Comparing Trifles And Susan Glaspell's Jury Of Her Peers

The point of view of Trifles is third person limited which means the story or in this case the play is focused on one character, but the “Jury of her Peers” point of view is third person objective which means you don’t know what’s going on in the story.

In Susan Glaspell's “Trifles”, the male characters are depicted as being more sensible, logical and all-knowing gender. It is the men in the play who hold the most noteworthy positions, for example, the county attorney and sheriff. They esteem finding the quickest response to Mr. Wright's murder. They would prefer not to squander in attempt to find the mystery, thus they neglect critical subtle elements, for example, the messy kitchen. They expect that it is more critical to assess the room where Mr. Wright was murdered than to break down how Mrs. Wright kept her home or the couple's relationship. In the earliest reference point of the play, the County Attorney

“A jury of her Peers” and Trifles are works of literature. In these works, they depict the murder of Mr. Wright. The men accuse Mrs. Wright to the murder of her husband, however are they are trying to find evidence to prove this. Both works are loosely based on the murder of John Hossack, which Glaspell reported on while working as a news journalist for the Des Moines Daily News. Hossack's wife, Margaret, was accused of killing her husband. However, Margaret argued that an intruder had killed John with an axe. She was convicted but it was overturned on appeal. In the play Trifles and the short story “A Jury of her Peers”, Susan Glaspell conveys how she transforms the play to the short story by change in the plot, the characters, and the themes of Female vs men and freedom

The county attorney does not give a second thought about how John may have treated his wife. Instead, he’s focusing on Mr. Hale’s testimony regarding the alleged “scared” look on John’s face. The men’s bias is often and openly expressed to the women verbally. In accordance to the dialog of the play, the men show they don’t consider what women say vital or pertinent. The Sheriff fires back, identifying with his partners, “Well, can you beat the woman! Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves.” (Glaspell 1412). The men agree in general about the sheriff’s remark. Mr. Hale comes along and says, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.” (Glaspell 1412). The dialog of the play demonstrates the obliviousness and general absence of appreciation given to women’s comments. Even the sheriff addresses his wife openly as if a woman’s role in the home was insignificant. The prejudice from the men is evident and once a reader or audience starts inquiring about how the men treat women, a pattern is seen regarding the men’s standards. The court attorney kicks his foot against the pots and pans below the sink in the wake of discovering no clean towels, telling the ladies “Not

Mr. and Mrs. Wright’s relationship is connected in both Trifles and Jury of Her Peers by relating to the overall theme of motive. Mr. Hale was the first outside witness to know about Mr. Wright’s death. He decided to make his way to their dark home thinking, “maybe if I went to the house and talked about it before his wife, though I said to Harry that I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John” (Glaspell. pg. 980. 1916). Mr. Hale being a male in this time period is seen as one who sees women as just home caretakers. Even with this gender role he notices that something is wrong within the Wright’s relationship. Jury of Her Peers mentions what comes into Mrs. Hale’s mind as she looks at the furniture as another way to

Twentieth century society places few stereotypical roles on men and women.  The men are not the sole breadwinners, as they once were, and the women are no longer the sole homemakers.  The roles are often reversed, or, in the case of both parents working, the old roles are totally inconsequential.  Many works of literature deal with gendered roles and their effect on society as a whole or on an individual as a person.  "A Jury Of Her Peers" and Trifles, both written by Susan Glaspell, are works of literature that deal with socially gendered roles during the early nineteenth century.  The two works are almost exactly alike in that the dialogue from "A Jury Of Her

“A Jury of Her Peers” is a short story written by Susan Glaspell in 1917 illustrates early feminist literature. The two female characters, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, is able to solve the mystery of who the murderer of John Wright while their male counterparts could not. This short story had been adapted from Glaspell’s one-act play Trifles written the previous year. The play consists of the same characters and plotline as the story. In both works, Glaspell depicts how the men, Sheriff Peters and Mr. Hale, disregard the most important area in the house, the kitchen, when it comes to their investigation. In the end, the women are the ones who find clues that lead to the conclusion of Minnie Wright, John Wright’s wife, is the one who murdered him. Both of Glaspell’s female characters illustrate the ability to step into a male dominated profession by taking on the role of detective. According to Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide, written by Lois Tyson, a reader-response critique “focuses on readers’ response to literary texts” and it’s a diverse area (169). Through a reader-response criticism from a feminist lens, we are able to analyze how “A Jury of Her Peers” and Trifles depict how a patriarchal society oppresses women in the early twentieth century, gender stereotypes confined both men and women and the emergence of the New Woman is illustrated.

