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A Jury of Her Peers
7.0. Setting in Short Fiction
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7.0. Setting in Short Fiction
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Marco
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Oct 10, 2015 09:10PM
In "A Jury of Her Peers" we are introduced to the Wrights home as a very, "lone-some looking place". This gives the place an isolated and gloomy setting for the Wrights don't live close to other people as the story states, "it's down in a hollow, and you don't see the road". Because of this, Mrs. Wright is actually seperated from most of society perhaps because of her husband. This strikes Mrs. Hale as completly off-putting for when she was Minnie Foster, she was completely different, as Mrs. Hale thinks, "that rocker didn't look in the least like Minnie Foster--the Minnie Foster of twenty years before". Furthermore, Mrs. Hale regrets not coming to visit Mrs. Wright often, but states that, "it never seemed a very cheerful place". Stating that their home is in fact very isolated and isn't inviting for anyone to visit despite Mrs. Hale's likeness towards Mrs. Wright. Lastly, the two women connect the bird Mrs. Wright had, to Mrs. Wright herself. Stating, "...she was kind of a bird herself. Real sweet and pretty,but kind of timid and--fluttery. How--she--did--change." This suggest that due to the isolation Mrs. Wright had, like what the bird experienced in the cage, changed Mrs. Wright as a person overall.
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Mary Helen Washington discusses the sense of isolation utilized by Susan Glaspell in her story "A Jury of Her Peers". Glaspell accommodates isolation in her story through her depiction of Minnie Wright and of her home. She starts off the story by describing the home of Minnie and John Wright as "lonesome looking" and "in a hollow". A place that is detached from the town and down "a lonesome stretch of road", as Mr. Hale states. A place that Mrs. Hale wished she had visited, but never "seemed" to have the time to do so. Allowing the reader to see that the people never bothered to take their own time to visit the very secluded and never "cheerful place". Minnie Wright, a character, also gives off a sense of detachment in her depiction from other characters. For instance, Mrs. Hale described Mrs. Wright as a girl who "stood up there in the choir and sang" as a girl, but now was a woman who seemed "queer".
In this week’s lesson we have learned setting and character coincide with each other. In the story “A Jury of Her Peers” the setting reflect the Wrights lifestyle and the characters involved have a isolated or secluded vibe to it. The home of the Wrights ‘ ”never seemed a cheerful place.” This gives it an uneasy vibe. Also, you can assume that Mr. Wright and Mrs. Wright were not very social. To support this Mrs. Hale states “she was like a bird herself.” This was because Mrs. Wright loved to sing but when Mr. Wright snapped birds neck she too snapped. To coincide Mrs. Wright and the canary is that they both loved to sing and she but when she married Mr. Wright that soon faded and the bird represented Mrs. Wright. The setting in “A Jury of Her Peers” it represents isolation and it reflects off of the characters.
Throughout A Jury of Her Peers, Glaspell throws a heavy atmosphere of isolation over the character’s heads. The setting is based off Mrs. Wright and her surroundings, so the character’s can grasp a better perspective on where her motives rooted from. Glaspell slowly unpieces Mrs. Wright’s environment, so with each sentence we are deeper in the feeling of isolation, and getting a better understanding of Mrs. Wright and her intentions. Mrs. Wright is the main symbol of isolation in the story-- everything associated with her has roots of solitude. Starting off, her house is “lonesome-looking”, and far apart from the rest of the world. She is also very emotionally isolated, her husband only hinders her, such as Mrs. Hale states, “I don't think a place would be any the cheerfuller for John Wright's,” adding to Mrs. Wright’s emotional separation from lack of husband support. Also, there is an uninviting connotation associated with her, preventing others like Mrs. Hale from befriending the lonely lady. Moreover, we can say, parallel to her caged bird, Mrs. Wright was caged in isolation, her character is drenched in loneliness. Glaspell also includes isolation in gender. Women are left out because their opinion is not valued. For example, Mr Hale states, “women are used to worrying over trifles.” There is a variation of different types of solitude presented in the story, but I believe Glaspell’s focal point was Mrs. Wright’s physical and emotional distance which promoted the plot of John Wright’s murder.
