Close read Trifles by Susan Glaspell’s and answer both prompts listed below
Prompt: Character development:
If you had to choose one of the women (Mrs. Hale or Mrs. Peters), which one would be the protagonist? Why? Discuss what makes her more likely as the protagonist than the other woman (include discussion of the changes the character undergoes as the play progresses, the decision the character makes that result in those changes, and the place (mental/emotional) the character is in by the end of the play (including how it differs from when the play began). How are you manipulated to empathize with her? Do you agree with her decision at the end of the play? Why or why not (does your gender play a part in this decision)? Does her decision affect your appreciation of the character’s journey?
Prompt: Symbols and Theme discussion:
Because this play is only one act, everything that takes place within the play has heightened importance (objects, conversations, spoken and non-spoken decisions). Thus, this play contains several objects that play double duty: physical, tangible object plus abstract symbolic purpose. Choose two symbols. How does each object as symbol further the characters’ development, the plot’s development, the theme’s development? How relevant is that theme to today (the play was written in 1916)? Would the symbols still work if the play were ‘modernized’?