NATIONAL SCHOOL OF SCIENCES (NSS)

ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES OF UNRAVELING

THE SILENCE

A project work submitted to the Department of English in

Partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Internal Evaluation of Grade XI

Submitted To Submitted By

Binita Kandel Name: Princy Adhikari

Department of English Section: D2

Grade: 11

Roll No. 92
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my good fortune to get a very cooperative teacher Mrs. Binita Kandel. During the work in

progress, her support, helpfulness, and constant encouragement kept me motivated in project

work. She provided invaluable interest, guidance during the course of the work. I am very much

grateful to her.

I would like to thank all the faculty members who have provided encouragement and suggestions

during the course of work and special thanks to lab assistants.

Further, I would also like to extend my gratitude to the principal Dr. Madhav Prasad Baral, and

NSS executive director Ma'am Pranita Sharma Baral for providing me with all the facility that

was required.

Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the principle greatest mentor, my parents.

All the thanks are due to them for everything that I have achieved.

Princy Adhikari
Table of Contents

TOPIC Page no.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………………………..2

TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………… 3

1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….. 4

1.1.Background ………………………………………………………………. 4

1.2. Scope of the study………………………………………………………... 5

1.3. Objectives of the study……………………………………………………. 6

1.4. Literature review …………………………………………………………. 6

1.5. Methodology of the study………………………………………………… 7

2.ANALYSIS OF DATA…………………………………………. 7

3. CONCLUSION………………………………………………… 10
1.INTRODUCTION
1.1.Background
The above topic is given from one act play named `Trifles` present in compulsory English book

of class 11. This one at play is written by Susan Glaspell. She was an American playwright,

novelist, journalist and actress. First known for short stories (fifty were published), Glaspell is

known also to have written nine novels, fifteen plays, and a biography. Her works typically

explore contemporary social issues, such as gender, ethics and dissent, while featuring deep,

sympathetic characters. Her first novel The Glory of the Conquered was published in 1909.

She wrote three best-selling novels Brook Evans (1928), Fugitive's Return (1929), and Ambrose

Holt and Family (1931).

Her first play Trifles (1916) was based on the murder trail she had covered as a young reporter in

Des Moines. Her play Alison's House (1930) earned the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1931.
Glaspell is today recognized as a pioneering feminist writer and America's first important

modern female playwright.

The play Trifles revolves around murder investigation providing a perspective about the status of

women in contemporary American society reflecting the male mentality as the dominant gender.

This story also reflect that women at that century used to remain silenced and they were being

unspokenable infront of men.

Trifles chronicles the day after Mrs. Wright is arrested on suspicion of murdering her husband.

Though the play is about the Wrights and the circumstances of Mr. Wright's death, Mrs. Wright

never appears onstage. The audience learns about her from the perspective of her neighbours and

their reactions to items they find inside the Wright's home.

1.2.Scope of the study

The study of `Unraveling the silence` can have various scopes and implication depending on the

subject or content in which it is involved. The topic 'Unraveling the silence' is commonly used in

our practical life. We can study about that topic in the context of class 11 in one at play named

'Trifles'.
We can also know that if we dominance anyone too much then they also show us unexcepted

and terrifying result. This topic is also came with some moral story about dominating someone.

And also we can study about that topic in various social media platform like Google, Youtube

and from other educational sites .We can also get some knowledge about that topic from our

parents, elderly people in society, teachers.

1.3.Objectives of the study

 For the internal evaluation of project work.

 To know about side effect of keeping someone in own boundaries too much.

 To increase the awareness to end domestic violence and dominance to women.

 To aware people to know the result of controlling someone's life.

1.4.Literature review
The play Trifles takes place during 1957 when women were silenced; they were only addressed

and not spoken to or able to speak. This play shows that how men dominate women and didn`t

allow women to do anything they wanted.

One of the important theme of this play is the impact of domestic violence and abuse on the lives

of women. The play suggests that Mrs. Wright was driven to kill her husband in self-defense
after years of abuse and that the men in the story are unable to understand or recognize the signs

of this abuse because they are not attuned to the emotional lives of the women around them.

Other themes of the play include justice, the role of the legal system, and the ways in which

social and cultural factors can shape the way that people behave and perceive the world.

