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A Jury Of Her Peers Essay

995 Words4 Pages

The story “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell is a devastating story that brought two women together to help find the true motive behind Minnie Foster’s decision to murder her husband. The main theme throughout this short story is the theme of connections; Glaspell uses symbolism, and diction to demonstrate this theme. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale work together to connect several different pieces of evidence in order to find the truth behind Mr. Wright’s killing. Not only are Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale using the connecting theme to solve the murder of Mr. Wright, but they also use it through both of their individual connections to Minnie Foster. They connect to her through sympathy as they discover reasons that may have encouraged her want …show more content…

All 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. As the two women are tidying up the house, Mrs. Peters discovers an empty birdcage. The two women continue their work throughout the house, but upon closer inspection Mrs. Peter finds that the door of the birdcage is broken. This specific incident makes the women grow suspicious of what may have happened to the bird that was in it. Upon further research, John Wright’s neighbor explained that John was a “hard man,” and that he was also “like a raw wind that gets to the bone” (555). This description of John Wright shows the aggressive and harsh side of Mr. Wright that not a lot of people may necessarily know about him besides people who live with him or live in close proximity to him. Later on in the story, a quilt that Minnie Foster had been working on was found unfinished. Mrs. Hale had the kind idea for Mrs. Peters to take in the unfinished quilt with her when she brings in a few of Minnie’s personal belongings to take her mind off of …show more content…

Diction is used in this short story through the different stories that each character tells to better explain certain situations. For example, after the two women found the dead canary it reminded Mrs. Peter of the boy who killed her cat when she was a young girl. This story gives better insight to the women as to why Minnie may have killed Mr. Wright. This is just one of a few instances of diction used in this short story to represent the main

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