Essay Symbols in Susan Glaspells Trifles - 829 Words

Symbols in Susan Glaspells Trifles In the play titled Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, Minnie Foster Wright is being accused of murdering her husband, John. In this production, Mrs. Wright is consistently referenced, and although she is not witnessed, she is very recognizable. There are important symbols in this play that signifies Mrs. Wright and her existence as it once was and as it currently exists to be. Particularly the canary, this symbolizes Mrs. Wrights long forgotten past. Additionally, the birdcage, this symbolizes her life as it currently exists. Certainly the quilt is a symbol, which is an important clue on how Mr. Wright was killed. In addition, the rocking chair, this symbolizes her life as it has diminished throughout†¦show more content†¦While the canary was incredibly lively and sang beautifully, so did Mrs. Foster. John Wright was awfully abusive towards Mrs. Wright, in the means that he required her to live her life comparable to a caged bird. He obtained her freedom from the outside world, in return, explains why she recognized herself in the bird. This explains for the reasoning of their house being far set back into the woods and having no telephone service. She ventured out, only when she was allowed, and assuming that John also did not allow her to have friends, this led to the killing of the canary. The quilt is one major clue as to how Minnie killed her husband. The women were trying to figure out if she was going to sew or not the quilt. Well, Mr. Wright was strangled in a strange manner, just how the knot was messed up in red string. The men laughed it off butt Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters knew what had happened. Mrs. Wright is referred to when Mrs. Hale speaks of her by using her maiden name, when saying ?I wish you?d seen Minnie Foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up there in the choir and sang.? The old rocking chair symbolizes Mrs. Wright as she has allowed herself to depreciate, just as the rocking chair has depreciated. ?The chair sagged to one side,? Mrs. Hale stated that the chair was not anything like she remembered, referring to the fact that Mrs. Wright has also changed since sheShow MoreRelatedThe Use of Symbols in Susan Glaspell’s Play Trifles1421 Words   |  6 Pagesthat to them. To be specific, society in that time took the women’s right away from them; they cannot be what they want to be. However, in this Era, there were many writers, who wrote about this issue. On July 1, 1876, in Davenport, Iowa Susan Glaspell was born. Susan was one of those writers that women’s inferiority in society bothered her. She wrote several literary works which are strongly feminist and discusses the roles that women forced to play in society and the relationships between men andRead More The Danger in Susan Glaspells Trifles Essay799 Words   |  4 PagesThe Danger in Susan Glaspells Trifles Susan Glaspells Trifles is a play about a real life murder case that uses symbolism to help bring it to a close. It is easy to see that Mr. and Mrs. Wright live in a society that is cut off from the outside world and also strongly separated by gender. Three of the key symbols in Glaspells play are a simple bird cage, a quilt, and isolationism. Anna Uong of Virginia Tech and Karen Shelton of JSRCC share these same ideas on symbolism. 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Trifles was written in 1920, while A Jury of Her Peers was written the following year. Trifles was written in only ten days. The true greatness of these works were not recognized until the 1970s. In the short story A Jury of Her Peers a woman named Minnie Wright is accused of the murder of her husband. Minnie Wright is a farmers wife and is also isolatedRead MoreThe Role Of Women In The Doll House And Trifles1667 Words   |  7 Pagesweaker sex. It was the women’s job to stay home to cook and raise the children. While these are still prevalent issues, it is also true that things has gotten better for some women in recent years. Works like â€Å"The Doll House† by Henrik Ibsen and â€Å"Trifles† by Susan Glaspell have helped advance the idea of what roles women should play in society. In each play there are strong, female protagonists who, despite being oppressed by the societal rules against women, learn to rebel and fight for what they believe