1.5. Methodology of the study

There are various primary and secondary sources which includes this above topic. Different

secondary sources such as electronic articles, magazines, info websites, etc. were referred to and

compacted. We can also watch different dramas or serials about silence and domestic violence

which is related with someone in practical life. Secondary sources were used and extracted from

various material on google scholar, Wikipedia was interpreted. Sample of study consists of data

obtained from various sites of scientific background.

2. ANALYSIS OF DATA
Trifles is a play about the fundamental injustice of a patriarchal society in which men have all

the power. At first, the focus of the play seems simple enough. A pair of lawmen and a witness

arrive at a murder scene to seek out evidence that might point to a motive. But for reasons that

are not entirely clear, they have asked their wives to tag along. Mrs. Peter has presumably come

to collect a change of clothes and a few of the suspect's belongings to take to her in jail. But we

soon learn that Mrs. Peters had not met the suspect, Minnie, until after her arrest, suggesting that

she has only been invited because she is a woman, and the Sheriff and County Attorney are
unwilling or uninterested in collecting Minnie's things themselves. Perhaps they do not know

enough about women's clothing to know what a women might need.

The reason for Mrs. Hale's presence at the investigation is even less clear. Unlike her husband,

she was not at the Wright house the previous day when the murder was discovered, so she is not

a witness. She has not previously met Mrs. Peters and has nothing to add to her husband's story,

so her presence at the crime scene seems unnecessary, and her long acquaintance with the main

suspect would seem to make her a liability for the County Attorney, who has an interest in

ensuring the integrity of the evidence is not compromised. Yet she is allowed to enter the house

and remain with Mrs. Peters, otherwise unattended for long periods of time at a crime scene.

Regardless of why they are there, the women soon prove to be much better detectives than self-

important but hapless male counterparts. While the County Attorney leads the investigation with

an air of bravado, his line of questioning steers Mr. Hale, and later Mrs. Hale, away from any

discussion of John Wright's treatment of Minnie, as if their marital relationship could not

possibly have anything to do with the murder. Likewise, the Sheriff steers the investigation away

from the kitchen, dismissing "kitchen things" as insignificant even though the primary suspect is

a housewife. The lawmen seem altogether incapable of viewing the world from a women's

perspective, dismissing all the things related to housekeeping as feminine "trifles" not worth

investigating. Indeed, they prefer to remain ignorant of such trifles, as illustrated by the running

joke about whether Minnie planned to "quilt it or just knot it." Through their persistent mockery

of the women, the three men seem to from a certain camaraderie based on their willful ignorance

of feminine concerns.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters quickly piece together the clues without even trying.

Because they too are housewives, they understand and value the work of a housewife and can

easily read the sign of Minnie's marital distress in her housework. They recognize the "nervous"

stitching in Minnie's unfinished quilt, which leads them to find the mangled birdcage and the

strangled canary. Mrs. Hale, having known Minnie before she was married, immediately

understands that John Wright has stifled Minnie in much the same way he strangled the canary.

Whereas Minnie had once been a vibrant young woman who loved to sing, she withered away

after marrying John Wright , a cold , hard man who didn't speak much, didn't care what she

wanted, and never gave her any children. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters empathize with Minnie,

having themselves suffered periods of profound loss and isolation. Whereas the men bond with

each other over their mockery of women, t he women bond over their shared sense of oppression

by men.
.

3.CONCLUSION

Yet the play's conclusion suggests that even in a male-dominated society, women wield more

power than men suspect. Although Mrs. Peters feels a certain duty to "the law," personified by

her husband the Sheriff, her empathy for Minnie ultimately compels her to conspire with

Mrs. Hale to conceal the evidence that could convict her. The men's arrogance makes this easy.

Although the County Attorney has previously promised to inspect the things that Mrs. Peters

decides to take to Minnie, the sight of the apron and quilt disarm him. With a laugh, he declares

these feminine trifles "not very dangerous" and jokes that Mrs. Peter doesn't need supervising

because a sheriff's wife is "married to the law." In a world where marriage is a form of

oppression, this phrase has an ominous ring to it. Even so, the two women easily outwit the

County Attorney and their husbands, just as Minnie outwitted John Wright. The women's quiet
rebellion may not bring an end to male oppression, but it exposes masculine arrogance and

ignorance as a major vulnerability.