In the cold December of 1900, an Iowa farmer named John Hossack was found murdered in his bed. Susan Glaspell, a worker for the Des Moines Dailey News at the time, covered the case of his wife Margaret, who was thought to be guilty for his death. In over a dozen newspaper articles, Glaspell discusses the crime, the suspicion, and the eventual decision of Margaret Hossack 's innocence in the murder. Almost fifteen years later, Glaspell would use this case to inspire her one act play Trifles. Names and certain details were changed to fit a more dramatic retelling of the story, but as a whole the story still heavily reflected the Hossack case. The play itself was so successful that Glaspell actually turned it into a short story only a year later and titled that “A Jury of Her Peers.” On the surface, this move seems almost inane, or at least meaningless. What 's the point of forcing a perfectly good play to adapt to a different medium? At worst, it could ruin the entire idea of the story, and at best it would be redundant. However, after reading both the play and short story, the reader can easily pick up on some key differences between them. There are multiple aspects found in “A Jury of Her Peers” that aren 't at all present in Trifles, and the short story is written in such a way that the reader has a very real sense of foreboding that comes from the heavy overtones of loneliness. Glaspell uses the word “lonesome” to describe much of the Wright 's house and lifestyle through

Firstly, the play “Trifles” is a genre more focused on the items throughout the book that lend itself to continue chapter by chapter using different items to enhance the story. In “A Jury of Her Peers” Glaspell uses more or less the same dialogue from the play but intensifies it with the story focusing on characters such as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. The short story adds a more descriptive insight into the story allowing us as readers to dive deep into the emotions and minds of its characters. The play does not do this as well due to the fact that it was written so that the actors and actresses on stage can portray the emotions and help develop the story through there acting. In the play, the items are the things that judge Minnie Foster whereas the story uses Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters to interpret the objects and tell the story that way. The other main difference is that the male characters have more depth in the short story than in the play.

"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

Trifles and “Jury for her peers” are 2 stories by susan glaspell where a sheriff and county attorney figures out why and how Mr. Wright was murdered. 2 women, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, try to figure out why Mrs. wright was mad enough to kill her husband, Mr. Wright. Even though Trifles and “jury” are alike in many ways, these pieces of literature has many differences.

I Prefer “Trifles” over “A Jury of Her Peers.” “Trifles” is an interesting play because it appeals to the sense of vision and hearing more than the short story. It is interesting to watch the body language of the characters in “Trifles.” The body language enhances the understanding of the audience. For example, two male characters and two female characters are seen effectively in the play. The play is interesting to watch due to the appeal of the stage. The stage is brightly lit to enhance the focus of the audience on the characters (K.E.G. Productions). The accent of the characters enables the international audience to understand the social background of the play. The characters communicate in an American accent and, therefore, the play depicts the happenings in the American society.

The play Trifles written by Susan Glasspell depicts the classic contrast of how men and women think. This play was written in a time when society was still very patriarchal, the setting of rural farmland only adding emphasis. A man is murdered with he only suspect being his own wife although with no known motive. The motive, however, may have been discovered had the men been less dismissive of what the women thought. There are three men, who seem to be in agreement that women tend to worry about the trivial things and that it is their nature. This is illustrated when the character Hale states “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (1128). However it is the women who discover the trifles which ultimately pointed

Susan Glaspell's Trifles explores the classical male stereotype of women by declaring that women frequently worry about matters of little, or no importance. This stereotype makes the assumption that only males are concerned with important issues, issues that females would never discuss or confront. The characters spend the entirety of the play searching for clues to solve a murder case. Ironically, the female characters, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, uncover crucial evidence and solve the murder case, not the male characters. The men in the play, the Sheriff, County Attorney, and Hale, search the scene of the crime for evidence on their own, and mock the women's discussions. The women's interest in the quilt,

The story of “Trifles” exposes the sexism that women dealt with then, and still to some extent deal with today. The men show major examples of diminishing and downplaying the women’s intelligence when ignoring them throughout examining the crime scene. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale find incriminating evidence against Minnie, but the men never think to ask them their opinion; they are too preoccupied searching for solid tangible, evidence. Although the women find evidence to believe Minnie is the killer, I believe they feel somewhat responsible for her. This concluding that both genders are somewhat sexist. The men on the husband’s side, and the women on Minnie’s side. Perception differs with their gender. While the men look for “something to show anger, or sudden feeling”, something more obvious; the messy kitchen is labeled as bad housekeeping, instead of being used as evidence. The clues are presented but their male perception enables the men from seeing them. (Glaspell’s)