English Paper

Needjie Boisseau

English 102-02

April 9, 2016

1. How do you explain the play’s title? In what ways does the ironic title of the play shape its meaning?

The title of the play is leaking with irony. The title comes from this gem of a line from Hale “Well women are used to worrying about trifles”. He says this in response to the fact that Mrs. Wright seems to be more worried about her preserves bursting than she is about the fact she is being held for murder.

2. How does the setting of the play contribute to our understanding of Minnie Wright’s position?

The house’s description sound that it doesn’t look like anybody’s dream house. We can totally see why Mrs. Wright might have gone a little nut in this place. It’s totally isolated, because it’s in a little valley. Mrs. Wright has no contact with anybody except for her jerk of a husband, she could not even wave at people. It’s hard to get how Mrs. Wright might have felt like a bird in a cage

3. How does the entrance of the characters distinguish between the men and the women?

The men walk in first, taking the lead and the women just follow. When the women walk in, they stay together at the door. Already there is a separation of genders. The men lead and the women follow, these words signify the way genders are stereotyped. The men are always in position of authority and the women are subservient.

4. How can Hale’s description of Minnie Wright as she sits in her rocking chair be interpreted from a female point of view rather than the male one what Hale provide?

Hale describes Minnie Wright to say how scared she sees her. There is some feeling on a woman only another woman can see it. This is what Hale was doing, describe Minnie’s feeling as she is scared and has fears.

5. Is there any doubt that Minnie Wright killed her husband? In what ways might her trial be affected if Minnie Wright was facing a court at the close of the 20th century rather than at its start?

There is any doubt that Minnie...