagonists throughout the play are the five characters searching the Wright home, until the ending when the two women hide possible evidence from the men. Once the women choose this secrecy they join in thinking that Minnie may be innocent, or at least begin understanding why she did it and thinking that it was alright to kill the husband in order to get out of this

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