The setting of the story A Jury of her Peers takes place in a rural community in the early twentieth century; during this era there was very few opportunities for women, their only job was to do house work and care for the children. They either lived happily married with children, or with someone in a loveless and childless marriage; like Minnie. Throughout the story we are introduced to the various types of isolation the setting suggests, such as emotional, and social. For example, Mr. Wright never allowed Minnie to sew herself or buy a nice dress, just to make her feel down, this shows emotional isolation because he made her feel unworthy of leaving the house and participating in social activities, this emotional isolation leads to social isolation because Minnie does not want to go out in public for feeling unworthy of to. As Mrs. Hales says: “but I don’t think a place would be any the cheerfuller for John wright’s bein’ in it”, it demonstrates another example of Minnie being emotionally isolated because it shows how Minnie and many others did not appreciated Mr. Wrights presence. From these two examples of isolation, we get an impression of the emptiness and loneliness of Minnie’s life.
Throught the “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Keating Glaspell, Glaspell gives evidence that the Wrights live isolated from everyone else. “Gone up a little hill and could see the wright place now” indicating that the house can’t be seen from any other angle, which is isolated and the house has “always been a lonesome-looking place.” Mary Helen Washington makes this true when she says “that it’s a half a day's journey to Wright's home, that requires getting a horse and buggy so you have, again, a sense that women's lives are even much more isolated because of the prairie.” This isolation was what changed Minnie Foster personality from a happy women from “wearing pretty clothes and be lively” to wearing shabby black clothes, Minnie no longer cared how she looked because nobody ever came to visit her and made her isolated. Mrs. Peters mentions “we lived close together, and we live far apart” that minnie used to be a neighbor until she married and a happy person, that loved to sing.
Leslie, I agree that in the "A jury of her peers" Glaspell uses a "Lonesome looking place" to indicate that the wrights home is isolated making Mrs. Wrights isolated from her old friends and change her to not caring about her appearance.
Jesus wrote: "In the story "A Jury of Her Peers", the setting plays a major role in the story. The setting gives the story and the characters a sense of isolation because first of all, the house that the story t..."Jesus, I agree with your statement that the two major indicators of Minnie being isolated are the setting, which is the home and her being "caged" by her husband. As well as Minnie feeling like a bird thats lonely and as if nobodys with her.
In these week's video, we view that the Mary Washington mentioned isolation to describe the story "A Jury of her Peers." The intended effect that left on the audience of her description of the story was very precise. In the story it describes the setting to be located at a place that was away from neighbors and people in which it gives a reason to why Mrs. Washington described it like that. In addition in the story it stated that Mrs. Hales described her own home to be very lonely. Also it gives the reader a view of how isolation comes to play as an description for the story.
In this week's video Mary Helen Washington points out the effect of the setting in "A jury of her peers." The setting of "A jury of her peers" takes place in a distant place from the civilization. After Minnie Foster married Mr. Wright they moved to live in a home described by Martha as "never seemed a cheerful place" and Mrs. Wright said to feel "caged" in the house because Mr. Wright wanted her to be in there, isolating her. Also when Mrs. Wright tries to convince her husband about getting a house phone Mr. Wright says "folks talk too much" creating a thought of isolation being caused by him and as an effect Mrs. Wright is also affected by this. She is not only isolated physically but also psychologically because as the story presents to the reader Mrs. Wright was basically inside that house all the time with no means of possible communication as a prisoner. The only company she had was from the bird.
Eunice wrote: "Throught the “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Keating Glaspell, Glaspell gives evidence that the Wrights live isolated from everyone else. “Gone up a little hill and could see the wright place now” i..."I agree with you Eunice, being physically isolated is what impacted Minnie immensely, perhaps if it weren't for that she wouldn't have murdered her husband.
Jennifer wrote: "In the short narrative, "A Jury of Her Peers," lay many different examples of isolation. For instance, the Wright's home, is a place itself isolated from most of the other homes, it is described as..."I like the point you made about the place not being cheerful because it was so isolated and there were no visitors. I agree that perhaps if she did have company, the house would look a bit more cheerful for the anticipation of visitors. Also, she would have not felt so isolated therefore maybe she would of portrayed that in the look of her house.
LUPITA wrote: "In this weeks video, Mary Helen Washington spoke about isolation in the story "A Jury of Her Peers" written by Susan Keating Glaspell. Throughout this story, Glaspell describes Minnie Foster's hous..."I agree that that maybe the fact that the Wrights lived so isolated because Mr. Wright did not like people. I could not imagine living in such a way without the ability to just hop in a car and visit others. This huge amount of isolation took a toll on Minnie after such a long time.
