Work Cited
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 10th ed. New York: Longman, 2007. 1225-1236.
Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” dwelled on the investigation of the murder scene of Mr. Wright. In the beginning of the play, Mr. Wright was found dead in the upstairs bedroom with a rope hung around his neck. Lewis Hale recalled how he discovered Mrs. Wright acting bizarrely, and that she told him that her husband was murdered while he was sleeping. Mrs. Wright’s strange behavior and body language caused Mr. Hale and the Sherriff to believe that Mrs. Wright was the main suspect in her husband’s murder. There are three significant reasons for Mrs. Wright’s strange behavior. Mrs. Wright’s relationship, lifestyle, and the patriarchal dominance during that era caused Mrs. Wright to act inappropriately.…
1. Chalykoff, Lisa, Neta Gordon, and Paul Lumsden, eds. The Broadview Introduction to Literature: Short Fiction. (BV)…
Cited: Roberts, Edgar V., and Robert Zweig, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 10th ed. Boston: Longman, 2012. Print.…
Cited: Glaspell, Susan. "Trifles." Gioia, X. J. Kennedy and Dana. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. New York: Pearson, 2010. 809-819.…
Kennedy, X. J. and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Custom. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2013. ISBN: 9781256964209.…
Cited: Glaspell, Susan. “Trifles.” Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 11th ed. Portable ed. New York: Longman, 2007. 1111-21. Print.…
Throughout the play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters visit the Wright home after the murder of Mr. Wright to help look for evidence. They come across an empty bird cage and notice that Mrs. Wright once owned a song bird. The women then observe the cage and realize the door has been broken partially off of the hinge. Mrs. Hale assumes that someone was “rough with it” and suggests this to be the motive of the crime that took place. When the two women discover the dead canary wrapped up in a piece of fine silk in Mrs. Wrights sewing box, they piece these clues together and discover the reason why Mrs. Wright committed this cruel act.…
The play “Trifles” written by Susan Glaspell is based in the early 1900’s when it was typical for the masculine gender role to dominate the feminine role. The theme is of the play is power and domination over females during this time era. Upon analyzing this play, Mr. Hale and Mr. Peter’s are investigating the murder and they portray themselves as strong and determined, but in reality they are not as alert as the women are. In conclusion, the women figured out that Mrs. Wright murdered her husband by simply observing the house and finding the dead bird; the men were upstairs at the scene of the crime and could not figure it out. Men to this day still do not understand that sometimes the woman’s way of thinking is better!…
In the play, “Trifles,” Susan Glaspell demonstrates the inequality that occurs between men and women during the 20th century. From the opening scene, the two women are not given much attention unlike the men, until they are separated from them and become the main characters. Although the women are seen as inferior to men, they prove that they are much more capable as they are the ones who solve the case by thinking outside the box. They find the real motive behind Mrs. Wright’s action and are able to understand her doing because of the way women were treated back then. Even though both women decide to defend Mrs. Wright by hiding the evidence, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters sympathize with her, but for different reasons.…
"Trifles," a one-act play written by Susan Glaspell, is a cleverly written story about a murder and more importantly, it effectively describes the treatment of women during the early 1900s. In the opening scene, we learn a great deal of information about the people of the play and of their opinions. We know that there are five main characters, three men and two women. The weather outside is frighteningly cold, and yet the men enter the warm farmhouse first. The women stand together away from the men, which immediately puts the men against the women. Mrs. Hale's and Mrs. Peters's treatment from the men in the play is reflective of the beliefs of that time. These women, aware of the powerless slot that has been made for them, manage to use their power in a way that gives them an edge. This power enables them to succeed in protecting Minnie, the accused. "Trifles" not only tells a story, it shows the demeaning view the men have for the women, the women's reaction to man's prejudice, and the women's defiance of their powerless position.…
Cited: Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. "To Build a Fire." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Twelfth ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 127-37. Print.…
Women have been treated as lessors to men in the past, feminine equality is a new concept that has only been around for about a century. In both plays “Trifles” and “A Doll’s House” they address stereotypes of women during these time periods. “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell explores the mysterious death of Mr. Wright (Mrs. Wrights husband). As the play progresses the audience gets insight to Mrs. Wright’s life, and how Mr. Wright treated her. Mr. Wright was known to be a brash, and unruly man. The women in this play (Ms. Hale and Mrs. Peters) both know the kind of man Mr. Wright was, The men may have known this too, but the time period the play takes place in, domestic violence toward women was not highly looked into. The text “Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting. Writing” explains that Glaspell’s main force behind the play “Trifles” was to shed light on the treatment of women. The text states that “Women…
Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. Literature: an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010.…
Cited: Madden, Frank. “Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay.” 5th ed. Pearson. 2012. 692-704. Print…
Cited: Mason, Bobbi A. “Shiloh.” 1982. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 616-625.…