Peer Pressure is defined as the influence exerted upon one by others of the same age, social group, etc. Allegiance is the obligation of a person to his or her state or government, fidelity to a person or principle; devotion. In Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers,” Martha Hales character attempts to persuade Mrs. Peters characters initial thinking. She does this through peer pressure. “A Jury of Her Peers,” is about a criminal act. Mrs. Wright is being held in the county jail for murder. John Wright, her husband, was found dead with a rope around his neck. Lewis Hale stopped by the Wright’s home for help with his load of potatoes. He instead found John Wright dead. The story begins with Martha in her own kitchen. Mr. Hale has stopped by the house to pick Martha up. The Hales are joined by the sheriff, his wife, and the county prosecutor, Mr. Henderson. They are on their way to the Wright home. They are searching for a motive behind the murder of Mr. Wright. The Wright home is the setting for the story. The sheriff’s second wife, Mrs. Peters was the only other woman among the group. She is not your typical sheriff’s wife. She is quiet and petite. She does not possess a strong authoritative voice like Mrs. Hale. At the Wright house, the three men Mr. Hale, Mr. Henderson, and the sheriff venture upstairs to search for a motive. Mrs. Hale, the dominant woman in this story, strikes up a conversation with Mrs. Peters. It begins with Mrs. Hale displaying her dislike of the men snooping around the house. Mrs. Peters does not agree with Martha. She views the men not as snooping, but as investigating. They are doing their duty says Mrs. Peters. Her loyalty sides with her husband. The women are gathering Mr. Wright’s things wh... ... middle of paper ... ... qualities herself. She had tolerance with dealing with an abusive husband. She was submissive, obedient, and honored her husband. The bible says, “Wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord… Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:22,25). Mrs. Wright obeyed the Lord. The same cannot be said about John Wright. He did not honor his wife. The only fault of Mrs. Wright is killing her husband; but I believe she knows the Lord and will be forgiven of her sin. Works Cited Roberts, Edgar V. Jacobs, Henry E. Literature. “A Jury of Her Peers.” Susan Glaspell New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998. 166-180. MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible. Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997. Morehead, Albert and Loy. The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1995.
The unfortunate death of John Wright was a mystery to all. A team of individuals consisting of the sheriff, county attorney, Mr. Hale, and Mrs. Peters were on a mission to find the purpose of the murderer. At this point, Mrs. Wright is the primary suspect. Mrs. Hale was asked to join the party in order to give Mrs. Peters, the sheriff s wife, some companionship. In the story, Mrs. Hale leaves cues of guilty feelings. As an example, the narrator states, Martha Hale had a moment of feeling that she could not cross that threshold. The reason being given that she had been too busy to come by but now she could come (Glaspell 2). Another instance to be noted is a conversation between her and the young attorney. During this conversation, he asked if they were friends since they were neighbors. Her answer was sympathetic, I’ve seen little enough of her late years. I ve not been it this house-it s been morethan a year. Then she goes on to explain, I liked her well enough. Farmers wives have their hands full, it never seemed a very cheerful place (Glaspell 6). At this point, Mrs. Hale s empathy toward Mrs. Wright is apparent.
The central theme in “A Jury of Her Peers” is the place of women in society and especially the isolation this results in. We see this through the character, Minnie Foster and her isolation from love, happiness, companionship and from society as a whole. Not only does the story describe this isolation but it allows the reader to feel the impact of this isolation and recognize the tragedy of the situation.
