A Jury Of Her Peers Essay
“A Jury of Her Peers”, written by Susan Glaspell, tells the story of the murder of Mr. Wright and its criminal investigation by Mr. Peters, the town sheriff, and the county attorney. In this short story, Glaspell illustrates how the female perspective is shackled by traditional gender roles, leaving their voices unheard and household abuse. This is depicted by Mrs. Wright, who murders her husband due to the abuse she experienced, and Mrs. Peters, who notices details that the men overlook, in turn cracking the case. In this story, Mrs. Wright has a pet canary that her husband kills. Glaspell's description of the canary symbolizes Minnie Wright’s character and role as a household woman in a male-dominated society.
To recognize the significance
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Hale, “she was kind of like a bird herself. Real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery” (Glaspell 607). Minnie is full of life; however, just as the bird is small, she is frail compared to her husband. Mr. Wright takes advantage of this size, a parallel to how he feels towards Minnie and her liveliness. The canary remained in a birdcage signifying the “cage” that was the house to Minnie because she was a woman whose life was in the control of a man. Being the only thing Minnie felt she had, the canary sang, reflecting Minnie Foster’s role when she sang in the choir, a freedom both her and the bird shared before being …show more content…
Wright’s dominance and the chokehold of male superiority over women in society, described by Mrs. Hales, “Look at it! Its neck—look at its neck! It’s all—other side to” (Glaspell 607). His intrusion into the cage and killing of the bird symbolizes the control of Minnie’s character and the destruction of who she truly once was; “No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird,” she said after that— “a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that too” (Glaspell 608). This marks a turning point in the plot as the reader discovers that Minnie Foster “died” once the canary is killed by Mr. Wright, drastically affecting how the story's outcome is
Jury Of Her Peers By Susan Glaspell
801 Words | 4 PagesWhile admiring Mrs. Wright’s pretty sewing box, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover Minnie’s dead bird: “There’s something wrapped in this piece of silk.” For a poor woman like Mrs. Wright, silk must have been difficult to acquire. She could barely afford new clothing, yet she used this extremely expensive silk to wrap her deceased pet. This shows the importance of the canary to Mrs. Wright and how upsetting its death would be. Similarly, how resentful Minnie would be towards the killer of her precious bird.
Symbolism In 'A Jury Of Her Peers'
404 Words | 2 PagesShe used to sing. He killed that too”. Minnie Wright got the canary bird because it was a symbol of her past life. The bird symbolized the love Mrs. Wright had for singing. Furthermore, Mrs. Wrights wardrobe represented the neglect and frugality she received from her husband.
Intuition In A Jury Of Her Peers
621 Words | 3 PagesPeter’s intuition is beginning to tell her that Minnie wasn’t treated right. The court attorney walks in the room, and sees the bird cage but no bird. If he sees the bird, he finds the proof. This is the start of Mrs. Peter’s rebellion. The attorney asks if the bird has flown, and Mrs. Hale tells him the cat got it.
A Jury Of Her Peers Essay
995 Words | 4 PagesAll throughout the story, Minnie Foster was described as a very lively woman with big hopes and dreams before her marriage to Mr. Wright. Glaspell states, “She-come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself. Real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery. How-she-did-change” (555). This description of Minnie Foster is crucial to understanding the symbol of the canary to the main theme, which is connections.
Jury Of Her Peers Essay
741 Words | 3 PagesA dead bird, a dead man, a jailed wife, and five people to investigate such things. In “A Jury of Her Peers” in order to find the guilty culprit, there was a need to find a motive. The men would spend all day searching for the reason someone would murder the Mr. Wright, and so would the women. When the women finally did find a motive, they would hide it from the men. They had the right to do so because they themselves had felt the same way Mrs. Wright did, the men were being disrespectful, and the women were dismissed from the men’s sides to look upon things with no significance.
A Jury Of Her Peers Essay
2102 Words | 9 PagesThey find various clues including a dead canary inside of a box, which was the final clue behind Minnie’s motive for committing this crime. The men are initially dismissive of this information, but the women understand the emotional significance of the bird to Minnie. According to Mrs. Hale, Minnie herself resembles a bird; “‘Real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and— fluttery’” (211). Through this powerful moment, Glaspell highlights Minnie’s queerness. The women are able to uncover the truth because they approach the case with empathy and emotional intelligence, rather than simply relying on evidence and logic.