Jesus wrote: "In the story "A Jury of Her Peers", the setting plays a major role in the story. The setting gives the story and the characters a sense of isolation because first of all, the house that the story t..."Very well written especially with the use of Mrs.Wrights own point of view. This gives the reader, not only the point of view of outsiders to the home, but its own occupants POV to understand how lonesome the home was from the inside out.
Leslie wrote: "In this week's video Mary Helen Washington discusses the idea of isolation in which Susan Glaspell incorporates in her story "A Jury of Her Peers". Throughout the story, Glaspell gives off a sense ..."Really enjoy how you interpreted the POV of just not the characters but of a reader in itself, portraying how not only the characters saw it as a lonesome home. Very well explained and great use of content and vocabulary.
In, "A Jury of Her Peers," isolation is prominent throughout the story. The feel of isolation is what creates a feel of what may soon be coming for the reader to read. During Martha Hale's conversation with Mrs. Peters she looks out onto a forest of, "lonesome looking trees". Loneliness & isolation is portrayed through the appearance of the outside world as well as the feel of the air inside the house. Later Mrs. Hale admits that she feels she, "let [Mrs. Wright] die for lack of life," as though Mrs. Wright was like the canary, full of life when able to sing for others, but it is neglect & abuse that silenced it.
Eunice wrote: "Jesus wrote: "In the story "A Jury of Her Peers", the setting plays a major role in the story. The setting gives the story and the characters a sense of isolation because first of all, the house th..."I agree with your response because it is true of the description the story gives about the house and the way Mrs. Hales describes it.
Jennifer wrote: "Throughout A Jury of Her Peers, Glaspell throws a heavy atmosphere of isolation over the character’s heads. The setting is based off Mrs. Wright and her surroundings, so the character’s can grasp a..."Great response, i really did enjoy it. I liked how you added textual evidence to prove you point. Also, i liked how you described the emotional isolation. Overall, great job.
Jennifer wrote: "In the short narrative, "A Jury of Her Peers," lay many different examples of isolation. For instance, the Wright's home, is a place itself isolated from most of the other homes, it is described as..."Jennifer, I do agree with you in the fact that the location of the Wrights' home may have been the reason It wasn't so "cheerful" as other characters have stated. In fact, it may have also played a part in affecting Minnie Wright's personality.
Traci wrote: "Within this weeks video, Mary Helen Washington discussed the sense of isolation in "A Jury of Her Peers" written by Susan Keating Glaspell. When reading this story, Glaspell gives us clues that the..."I agree with you, the author of this story really knew how to communicate the feeling of isolation well. I also agree with the types of isolation that you discussed however I myself did not discuss the fact that they did not have kids but that sure was part of the isolation that Mrs. Wright felt.
LUPITA wrote: "In this weeks video, Mary Helen Washington spoke about isolation in the story "A Jury of Her Peers" written by Susan Keating Glaspell. Throughout this story, Glaspell describes Minnie Foster's hous..."I agree with you as well, this story emphasizes a lot on the description of the geographical isolation as well as how the house itself looks and feels. I think the author conveys the sense of isolation very well throughout the story.
Traci wrote: "Within this weeks video, Mary Helen Washington discussed the sense of isolation in "A Jury of Her Peers" written by Susan Keating Glaspell. When reading this story, Glaspell gives us clues that the..."I agree with your point of view Miss. Li-Yuen.I absolutely loved the detail in certain points that you use, that can be described with the basic point of isolation.
Leslie wrote: "In this week's video Mary Helen Washington discusses the idea of isolation in which Susan Glaspell incorporates in her story "A Jury of Her Peers". Throughout the story, Glaspell gives off a sense ..."I agree with you Leslie that due to Mrs. Wrights isolation her personality has changed all together. From singing in the choir to turning into a very isolated women, it may have been all "due to the isolation she had to endure from her home and husband" as you stated in your discussion.
Miguel wrote: "The story sounded really isolated since the beginning. Just the fact that in order to reach the place they had to cross a hill. Mrs. Wrights did not have any children to lighten up the house, makin..."I agree with your comment Miss. Ivette. What I like more of your comment, is the part to like a the caged bird related to the life of Miss. Wright.