“Just do it, it’ll be fine.” or things like “Nobody will know, trust me” or even “If you don't do it we can’t be friends anymore.” These are all examples of peer pressure, a problem the whole world faces. Peer pressure is a big problem, and also is in the book Speak too. Peer pressure is the act of peers trying to make you do something, whether it be good or bad. Peer pressure can vary from friends wanting one to help them in doing good deed, or wanting one to do something bad like steal or disobey one’s parents or elders. Peer pressure in the book had put the main character Melinda Sordino through a lot, not knowing where she belonged and who was really there for her throughout the story. Peer pressure in schools and in everyday life of
In the story, “A Jury of Her Peers,” by Susan Glaspell, we see how women are subjugated to stereotypical gender roles, where men are superior over women. The two main characters, Mrs. Peters and Martha Hale arrive at the Wright residence, with the men to investigate the crime scene. Minnie Foster-Wright has been arrested for allegedly strangling her husband with a rope. Mr. Hale (Martha’s husband), is a witness, who found Minnie sitting in a rocker and her husband dead upstairs. The attorney general, Mr. Henderson asks Mr. Hale and the sheriff, Mr. Peters to help him investigate the crime and explain what he had seen that day. As the men go upstairs and into the barn to investigate, Martha and Mrs. Peters are left in the kitchen to gather
The North wind is blowing in Dickson County on this cold, March morning, and in Susan Glaspell’s, “A Jury of Her Peers,” murder bring together a group of men and two women, with two separate agendas. The men’s group who includes: Mr. Hale; a witness, Mr. Peters; the sheriff, and Mr. Henderson; the county attorney are persistent in finding evidence to ensure a conviction of Minnie (Foster) Wright; wife of the victim, John Wright. However, the two women: Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, wives of two of the men, create a bond with each other and with the absent Mrs. Wright, and take it upon themselves to hide what they have uncovered to protect Minnie from being convicted of 1st degree murder, even though the evidence points towards her guilt.
The protagonist of this drama is Martha Hale. She is a typical rural housewife that has lived in a little town in Dickson County all of her life. She grew up with the alleged murderer and had been to the house several times, but not find evidence to convict here friend of murder. This hometown girl is now felling a new sense of loyalty to her friend, as she remembers the way she was twenty years and as little as one year ago. This new loyalty shows her deep ties to the community and her sex. This loyalty to women follows her throughout the story and shows her ability to look past a situation and tell what is really happening in the lives of others. The men in this story obviously think the women inferior and that allows Mrs. Hale to show not contempt for men, but rather their naiveté toward the true nature and feelings of women. She does this to protect them from things that really do not want to find out about because if they did they would be forced into things that are really not wanted by any, sending a woman whose husband she killed in self defense to her death. This dynamic character goes from an uncomfortable situation in which she really just wants to go home...
“A Jury of Her Peers” takes place at a farm house in a small agricultural community where a women is suspected of killing her husband. One conflict in the story is that the sheriff and the town attorney both think that the wife is the killer but are unable to find a motive. In an effort to locate one, they travel to the farm house along with the sheriff’s wife and the wife of the gentleman who originally discovered the death so that they can investigate. When they arrive at the home, the men and women separate. The men are unsuccessful in their attempt to find a motive, yet the women, seeing the house through uniquely female eyes, discover pieces of the puzzle which point to a motive. They come to the conclusion that the murder was carried out because the wife suffered from mental abuse by her husband. Once endowed with this evidence, however, the women decide to keep it to themselves.
