Writing Portfolio

Levi Rivera

Professor Jackson

2/21/19

College Writing II

Right Or Wrong

To justify someone from being right or wrong needs to be proven but then again if the

person’s motive is justifiable then is the action acceptable? In the text ​Trifles ​by Susan Glaspell,

a man (Mr. Wright) was killed by his wife (Mrs. Wright) and a woman finds evidence to assume

Mrs Wright wrong but doesn’t handover the evidence. The situation to withhold the evidence

isn't justified due to the fact of people needing to be responsible for their actions. Being

responsible for your actions is something that needs to be held to a standard because if not then

everyone can act out. Due to what type of power men had they were able to get away with

anything so the only way a women can escape from this is to take justice into her own hands.

Showing or having feelings towards a situation can impact a person's decision and

judgement calls. Glaspell makes the readers and viewers feel sympathetic towards the wife (Mrs.

Wright) which tries to get the people to feel as if her actions isn’t wrong. In the poem Mrs. Hale

said “ I might have known she needed help, I know how things can get for women,” (Glaspell

988) Mrs. Hale is implicating some sympathy towards her to better understand why she did it.

But doing that can distract the overall situation the murder she committed, switching the focus to

Mrs. Wright. Glaspell wanted to make the audience feel sympathetic towards the murder so the

reader can have a reason to under why the evidence wasn’t brought forward.

Being distracted from teaching a person a lesson because of how you feel wouldn't teach

them the wrong of their actions, then how will they learn not to do it again ? If there isn't a

consequence for the wrong actions, people will continue to do things wrong based on the simple

fact that there won't be any repercussions for what they are doing. Depending on the way a

problem is viewed depends on a right or wrong judgement meaning someone may have been

through a similar situation so would understand it better rather than a person who hasn't been put

through it. Mrs. Hale knows why Mrs. Wright did what she did because in that day and age

women didn't have the same rights as males which caused them to be looked and treated

different. But an outsider like a reader in this day and age can’t relate to what females went

through before compare to now. The historical meaning has to due with whether the women

holding the evidence is justified because it will show what women went through in 1916 to

2000’s.

The reasoning behind the situation is if right is right the wrong is wrong how can wrong

be justified as right. When a community is shown that actions that aren’t right is ignored as it

being okay will cause a lash out. Holding the evidence back from proving the truth is just

causing a chain of reactions. If another women in this similar situation as Mrs. Wright will do the

same actions due to her believing it’s justified to being acceptable by others? Until a society

demands justice then a person will continue to do wrongful things with a terrible motive but until

that happens the justice system wouldn't be equal. Being able to have it equal things will have to

be fixed from both men and women, but for now the play doesn’t show that therefor women have

to take matters into her own hands. The meaning to be qual means for everyone no matter what

is held to high stand-point when it comes to a crime.

Women in the old school days had to deal with unreasonable actions from men like

yelling, getting abused, and being treated with unlivable circumstances. The only way for a

woman to get justice against the husband is to leave them or kill them which is show in ​Trifles​.

For instance Mrs. Hale explains why she doesn’t go over Mrs. Wright house by saying to The

County Attorney “it never seemed like a cheerful place” (Glaspell 982) meaning the house isn’t a

place where you wanna be because the type of energy or problems that come with the house.

But leaving the husband is really impossible because you wouldn't know if they would let you,

which would cause a bigger dilemma. No one can understand what you’re exactly going through

because they aren’t you, so yes the justice in the play is shown as if Mrs. Wright had only one

option to be able to leave her husband. The County Attorney states “no she doesn't need

supervising” (Glaspell 989) which is odd due to the fact of her killing someone which will cause

her to be very dangerous. The characters in the play view her actions as her “legal” way to deal

with her situation.

Leading to my last conclusion which is this situation is best compared to ethics, ethics

means ​moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity. After

committing a crime how does your morales change. Is Mrs Wright action justifiable due to her

morales thinking if she killed him things will be okay or is she wrong ? Mrs. Wright action is

unethical because killing someone no matter what isn’t the proper way to handle a matter despite

what is the situation. We can understand Mrs. Wright situation and feel sorry for her, but that

doesn’t justify killing her husband or trying to cover that crime. But someone to kill someone

just because and get in trouble wouldn't be fair or justifiable for the legal system.

The irony of the play is how it’s shown as if a women couldn’t harm a man when a man

is in control but then in the play the man is murdered and the suspect is a female. For the play to

show the opposite of what is being portrayed gives the reader a moment to think is the action

right because of what man is consider of doing in a relationship with a female. As a grown up it

is your responsibility to understand what your actions bring to the table and whether or not you

can handle what it brings. No one should be excused for race, gender, reasoning because we all

know right from wrong.

After coming to the end of the reading we’re left with a question, what is the true

definition of justice for women meaning they are as equal to men as the rest. Not giving the

evidence forward means it won’t go to court for a grand jury, which indicates there will be no

rightful solution to the case. The reading implies to the readers the sympathy towards women but

does that justify letting the women withhold the evidence. Glaspell leaves the readers with a

question to ask themselves what she did and how she got away justifiable.

All in all the concept of the play is for people to try to be understandable about what Mrs

Wright did. To withhold evidence from telling the truth has its outcome which leads to whether

or not it's justifiable. But does the situation a female is placed in help justify the situation to be

okay, which isn’t right to judge because the situation could of been caused for different reasons

which people wouldn't know the truth. The only way for this to come close to being

understandable is for us to be placed in her life but that isn’t possible so therefore it will be very

difficult.

Work Cited

● Glaspell, Susan​ . “Trifles.” ​Scott Simkins, U Of North Texas

http://www.english.unt.edu/~simpkins/Trifles.pdf

Accessed 1 Feb. 2019.