Alvaro wrote: "There are a number of isolations suggested by the story "A Jury of Her Peers". The first type of isolation that is presented in the story is a physical isolation. This is when the narrator describe..."I agree with you Alvaro when you say that the writer used both an internal and external way to show that Mrs. Wright was in an isolated state. With being far away from most people, to being like the bird she owned, Mrs. Wright was isolated in more than one way as you mentioned.
A Jury of Her Peers not only touches on physical isolation but also suggests psychological isolation, which are both greatly prompted by the setting portrayed in the story. The setting plays a major role in the story as it is described as a "lonesome looking place" by the narrator and is, in fact, secluded from other houses and the city. In the story, it is mentioned that aside from it's seclusion and isolation, it also takes "half a day's travel on a buggy" to reach the Wright's home. The narrator also mentions that Mrs. Wright has no children and only finds company in a bird. A deep connection is made with both Mrs. Wright and the caged bird. Through the caged bird the reader's can relate it to Mrs. Wright's feeling of being caged in her own household and even more so when the bird, her only source of company and solace, is killed by her own husband. Throughout the whole story Mrs. Wright is made up to be lonely and isolated from everyone, greatly due to the story's setting.
Alvaro wrote: "There are a number of isolations suggested by the story "A Jury of Her Peers". The first type of isolation that is presented in the story is a physical isolation. This is when the narrator describe..."Alvaro, I agree that there are a number of isolations suggested in the story. Throughout the story it shows what forms isolation it manifests itself from physical to emotionally.
Alvaro wrote: "There are a number of isolations suggested by the story "A Jury of Her Peers". The first type of isolation that is presented in the story is a physical isolation. This is when the narrator describe..."I like how you described not only physical isolation but as well as internal isolation. Being physically isolated may be a reason why Minnie murdered her husband, but being emotionally isolated plays a huge aspect as well.
Esmeralda wrote: "In the story “A Jury in Her Peers” there is a lot of ways it is shown a sense isolation throughout the story, but the most obvious one is the symbolism of the bird in the cage. Mrs. Wright is compa..."I agree with you with the comparison you have made with Mrs. Wright to the bird in the cage. This does show that the story has a sense of isolation.
LUPITA wrote: "In this weeks video, Mary Helen Washington spoke about isolation in the story "A Jury of Her Peers" written by Susan Keating Glaspell. Throughout this story, Glaspell describes Minnie Foster's hous..."I agree that the Wright's home was indeed "lonesome looking" and the description of it alone allows the reader to see how secluded it is from civilization. I also do believe that John Wright is responsible for the isolation of the home.
Maya wrote: "A Jury of Her Peers suggests both physical and non-physical isolation, both caused by the setting of the story. Most evident is the physical and temporal setting, an agricultural and isolated north..."I do agree that the setting Susan Glaspell incorporated in her story did give off a sense of isolation, a sense that affected Minnie Wright's social life. I also concur with you in the representation of the canary with Wrights' marriage.
Brandon wrote: "A sense of isolation is most definitely involved in, “A Jury of Her Peers”. One form of isolation, in itself, would be the home in general. The Wright’s home is said to be located on a “lonesome st..."I agree with you Brandon, in that the home was a form of isolation in the story.
Andrew wrote: "In "A Jury of Her Peers", the isolation of the setting is introduced initially throughout the story. The isolation of the setting around the Wright's home soak copiously into the characters. During..."I agree with you Andrew in the aspect that the box also portrays the isolation that Mrs. Wright feels in her own home.
Li-Yuen wrote: "The Wrights’ home is a place physically too far for anyone to visit frequently and emotionally detached from anyone who would want to visit. It’s “up a little hill” and down a path the characters v..."I agree with Yuen when she quotes the story saying "The Wright's home is a place physically too far for anyone. Throughout the passage the narrator gives multiple examples on how deserted and isolate Mrs. Wright was.
Julio wrote: "In this week’s video, Mary Helen Washington touched upon the themes of isolation within the story “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell where Minnie Wright (Foster) allegedly murdered her husband..."I couldn't agreed more with Julio. The house of the Wright's is described as lonesome and the surroundings as well. The narrator does a great job of describing the house as "unwelcoming" which the reader can assume that visitors were not welcomed.
Eliana from what I understood we share the same perspective on what is considered "isolation " in the story, "A Jury of Her Peers" written by Susan Keating Glaspell. Although it was somewhat of a depressing topic it seemed as if your interpretation was knowledgeable . Based off of what you said "Isolation plays an important roll in this story,it helps the reader recognize and understand the tragedy of the past.", I was able to understand the story from the perspective of someone else.
