A Jury of Her Peers A Character Analysis
A JURY OF HER PEERS - A CHARACTER ANALYSISAs in the case of most, if not all, good allegorical stories, the primary impact of the tale is strongly influenced by the author's detailed characterization of the setting, as well as the characters' feelings and passions. Certainly such is the case in Susan Glaspell's story "A Jury of Her Peers". Here we see a richness of characterization and setting that is elusive at first reading, but becomes clearer as the story evolves. In the final analysis, it becomes clear just who the jury is and the outcome of their collective verdict. It is by the use of allegorical and metaphorical rhetoric that the tension of the story is maintained so very well.Initially we are introduced to a woman, Mrs. Hale, who first seems cast as a central character, if not the central focus of the story's plot. By use of this literary diversion, the reader is intentionally mislead by focusing on the details of the patterns of her life and her overall guiding thought processes. For example, in Paragraph 1, we are shown the concept of Mrs. Hale's inherent instinct for "neatness", "her bread all ready
It is an even greater story when considered in light of the symbolic and allegorical elements contained therein. The fact that she put the bird in the box, that last remnant of happier times, increases the pathos experienced by the central characters as well as the reader. Wright symbolically "murdered" the last vestige of his wife's' innocence and youth which was the only element still sustaining her in her grim existence. Only by taking his life in the manner that he lived was justice fully and completely served. The telling details center on the unfinished task of putting the sugar away, and in the untidy sewing of a small piece of the unfinished quilt. The final irony of the tale is the manner of dispatch; Mr. In her defense, the other women understood all too clearly what had driven her to commit the deed. James Harris "A Jury of Her Peers - A Character Analysis", Jackson: 2000. Wright, after taking from his wife the only thing she truly still cared for, caused her to become distraught to the point of total distraction and fury. We can imagine her state of mind as she sat in shock after witnessing the destruction of all that she had left in her life to love and hold dear. for mixing, half the flour sifted and half unsifted". In taking from her all that she truly loved, it was as if her husband physically destroyed the central core element of his own wife. Wright had finally realized a state of peace within herself, a state which had been denied her for the duration of her relationship with the deceased.
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