Response to Susan Glaspell

  1. Compare the two titles Glaspell uses for her two treatments of the same material—“A Jury of Her Peers” and Trifles.  What is being signaled to a reader in each case about the work’s meaning or emphasis?
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  1. Whose story is being told here?  Is the same story told in the play version?  On what element(s) has Glaspell relied in each case (story and play) to communicate her meaning?  What is the effect of delaying the revelation of the situation for several paragraphs at the opening of the story?
    3.   Both the story and the play rely heavily on things—or props.  What are some of the more meaningful “props”?  Explain the significance of one or two such props.

    4.   Is the narrator heavy-handed in communicating the story’s meaning?  Are the male characters in the story realistic, or are they too plastic?  Cite evidence in making you answer.