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What Does The Bird Symbolize In A Jury Of Her Peers

912 Words4 Pages

Bill Qureshi
Ms. Buvinger
English
1/18/2015
Jury of Her Peers Essay The discussion of women's rights was prominent during the early 20th century, as women demanded change to how society viewed women. In Susan Glaspell’s, Jury of her peers, she uses symbols in her story to represent the problems women face in society and tries to show women, that they have the capabilities to extend further than societal restrictions. Glaspell tries to bring more awareness to the problems women faced like being neglected by society, how hard it was for a woman to secede from a man and become independent, and unfair gender gaps. Glaspell also tries to show readers that women had the potential to surpass those problems by shining light on their capabilities. …show more content…

With the use of these symbols, the author showed how the unfair treatment of women at the time, made it difficult for women to secede and break free from their husbands in the 20th century. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters found Mrs. Wright’s cage and pondered about whether or not she had a bird. Mrs. Hale said, “Maybe she did. She used to sing really pretty well herself.” The singing bird resembles Minnie Foster, caught in Mrs. Wrights cage, surrounded by an atmosphere that represents her miserable life, caged up by her husband, the one who has leverage over her joy, restricting her from blooming. Moreover, Glaspell may have tried to utilize the damaged cage door and the dead bird, to represent how hard it would have been for a woman like Ms.Wright to break free, from their husbands and start their own lives without societal norms pushing them down. Mrs. Hale found the bird, lying dead in the box, and Mrs. Peters said "Somebody wrung its neck." The damaged cage door represents how Mr. Wright forcefully abused the remaining piece of Mrs. Wright’s former self. The dead bird shows how if she or any woman in the same situation tries to leave during this time, adapting to the outside world becomes difficult due to the unfair treatment of women in society, and their cries for freedom or equality share the same fate as the dead bird. Using the cage, damaged cage door, and the dead bird, Glaspell’s message may be that the unfair treatment of women in terms of equality, in comparison to men, leads to an extensive consequence, that diminishes their ability to go ahead in society and remain

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