A Jury Of Her Peers Symbolism Analysis
734 Words | 3 PagesThe dead canary and its cage was a pivotal piece of evidence that the women discovered. The dead bird represents the old Mrs. Wright— Minnie Foster and its cage represents how she was
Martha Hale Essay
1139 Words | 5 PagesA prominent piece of evidence that was found in the house was a broken bird cage and the question lies within what her personal interpretation of this object was. With a solemn tone, Martha replied, “I believe Minnie’s husband ripped the cage door open when in a rage and snapped the bird’s neck, so she did the same to him.” It is hard to believe that one’s emotions could so greatly influence their actions but in this case, it seems as if the Wright’s were involved in an unhappy, abusive marriage. To connect back to the bird queries, I also asked Mrs. Hale what she did with the deceased creature that Minnie Wright held so dearly. Martha without hesitation mentioned that she “grabbed it without a second thought” and that she wishes to bury it because Minnie would have wanted that.
Jury Of Her Peers Symbolism
740 Words | 3 PagesAfter discovering the cage, the women find a dead bird hidden in Minnie’s closet. Minnie had placed the bird in a small box after it had been presumably strangled by her now deceased husband, Mr. John Wright. With this information the two ladies make an inference that something happened to the bird—something that was not supposed to happen. Just after discovering the cage, the two women put themselves in Minnie’s place. At one point Mrs. Peters states, “‘It would be lonesome for me—sitting here alone’” (210).
Trifles By Susan Glaspell Research Paper
1925 Words | 8 PagesThe canary represented Minnie's desire for freedom and joy while being locked away in her small, isolated cage of a home. The bird even sung like she did in the church choir before getting married to John Wright. The article “Teaching Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers and Trifles,” by Marina Angel, stated that the broken door to the bird cage is "a sign of extreme anger and violence" from John Wright (Angel 550). That indicates that he had quite the temper just like the average abuser. In his fit of rage, he tore open the cage's door, reached in, and broke the bird's neck, possibly in front of Minnie, effectively killing the last of Minnie's joy.
Mrs. Wright In Susan Glaspell's Trifles
699 Words | 3 PagesThe scene begins to unfolds in their minds. Mr. Wright yanking open the cage door, taking out the bird, and breaking its fragile neck was enough to make Mrs. Wright lash out, and in a heat of passion, kill her husband. As the trifles collect, the women worry that the men will see their findings, and have what they need to prove Mrs. Wright guilty. Though the men believe her to be the murderer, the women are trying their best to hide the evidence that will prove it.
Comparing 'The Yellow Wallpaper And A Jury Of Her Peers'
1006 Words | 5 PagesThe men of the group, much like John in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” consider themselves more capable than the women and refuse to consider Mrs. Wright as anything other than irrational. The men leave the women to their “trifles” on the first floor, where they discover a broken bird cage, and the bird’s body, broken, carefully wrapped in a small, decorative box. They realize that Mr. Wright had wrung the neck of his wife’s beloved bird and broken its cage. Mrs. Wright, once known for her cheerfulness and beautiful singing, she stopped singing when she encountered Mr. Wright. Just like he did with the bird, Mr. Wright choked the life out of his wife until, finally, Mrs. Wright literally choked the life out of her husband.
Perceiving Evidence In Susan Glaspell's Trifles
796 Words | 4 PagesShe sees it as vital information; something that could present them with Mrs. Wright’s state of mind around the time of her death. Mrs. Hale is currently mending the quilt when Mrs. Peters asks where she might “’find a piece of paper, and string.’” This leads Mrs. Peters to discover the empty birdcage inside of the cupboard. Instantly, they both start asking one another questions regarding the cage; they are unable to recall Mrs. Wright ever owning a bird. While talking back and forth, they notice that one of the door’s hinges is broken.
Loneliness In Susan Glaspell's A Jury Of Her Peers
874 Words | 4 PagesWright it is easy to tell that she is not at all upset about her husband’s death. When being asked about the situation she “laughed and pleated her skirt” (4). Mrs. Wright is compared to a bird that is found later in the story. The bird was found in a pretty box with marks around its neck. Hale and Peters say that the death of her bird would have been her motive if she actually was her husband’s murderer, but the author utilizes the bird and its broken cage to be a comparison to Mrs. Wright’s life.
Trifles By Susan Glaspell Literary Analysis
691 Words | 3 PagesThe women began to pity Mrs. Wright as they knew her before she married to Mr. Wright. The females felt pity, where the men just accessed the situation at hand. After the women examine the empty bird cage they remember the way that Mrs. Wright use to sing and compared her to her former self as Minnie Foster. “Trifles,” introduced the masculinity here from the Sheriff’s side instantly putting his instinct into saying that there was a murder that happened at the farmhouse, was caused by Mrs. Wright without any hesitation. He didn’t look into the sadness, or let the depressing home get to him as much as what his intentions and his well-being come into play before his
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