¶ … Susan Glaspell,(Trifles). Please ensure original wor
Formal Approach
There is a great deal of irony found in Susan Glaspell's work of literature entitled "Trifles." Irony, of course, is when words are used the exact opposite of their literal meaning. The concept of situation irony also exists within literature, in which characters act the exact opposite of the way that a certain situation calls for. An examination of Glaspell's work indicates that the author utilizes both these types of irony in conceiving the plot for her story in which a pair of wives -- untrained housewives -- are able to decipher the motive for a murder case in which law enforcement officials are not. This fact alone is an excellent example of situation irony, and the opposite of what a reader would expect from housewives and law enforcement officials involved in a murder case. A thorough deconstruction of the language of the text demonstrates that irony serves as the principle theme of this work which the very plot itself is based on.
After completing this work of literature, one of the most salient aspects of irony found within it is the title itself. The word trifles denotes frivolous, unimportant occupations or ways in which to spend one's time. However, by focusing on just such trifles regarding the murder case in which Minnie Wright has apparently killed her husband John, the untrained housewives (Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters) are able to find a highly convincing motive for the Minnie's act of murder. The irony of this fact is underscored by the reality that "Rural American women usually appear as marginal characters in mainstream early twentieth century literature" (Al-Khalili 132). As such, the preoccupations of Mrs. Wright and Mrs. Hale -- which include many concerns which seem unrelated to the murder -- are the exact opposite of trifles, and are highly important to the solving of this particular crime. The title is taken from the subsequent line of the Sherriff (Mrs. Peters' husband), who remarks that "women are used to worrying over trifles" (Glaspell). This statement is exceedingly ironic, since it is just Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale's worrying over "trifles," the pattern of...
How -- she -- did -- change."(Glaspell) the second sense of the play's title becomes obvious: there is no place in the male world of overt action for women's fragility and sensibility, symbolized by the singing bird. The two wives intuitively understand that Mrs. Wright's husband could not understand or like "a thing that sang": "No, Wright wouldn't like the bird -- a thing that sang. She used to
The words on the page are powerful as Williams uses symbolism to emphasize moods. Viewing the play with the plays of light and shadows would be a delight because we could see the characters moving in and out of darkness. August Wilson's play, Fences, is titled such because of the fences people tend to build between one another. This is demonstrated with Troy and Cory, who cannot agree upon much.
Wright as well as their own lives. Putting aside the fact that Toomer's Cane is a much different piece -- it is not a play and is much lengthier than Trifles -- the language, form and mood vary significantly. For example, "Fern," one of the stories in the Cane collection, first appears to be a portrait of an exquisite woman who nobody understands. However, the reader soon realizes that she
Holmes always solves the crime, and that fact is very satisfying to the reader. Similarly, the two women are inadvertently unearthing the clues to the murder alongside the searching investigators. Glaspell endears us to the two women through the use of personal experiences and memories. Through their similarities, the two women also endear the reader to Minnie Wright. This closeness in character makes it perfectly acceptable when the women
Susan Glaspell's Trifles The title of Susan Glaspell's drama Trifles indicates that it will deal with seemingly small matters: as Mrs. Hale says of the pivotal prop in the stage-play -- "Wouldn't they just laugh? Getting all stirred up over a little thing like a -- dead canary!" (Glaspell 27-8). Yet Mrs. Hale's sense that, if a male audience could see her dialogue with Mrs. Peters in Trifles by Susan Glaspell,
In reality, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are even more invested in the investigation than the men, because they demonstrate an attention to detail that the men lack. By the time the men return from their fruitless investigations, the women have determined both why and how Mrs. Wright murdered her husband, and they even come to the decision not to supply the evidence without ever alerting the men. Furthermore,
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