Writing Portfolio

Instructions for essay 1

● Use the text of “Trifles” to write an essay explaining the defense’s case for Mrs. Wright, including how she would plead, what arguments you would make, which characters you would call as witnesses, and what evidence the play gives you to work with to help get Mrs. Wright acquitted, or to help her get a more lenient sentence.

● By the end of the play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have made the decision to conceal some evidence that could suggest a motive for Mrs. Wright to kill her husband. Is this decision to withhold evidence justified, or not? What does the play seem to suggest about the women’s decision in regard to justice, or to morality?

● Write an essay that constructs and defends an argument about whether the women’s silence about their knowledge at the end of “Trifles” is a sign of submission to or defiance of male authority.

● Reading between, or outside of, the lines: Discuss the burden of interpretation that “Trifles” puts on the viewer. How much of the story are we required to fill in for ourselves? What effect does the use of an off-stage character or event have on the audience’s experience of watching the play? How might that effect influence our opinions about the play’s topic or outcome?

● Consider the men’s perspective in “Trifles.” Why do they approach the case the way that they do? What can Glaspell’s construction of these male characters tell us about male-female relationships in the early twentieth century in America?

No matter which topic you choose, remember that your essay should work closely with the text of “Trifles,” and present an analytical argument about the play.

Instructions for Essy 2

Fairy tales and folktales are often thought of as children's literature or simple, predictable stories. Yet many of these stories have proved incredibly enduring in human history and culture. These stories often have such great staying power because they reflect and teach cultural values, contain lessons about life or behavior, and present common ​archetypesLinks to an external site.​ and ​tropesLinks to an external site. that can shape the way we view the world. But, as we have seen in our previous class readings, these stories can also be shaped and molded to present very different messages in different versions. Therefore ​which​ version we are most familiar with becomes an important question.

As one of our modern society's most prolific and successful distributors of fairy tales, Disney plays an important role in shaping these stories and the messages they carry; you could even argue that Disney plays an important role in shaping our society, through its influence on the stories that we learn as children. For this essay, you will choose one of the following traditional folk or "fairy" tales, and compare an older version to a more modern Disney adaptation. While different stories and comparisons by different writers will produce a wide range of possible arguments, in general your central claim for this essay should somehow focus on the ways in which Disney either shapes or responds to some aspect of modern American culture/society in its adaptation of the story you have chosen.

For this project, you will be comparing written fiction to films. You may choose to comment on unique aspects of the film version of your story, such as music, animation/artwork, character appearances, etc., but remember that you should also address the ​writing​ in the film, including dialogue and plot. You must also provide some discussion/analysis of the earlier written version of the story that you have chosen to work with, although the main focus of your essay should be on how Disney has adapted this story (and why, and with what effect).