Literature: A Reflection of Life Phase 4 Individual Project By: Clayton James Reed 11/05/2013

As I got done reading the short play called Tries I was able to distinguish that the play took place in the time period of when house phones were invented and being installed in houses and woman still didnt have that many rights. As far as what the weather and region was during the time in the play it would have been mid winter time in the region where a lot of farms are at. The house itself is a big barn house that needs to clean on the inside. The kitchen itself was only half way clean and still had pots and pans under the sink that needed to be cleaned. The house looked as if there was no one living there for many of years. When I think of the settings of the story, the emotion of fear and sadness comes to me. I say this because at the farm house you cant even see the road that leads to town and the quietness alone would drive someone mad. The county attorney George Henderson is a man that is young and always seems to be busy and stressed because of the lack of people around to help with the investigations. Sheriff Henry Peters is the type of guy that always has his hands full with everything going on around town and tends to make jokes and laugh a lot about what women do and worry about. The neighbor Lewis Hale is a quite woman, who is involved with a womens group and regrets that she never came and visit Minnie Wright; she as well is a busy farm working wife and mother of children. Mrs. Hale whom is the husband of Lewis Hale, he is in his middle age and he is a telephone installer. Mrs. Peter is the wife of the Sheriff; she just recently moved to the town and didnt know Minnie Wright at all, she as well is known as the woman married to the law. From what I was able to gather about John and Minnie Wright, it seems as if John Wright was a man that seemed to always stay off too himself and lived a life of loneliness and was always mean toward his wife Minnie Wright. Minnie Wright was a peaceful, lovely lady, she sung like and angel and use to be in the town choir, and use to wear all kind of pretty things. I feel that the three women are the protagonist in this play, and the men are the antagonists. I say this because the two women are able to understand why Minnie Wright did what she did and Minnie Wright was broken from her husband strangling the bird that she loves the most. The men just wanted to get everything done over with not caring who did what and why they did it, they just wanted someone in jail for murder. The plot of the story is a middle aged woman tired of her husband so she kills her husband by strangling him in his sleep with rope, because he strangled her bird to death. The rising action accurse when none of the males can find proof that she was the one that did it expect for the two females that are with the men find the dead bird. The conflict in this play is none of the law enforcers can find proof that Minnie Wright killed her husband John Wright. The climax of this play begins as the two women know as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters start uncovering what Minnie Wright had done and why she has done it peace by peace. The falling action accurse when the two girls come to reason that Minnie Wright had every right to kill her husband for what he did to her beloved bird. The resolution to this play is the two women hiding the proof they found against Minnie Wright in there coat pockets and

bag. What makes this story so suspenseful is that is keep making you wonder if Minnie Wright murder her husband or not, and every time you come close to finding out if she did you end up not finding out. Finally at the end of the play you get the clue/hints that Minnie Wright did murder her husband. If not for the stage directions being in this play script I would not have been able to easily understand what everyones feelings and emotions were in the play, as well as not understand what the house looked like or be able to picture a mental image in my mind of the play itself. The symbolic meaning to the bird cage is what Minnie Wright herself was like, she herself is a broke bird cage that is now broken and empty on the inside and out. The dead canary represents Minnie Wrights past life and happiness as for it has been killed by John Wright just like the canary was killed by him. The noose represents the same faith John Wright did to the canary and Minnie Wrights past life. The word trifles in this play is referred as small things women worried about during this time of age that men always over looked. Glaspell is saying that back in the ear of this play that men where the ones that worked as women were only meant for house cleaning and working on the farm and always worried about the small little things that means nothing to men, an example of this would be Mrs. Peters (to the other woman): Oh, her fruit; it did freeze. (To the Lawyer.) She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the red go out and her jars would break. (Pg. 598 of CTUO 1203B - Literature to Go, First Edition.) Another example of this from the play would be Hale: Well, women are used to worrying over tries. (The two women move a little closer together.) (Pg. 598 of CTUO 1203B - Literature to Go, First Edition.) The differences from reading a play from reading a short story is that in a short story you would have to read the context clues to be able to understand how the characters them selfs feel , as for a drama they state in the script on how the character should feel. From my own opinion I would have to say reading a play is completely different from actually watching the play being performed by actors. On stage the audience can see the and feel the emotions the selfs as to if you just read the play you would not be able to see the reaction of the characters but to only feel a little of the emotion by the words you read. My final thoughts on this true crime story after doing much needed back ground check on it; Glaspell felt as if she needed to make womens voices heard as for she had doubts that the legal system could truly be fair unless women's voices could be heard in the courtroom--and women were part of the decision making process in the criminal justice system. (http://www.midnightassassin.com/Interview.html ) After reading into all the information that I found about this cause I empathize even more with Hossack, she wasnt just a women, she was a mother of many children and a husband that treated her wrong in so many ways. Back then it was not right to leave your husband, or even think about it, so in my eyes I believe Hossack did what she must to protect herself and her children. This play has had a huge impact on me, one way in particular is that never underestimate what a mother will do and be thankful that we have so many rights now from way back then.