The Power Struggles in Jury of Her Peers and Mama Come Home Essay

In a world where showing a bit too much shoulder was forbidden, came Susan Glaspell. Glaspell was an American playwright, born in the cruel times of oppression. This influenced women’s opinions on certain subjects which caused them to be silenced by fear of rejection from society. “A Jury of Her Peers” was based on an era where women felt as though it was unreasonable to speak up if they felt it was not absolutely dire. Harboring these pent up feelings could cause a person to act antagonistic. Minnie Wright was an example of this. She killed her husband and was subjected to the judgement of her peers. As the group investigated Mr. Wright’s death, there were two stories unraveling. The in depth explanation that the women figured out and the simplistic version the men had seemed to pick up (Glaspell). People would benefit from reading this story to begin to understand the struggle of what this and other women had gone through. Penn Manor American Literature students would benefit from having Susan Glaspell’s story “A Jury of Her Peers” in their curriculum because of how she expressed feminism through her writing at a time when it was new and discouraged; her ability to emphasize the themes with her settings and characters; and her literature that follows a protagonist that navigates through a sexist world.

The short story “A Jury of Her Peers” written by Susan Glaspell showed many different aspects of symbolism. Millie Wright is symbolized a traditional woman that lost her way because she is consumed in her many wifely duties. Throughout the story her living situation, her red rocking chair, and her yellow canary had significant symbolic interest. Minnie Wright’s environment is a lonesome-looking place. “It was in a hollow, and the poplar trees around it were lonesome- looking trees(Glaspell 243). At the Wrights’ home there were no children running around to make noise, no telephone to talk with friends and family, no visitors, and most importantly no husband to show her affection. Mr. Wright had a cold attitude, unsociable, and careless demeanor. Mrs. Wright is consumed in her farmer’s wife duties she loses herself. The broken stove displays the lack of instability. The dirty kitchen with the

Since society has existed, women have been known as different from men. For the longest time, women have been known as the “weaker sex” when compared to the male. There purpose, especially in the olden days is to obey and please the men. However nowadays there seems to be a more equality between the two genders. But even today discrimination between male and female takes place all over the world. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, you can see a lot of discrimination between the two sexes. The story takes place in the 1930’s and it has a bad view on women, they just got the right to vote for presidents, mayors, and senators. However most men thought that the women should only stay home and raise children, that they should not be involved in politics, and their ideas were not valuable. Women were treated as “house slaves” at times when all what they did all day, every day, was work around the house trying to improve the living for their husband and kids.

She still cherishes her childhood friendship with Minnie Forester. However Martha is troubled by the allegations levelled against her long-time friend. The author describes how Martha still called her friend Minnie Foster even though she was formally known as Mrs. Wright “—she still thought of her as Minnie Foster” though for twenty years she had been Mrs. Wright” (Glaspbell 155). Even though, Martha is well aware of the chauvinistic behaviour displayed the male characters, and she uses that awareness to her advantage. Martha joins forces with the Sheriff’s wife not only because of her female companionship, but Mrs. Peters is also part of Dickson County’s law enforcement.

Mrs. Martha Hale in The Jury of Two peers, is a woman that inspected a woman that supposedly murdered her husband. The woman is called Minnie Wright who used to be friends with Martha Hale but lost touch since Minnie marries Mr. Wright. Martha hale prove more outspoken during the jury session. Martha feels like she could have been there for Minnie and mended her wounds if she had still kept in touch. Martha had 20 years to find out how Minnie was doing. So being sorry now won’t help because Minnie is set to be charged for the murder of Mr. Wright her husband. Had she kept in touch with Minnie maybe this occurrence wouldn’t have happened. Martha hale is a person that “hated to see things half done” which can explain how sad she felt for the

Written by a an Extraordinary Author, “A jury of her peers” expresses the theme of oppression through the plot, structure, and stylistic elements. “A jury of her peers” is a short story based on the murder investigation of John Hossack. “A jury of her peers” all starts with the abrupt departure of Martha Hale from her farmhouse in dickinson county, Iowa. In her hasty departure Martha left the kitchen unorganized, Martha Hale was called upon to accompany her neighbors on a trip. However the sexism of the setting and time period is apparent, in order for Martha to join her neighbors on this trip, she must follow the rules established by a male authority. During her novel, Susan Glaspell portrays significant aspects of oppression by using amazing

In “A Jury of Her Peers”, Susan Glaspell uses the theme of the feminine to illustrate how women stick together in times of strife. Throughout the story, the men make fun of and tease the women because of the little "trifles" that only they, the women, are concerned about. Simply put, the men don't understand why the women act the way they do to things of such little insignificance. This bond that the women share is further emphasized with the quilt. In the last few lines of the story, the court attorney states "at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to--what is it you call it, ladies?". Again, the men are left completely unaware of anything to do with keeping the house. The women notice the little details that

The central problem of the story "A Jury of Her Peers" is the repression brought by social expectations due to imposed gender roles. Minnie was a woman that was psychologically and presumably physically battered. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters were wives whose husbands forbade from giving input or opinions that would in any case agree with Minnie's actions against her husband. In a moment of what seems to be a build-up of frustrations she killed her husband and fell into a state of shock. As a result, she now has to face a jury of her peers to determine whether she is indeed guilty or she did it in a moment of temporary insanity. Finding out her verdict would also help establish what sort of things took place in the household which prompted her

“No; I don’t mean anything, she answered, with decision. As she turned a little away from him she added: But I don’t think a place would be any cheerfuller for John Wright’s bein’ in it” (113). In “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell displays the struggle of women in a male dominated society. Although Minnie Foster never appears within the story, her character is exposed by the setting. The unveiling of Minnie’s isolation, depression, and brokenness through the environment highlights her emotional abuse.

In everyday life, one is bound to encounter gender inequality. The outlook on women are characterized to be unintelligent and unimportant compared to men. In the novel of mice and men, Steinbeck wrote a story where men are more valued than women. Aunt Clara, Curley's wife and the woman from the cathouse are portrayed to be victims in the society due to their gender.

Women used to be seen as below men and were not given equal opportunities that men were. Authors started to write books and stories to show that women can be put in situations where they break adversity and show their worth against men. Men used to believe that they were above women at all times and that no matter what they could do what they would like to a woman and not be questioned, and this is where gender roles and social norms started to be a huge factor in everyday life. In both the thousand and one nights and the Decameron, women are seen as not worthy of much and are seen as being downgraded in many situations. Even though certain social norms and behaviors are portrayed in the thousand and one nights and the Decameron, there

All things considered, women are very underestimated when being compared to men. All women in this play were without power, a stay at home wife, without a clue and without the ability to stand on their own two feet. Whereas every male character in the play held all the power, were the bread winners, were rational and more than capable to think and be on their own. What this

Gender plays a huge role in the novel. Since the beginning of the story it is made perfectly clear that women are inferior. The author drops subtle hints that suggest to the reader that women are not equal to men. An example

women are inferior to men in physicality, and a number of areas throughout the essay, yet

Women were automatically given the lower status between men and women and they were seen as lower, less able people by men. Seeing as Victorian short stories were written in the 19th century,