Bendel-Sismo argues that “A Jury of Her Peers” redefines America’s definition of justice through the use of empathy; an appeal to the reader’s emotional and symbolic senses. The men in the story, all representing a form of the law, take a more traditional approach to justice by hunting for clues that pinpoint the murder on Minnie Wright. The women in the story become Minnie Wright’s peers and empathize with Minnie by realizing they all live a similar life. In the end, the women in the story justify Minnie’s actions as vengeance due to John Wright’s symbolic murder of Minnie and hide the evidence discovered, which proves that justice cannot be seen without
The setting in the story “A Jury by Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell illustrated the scene of the crime help Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale to be able to figured out the life of Mrs. Wright and why she murdered her husband. Mrs. Wight’s motive and her despair was led not only by her unhappy marriage but also her lonesome and empty life, similar to their house and its laid out painted a picture of nothing but of isolation. For example: “It looked very lonesome this cold March morning. It had always been a lonesome-looking place.” (Susan Glaspell, pg. 202) The story also took place during the time that highlight the inequality between sexes, and how domestic or household works are unimportance to the male dominated society. Which can be vaguely seen through Mrs. Hale narration of the place and her conclusion about Mrs. Wright abusive relationship with her husband that led to the murder. The focus of the place, circumstances and time influences the characters’ development and transformation. Such as how Mrs. Hale compared Mrs. Wright’s past to her life after the marriage to John Wright, or how she was a cheerful girl but the life in their house has turned her into a secluded person. “A Jury of Her Peers’: The Importance of Trifles by Karen Alkalay-Gut talks about Mrs. Hale discovery about the out of pattern description of Mrs. Wright’s the kitchen led to her understanding of the woman working in it. As she later sympathize with Mrs. Wright and concealed the murder
A story of murder, fear, and the temptation of betrayal is one that easily snatches up the attention of audiences. In “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, the author uses her southern female characters to emphasize the direct relationship between friendship and connection. Her plot circles around the disastrous discovery of their fellow housewife’s marital murder, and the events that unfolded causing their ultimate decision in prosecuting or shielding her from the men in the story. The author implements revealing dialogue and glaring symbolism to display the coveted relationships among the women, and the paths they take to personally understand the situation at hand with their own personal connections.
"A Jury of her Peers" was written by Susan Glaspell in 1917. This short story is entertaining but also tells the story of women in the early twentieth century. Ms Glaspell give you an idea about the hardships that women had to deal with, such as loneliness, lack of beauty, physical labor, and living in a male dominated society. The characters consist of two couples and a lawyer. The men are trying to convict Minnie Foster of murdering her husband while he was sleeping. The story takes place in Minnie's house. Throughout most of the play the men ridicule the women. This is ironic because the women are the ones that end up finding the missing link to the killing. Throughout the play the men are looking for evidence that would give Minnie a motive for the killing her husband. The men look everywhere for evidence; as they do this they poke fun of the women. The men just do not understand the hardships of being a woman at the turn of the century.
Peer pressure influences teenagers by making them do something there not to sure about. I think Laurie Halse Anderson the author of “Speak” is saying not to go into peer pressure nd say no to it.
In the story “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, Mr. Lewis Hale arrived at the Wright house to find that his neighbor, John Wright, had been strangled in his sleep. Hale asked John’s wife, Millie Wright, a few questions about what had happened. Suspiciously, Mrs. Wright’s dry answers didn’t add up. Now the sheriff, the county attorney, Mr. and Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Peters the sheriff’s wife, are investigating the house. Although Mrs. Wright claims to be asleep during her husband’s murder, the women conclude that she strangled her husband as evidenced by the broken bird cage, the slaughtered canary, and the errant quilt patch.
“All oppressed people seize whatever weapons they can to fight oppression.” This statement,by John Lowe, proves to be an important aspect of the theme in the short story, A Jury of Her Peers. In this case, the weapon that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters seize is silence. By keeping their silence, they are withholding what the men want most, which is to find evidence that leads them to know that Mrs. Wright was the murderer. The motives for the murder of Mr. Wright in the short story, A Jury of her Peers, are elaborated throughout the use of flashbacks, an oppressive tone, and omniscient third-person point of view.
Glaspell spent more than forty years working as a journalist, fiction writer, playwright and promoter of various artistic. She is a woman who lived in a male dominated society. She is the author of a short story titled A Jury of Her Peers. She was inspired to write this story when she investigated in the homicide of John Hossack, a prosperous county warren who had been killed in his sleep(1).Such experience in Glaspell’s life stimulated inspiration. The fact that she was the first reporter on scene, explains that she must have found everything still in place, that makes an incredible impression. She feels what Margaret (who is Minnie Wright in the story) had gone through, that is, she has sympathy for her. What will she say about Margaret? Will she portray Margaret as the criminal or the woman who’s life has been taken away? In the short story Minnie Wright was the victim. Based on evidence at the crime scene, it is clear that Minnie has killed her husband; however, the women have several reasons for finding her “not guilty” of the murder of John Wright.