Diego Martinez

September 10, 2022

ENG 200

Analysis Essay

A play where there are drastic events through a character. In the play Trifles, we see

many ways the play gives the reader a way to see through their own eyes. Through the dialog of

the play to the actions the characters do, but one stands out in general, props. Props are the

symbols to the play, where the props are placed or where they are left, the way they are set up

and the way they are moved. In Trifles we see many placements of props and the significance of

them, one of them is the way the room looks and the other is when they find an object important

to the play.

The definition of Props is “a symbol; in picking up, leaving behind, or considering the

purpose of concrete materials.” (Module 3: Vocabulary List). We see many placements of certain

props in to give the reader a view on how the room looks, the beginning of the play starts with

the details of prop placements in the rooms, “In the rear wall at left is a door to the shed and

from there to the outside… Between these two doors is an old-fashioned black iron stove… near

the window is an old wooden rocker… There is a small chair down right… Unwashed pans

under the sink” (Garder, Janet, pg. 213-215). The placement of these props had a role in the play

whether it being used to wash hands or be a distraction to the character, using these props to

show any sort of significance to what is going on in the play. The chair in the corner is an

important prop, it is used throughout the play from the characters as a distraction, a way to be
innocent in a way, “she was rockin’ back and forth. She had her apron in her hand and was kind

of- pleating it`” (Gardner, Janet, Pg. 216). They mention this because it was a way to be a

distraction, showing “I’m in shock of what just happened”.

During the play they are trying to find out who committed the murder of John and at one

point in the play they start to fix the quilt, they needed more yarn to continue to finish it. Mrs.

Hale is very fidgety and begins to “fix” it which concerns the other characters, they way she was

getting involved with the props after being told not to touch anything is interesting. Examining

the character and what the character is showing off when having a prop is giving a symbol to the

play, its saying “this is important, keep this in mind”, it can also lead a sequence of events to

which the character is holding a prop and needs something else to “complete” the prop in this

case they needed more sewing material in which they find the dead bird in a box wrapped in the

cloth they needed. The props play a specific role and are an extra character in the play, setting a

sequence of events that the play introduces. Let’s say if they never messed with any objects then

the play doesn’t have a sequence to it, if Mrs. Hale never messed with the quilt and tried fixing it

then they would have never found the bird or if Mrs. Hale never went to visit John, then there

wouldn’t be a story to tell.

References:

Gardner, Janet E., and JoAnne Diaz. Reading and Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide,

Bedford/Saint Martin's, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central,

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/asulib-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6641914.