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Symbolism In Trifles

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In the play Trifles written by Susan Glaspell the murderer isn't apparently revealed but is instead revealed through symbolism. For those that don’t know what symbolism is it is when a writer uses an item to represent an idea abstract or not. There are many forms of it in this story including a song bird and a quilt. With these items it becomes apparent to who is the murderer, and even why she did it. Little background on this story is that it came out after a wife's husband was murdered and she was imprisoned for it, she then appealed and was set free. Also, an important note is that almost nothing from that murder is included in here. In the play one of the two women while trying to put up her coat noticed a basket hidden from the view …show more content…

After complaining about the quality of the quilt, one of them decides to fix it and finds a bird with a neck wrung. Here are two quotes that will explain it in a minor way to those who haven't read the script. "...she was kind of a bird herself-real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery. How-she-did-change." "No. Wright wouldn't like the bird-a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too." Now for this part of this I need to tell you that before Mrs. Wright became Mrs. Wright she was Minnie Foster. Minnie Foster used to sing in choir, ware beautiful clothes, and be happy. So, in the first quote it's comparing Minnie Foster to a songbird, but not Mrs. Wright. The second quote talks about how Minnie Foster was "killed" because he changed her to be something entirely else and not herself. So, when a sales man came to sell canary's cheap she was reminded of Minnie Foster and wanted it for a sentimental reason, but when Mr. Wright came home he was angry for her buying this, during this time she might have been making the quilt at the time he was yelling at her, messing it up stopping to quickly morn over her bird, then angrily continuing, wanting him to feel the pain the bird did, she planned to kill him. So, in the middle of one night she

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In the play, Minnie Foster was once a lively young lady before marrying her husband Mr. Wright. Mrs. Hale realizes he had taken everything she once loved away from her. Mr. Wright even took away her song bird that reminded her of the days she sang in the church choir. When Mr. Wright kills her song bird, she stands up for herself and decides he deserves the same

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“It’s the bird,” she whispered.” Silk wasn’t cheap and Mrs. Wright wrapped her dead bird in it to bury If it wasn’t important to her she wouldn’t bother barring the bird in something expensive. Also birds neck was broken which mean someone killed it i can infer that it was the husband because he was described as cold so we can also infer that he wouldn’t care if Mrs. Wright loved the bird or not. Mrs. Wright loves the bird so when Mr. Wright killed the bird sh got so upset that she killed

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It was one of the reason she didn't come to the house very often. She said that “time and time again it had been in her mind-- I ought to go over and see Minnie Foster she thought of her as Minnie Foster though for over 20 years she had been mrs. wright and there was always something to do and Minnie Foster would go from her mind”

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Mr. Hale and his son, Harry, went upstairs and found the body in the bed with a rope around his neck. Alarmed, Mr. Hale told Harry to go to call the police through a telephone across the road while he stayed behind at the Wright's’ residence. The police then arrived to the scene of the crime and took Minnie into custody. We are here today to prove that Minnie Wright is guilty of the premeditated murder of her husband, John Wright. We have evidence that proves that Minnie Wright had motivation to kill her

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The women gather Mrs. Wright’s quilt to work on while incarcerated when they find something that frightens them. They find the bird, and its neck is broken. Mrs. Peters, obviously startled, says “Somebody – wrung – its – neck” (1087). The women are unsure what to do with the bird, but know they need to hide it from the men. This clue is more important than the others; it shows Mrs. Wright's breaking point.

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The men of the group, much like John in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” consider themselves more capable than the women and refuse to consider Mrs. Wright as anything other than irrational. The men leave the women to their “trifles” on the first floor, where they discover a broken bird cage, and the bird’s body, broken, carefully wrapped in a small, decorative box. They realize that Mr. Wright had wrung the neck of his wife’s beloved bird and broken its cage. Mrs. Wright, once known for her cheerfulness and beautiful singing, she stopped singing when she encountered Mr. Wright. Just like he did with the bird, Mr. Wright choked the life out of his wife until, finally, Mrs. Wright literally choked the life out of her husband.

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Wright killed the canary and is also motive for Mrs. Wright to seek revenge. The women conclude that Mrs. Wright’s bird was her prized possession, the bird even reminds the women of Mrs. Wright, “‘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.’”

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John Wright, Mrs. Wright's husband, was known to be a hardworking man, leaving less time for her. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale state that Mrs. Wright was once known as Minnie Foster, and at that time in her life she was very happy. It was believed that she had became a different person after she married John Wright. People

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