After you have answered whether the change was for the better or worse, tell also what sort of person Mrs. Peters is before and after. She changes from what to what?


Respond to the following prompt:

In Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles, consider character change, or the absence of it, in both women. The easier to judge is surely Mrs. Peters. As the sheriff’s wife, she certainly knows that it is a crime to conceal evidence in a murder case. Bearing that in mind, when she makes the first move to hide the strangled canary, does this signify a change of character? That part should be easy to answer. This is perhaps harder: If you see a change, does Glaspell mean for you to view it as a change for the better, or for the worse? Think carefully before you answer! Most of us have been taught to obey the law without question. But is the law always right? Before you answer, consider three things: Consider the tone which Glaspell has been carefully building, leading up to the concealing of evidence. Consider which set of characters we are being asked to sympathize with, the men or the women. And consider that in those days, the courts would not take a second glance at extenuating circumstances (psychological abuse) which could arguably have provoked a killing. After you have answered whether the change was for the better or worse, tell also what sort of person Mrs. Peters is before and after. She changes from what to what?
In order to receive the full ten points for this post, the post must meet the following guidelines:

The post must be submitted on time.
Response must be unified and provide textual support.
Response must provide a point, an illustrative example to demonstrate the point (in the form of a quotation or paraphrase from the play), and an explanation that clarifies the connection between your point and illustrative example.
Responses must be no less than one-hundred words
The writer must engage in discussion with at least one peer about the response he or she provided, and the response to a peer must be more than one sentence and must state something of substance concerning the peer’s post.

Please response to this peer’s post:
I believe Mrs. Peters trying to hide the canary does show a change in character. We can assume Mrs. Peters feels sorry for Mrs. Wright. She is unsure as to if she commited the crime. However, dispite the woman possibly being a murderer, Mrs. Peters is collecting items to take to Mrs. Wright showing she has sympathy for her. However, Mrs. Peters states, “but Mrs. Hale, the law is the law.” This shows that Mrs. Peters believes in following the law. Therefore, her hiding the strangled bird signifies a change in character. I think Glaspell wants the readers to see this as a change for the better. Based off of the things Mrs. Hale says about Mr. Wright and the strangled bird, it is safe for us to assume that Mr. Wright was mean and abusive. I think Mrs. Peters sees that and in a way would understand why Mrs. Wright killed her husband if she was the one at fault. Mrs. Peters refers to a time when a boy went after her kitten with a hatchet and states, “if they hadnt held me back I would have hurt him.” During the time this was written, men were still seen as superior to women and this was evident by the way the men spoke to the women in this play. Mrs. Peters seems to be a sweet person who followed the law in the beginning, but she changes to someone who has empathy for Mrs. Wright given her situation and sees the flaws in the justice system. She wanted to help Mrs. Wright, not hurt her further.

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