From Martin Luther’s 95 Thesis to the American Declaration of Independence, literature has been used all throughout history as a means to question perceived wrongdoing. This is exactly what Sarah Orne Jewett and Susan Glaspell intended to do when they wrote about the roles of women in a patriarchal society. Literature is an effective method of questioning the status quo because it allows writers to use tools like symbolism and characterization to emphasize their point. In “Trifles”, Glaspell uses symbolism to show the constraints placed on women. Glaspell directly compares Mrs. Wright to a bird saying “She—come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself—real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery.” The bird cage is symbolic