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Trifles Worksheet

This document summarizes and discusses the play "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell. It analyzes the characters of Mr. Henderson, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale. Mr. Henderson is characterized as sexist and condescending. Mrs. Peters seems more easily cowed by men while Mrs. Hale is more willing to oppose them. The document also discusses what can be learned about Mrs. Wright, including evidence that she felt unhappy and caged in her marriage. Additional conflicts in the play beyond solving a murder case include the abrogation of women's basic rights. The document analyzes common symbols in the play such as the canary, broken cage, and quilt and their relation to Mrs. Wright and

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362 views3 pages

Trifles Worksheet

This document summarizes and discusses the play "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell. It analyzes the characters of Mr. Henderson, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale. Mr. Henderson is characterized as sexist and condescending. Mrs. Peters seems more easily cowed by men while Mrs. Hale is more willing to oppose them. The document also discusses what can be learned about Mrs. Wright, including evidence that she felt unhappy and caged in her marriage. Additional conflicts in the play beyond solving a murder case include the abrogation of women's basic rights. The document analyzes common symbols in the play such as the canary, broken cage, and quilt and their relation to Mrs. Wright and

Uploaded by

vivi julianti
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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A DISCUSSION ON “TRIFLES” PLAY BY SUSSAN GLASSPEL

Read the play script sent to you separately via the WA group.

Work in pairs to answer the following questions.

Name: Vivi Julianti / 194214156

Dwina Alfatikha A. / 194214157

1. How would you characterize Mr. Henderson, the county attorney?


George Henderson is the sexist, condescending, and self-important county attorney
who harshly criticizes Mrs. Wright without knowing anything about her or her life.
He takes control of the situation as soon as he enters the Wrights' house. He directs
others, interrupts them when they are speaking, and in general assumes he will be
in control of all exchanges.
2. In what way or ways are Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale different from each other?
Mrs. Hale is more willing to oppose the men. She argues with the county attorney.
She seems to be more forthright than Mrs. Peters, who is more easily cowed by the
presence of the men.
Mrs. Peters is more scared than Mrs. Hale. When they are trying to conceal the
dead bird. Mrs. Hale has to grab it and hide it in her pocket before the men get the
chance to see the incriminating evidence.
3. What can you learn about Mrs. Wright’s after reading the play script? Mention the
evidence that might support your argument.
Mrs. Wright is a cheerful girl and does things she likes, she feels free and happy
until finally she gets married, and after marriage she feels unhappy, she feels
herself caged like a bird in a cage.
I learned from Mrs. Wright's story that we should think about our own happiness,
don't harbor hatred / sadness for too long because it will torture ourselves. Look
for something that can make us happy, let go of things that we think only make us
feel hurt and sad continuously. In this story Mrs. Wright ended her sadness by killing
her husband and that was the wrong thing, she could do better than to kill her
husband, she could just get divorced and go back to her old self.
4. In addition an attempt to solve a murder case, what other conflicts are apparent in
the play?
The conflict that seems to be most evident in the play Trifles is the abrogation of the
basic rights for safety and liberty. The tendency to almost nullify the most basic rights
of women, the freedom to be safe and the freedom of expression, make conjectures,
emit opinions, or try to come up with simple conclusions.

5. Explain the meaning of the following symbols found in the play.

a. The canary: its presented Minnie's life after marriage. She did not allow to do
anything she wanted, she feels lonely and be tamed by her husband.

b. The broken cage: symbolizing their broken marriage. Mrs. Wright tried to run away
from her marriage and finally killed her husband who curbs her life, so that she felt
lonely and unhappy.

c. The broken jar of fruit preservative: The form of Mrs. Wright’s

Annoyance/anger that had accumulated and finally broke because it had been stored
for too long.

d. The quilt: symbolizing the motive of the murder of Mr. Wright by his wife.

6. Do you think what is done by Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale is true or justifiable?
Explain.
in my opinion it's justifiable, they (women) who can fully understand the story
behind this case and feel sorry for Mrs. wright, they feel the need to defend their
fellow women and are willing to hide evidence that could further aggravate the
sentence for Mrs. Wright.
7. What is the significance of the title “Trifles”? What is the relation between the
title and the conflicts presented in the play?
I think the title Trifles also describes how the conflict happened. Significant
meaning of trifles that is, things that are wrong and can be justified at the same
time. According to the story, trivial things can cause unexpected things. The title
relationship with this story, namely trifles is often not noticed by people. This is
precisely what makes conflict happen. In the story, the men laugh about the quilt
but the two women are dumbfounded by their response (the men) and think they
cannot understand the real situation, instead they laugh just because of the quilt.

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