Susan Glaspells Trifles is a play about a real life murder case that uses symbolism to help bring it to a close. It is easy to see that Mr. and Mrs. Wright livein a society that is cut off from the outside world and also strongly separated bygender. Three of the key symbols in Glaspells play are a simple bird cage, a quilt,and isolationism. Anna Uong of Virginia Tech and Karen Shelton of JSRCC sharethese same ideas on symbolism. These three symbols are the main clues that helpthe reader decide who killed Mr. Wright. The bird cage that was found is one of the most profound symbols in thestory. Mrs. Hale describes Minnie as, kind of like a bird herself, real sweet andpretty but kind of timid and fluttery(841). The bird and Minnie are similar becausethey are both caged in. When Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find the broken birdcage,they think nothing of it until they discover the bird. He was found wrapped in acloth inside of a small box, with his neck wrung. Mrs. Wright wrapped the deadbird in a silk cloth and placed it inside a fancy box; this symbolises her cherishing ofher past life.(Uong, 1) When John strangles the life out of Minnies bird, he alsostrangles the life out of Minnie. The broken birdcage that was found representsMinnies liberation from John. Just like the bird, Minnie has now freed herself fromJohn by killing him. The second symbol that ties the story together is the quilt, which wassymbolic of Minnies life. The quilt that Minnie was working on at the time of herhusbands death is almost perfect, except for the most recently sewn block. It is saidto be All over the place as if she didnt know what she was about, states Mrs.Hale(840). This is another clue into how enraged and flustered Minnie was. Minnies last straw was when John killed her bird. When the bird died, so didMinnies personality. After that murder, Minnie was enraged, confused, and didntknow what to do. Mrs. Hale wondered if she was goin to q...