In “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Keating Glaspell , there were many times when the atmosphere of isolation was reciprocated for example , the reasoning for Mrs. Hale not visiting Mrs. Wright was because of physical isolation "It had always been a lonesome looking-place” during these times it was almost impossible to be sent somewhere without an escort or chaperone, furthermore this was also a time when women were seen as less of a person in the eyes of society. The men who had gone over to investigate the murder of Mr. Wright did not value the opinion of the women they assumed that since the majority of their time was spent in the kitchen they would not be prepared on what evidence to pursue . Throughout the story there is conflict and the explanation for not being able to sustain a steady visitation with Mrs. Wright leads to her ,based off conclusion and evidence , loosing her ground . The overall conclusion was based off of the restrictions that Mrs. Wright faced from those who weren't aware of her physical , mental and emotional position.
Leslie I strongly disagree I do not believe that her grief was caused by only her husband and her surroundings . Minnie had the option of leaving with her bird she chose not to out of free will. The social status of her husband may have caused somewhat of a strain but just that and nothing more. She could have chosen to a different path one that could have made both parties happy both Mr. Wright and Minnie but instead one of them ended up dead.
Arely wrote: "The setting of the story A Jury of her Peers takes place in a rural community in the early twentieth century; during this era there was very few opportunities for women, their only job was to do ho..."Yes, you described the emotional and social aspect of Minnie's life but forgot to input the setting of the story. The two examples used did show her isolation but did not describe how the setting effected the character.
Ashley wrote: "Mary Helen Washington discusses the sense of isolation utilized by Susan Glaspell in her story "A Jury of Her Peers". Glaspell accommodates isolation in her story through her depiction of Minnie Wr..."The isolation of the setting of Minnie's house is correct and the fact that the distance played a part in the detachment of her peers is true as well.
In the video for this week, "A Jury of her Peers" written by Glaspell. Glaspell does an oustanding job describing Minnie Fosters emotions. We are able to greatly visualize and grasp how she is feeling. We are informed how Fosters house is very secluded and isolated. Another way the author explained just how isolated the house was is how they never had any visitors. The story explains how before Minnie Foster was married she was a happy person. Once she got married many things changed, along with her moving to an isolated location. We notice how being isolated and secluded was very harmful to her and her mind by all these occurrences that went through her head and how her mood is abruptly different in the end of the story, even as the sheriff is questioning her.
In the video that we had to view this week, Mary Helen Washington describes the sense of isolation in the short story, "A Jury of Her Peers." Throughout the beginning, and as the story progresses, there are many ways how the story is shown as isolated. For example the setting is describing that the house, "has always been a lonesome looking place, down in a hollow and the trees were lonesome looking trees". Susan Keating Glaspell uses the word "lonesome" twice in this short story to emphasize that the setting is not much of a lively place at all. Another word that Glaspell uses in her writing is "hollow". The word hollow gives itself a very unpleasant and dark tone. With the words giving off a vibe that most do not want to associate with, Washington was able to see this and use it as a way for her to describe isolation as a setting trait.
In the story,” A Jury of Her Peers,” Mary Helen Washington from the video points out the effects of isolation throughout the story. The story is taking place at Mrs. Wright’s farm house which is isolated from the rest of the houses that are surrounded. The house is described as a “lonesome-looking place.” As the author is able to describe the characteristics of the house, it gives us an image of how lonely it is. Although the house seems departed from others, so does the person who lives in it for example, Mrs. Wright. She feels as if she’s being isolated from her own home as well as having the feeling of her own husband detaching from her. She feels as if “she couldn’t do her part” which leads her to feel isolated. An example being, the birdcage. In the story the birdcage is seen as the role women have been made forced into society while the cage shows a representation of men. This might’ve been how Mrs. Wright felt with her husband, as if she didn’t get treated the way she wanted to be or at least deserved.
LUPITA wrote: "In this weeks video, Mary Helen Washington spoke about isolation in the story "A Jury of Her Peers" written by Susan Keating Glaspell. Throughout this story, Glaspell describes Minnie Foster's hous..."I agree that the characteristics of the home has given it the quality of a "lonesome" looking house in which is isolated from everyone else. Just like the example you used about the phone, gives us a brief description of how they stay away from all social aspects.
Andrew wrote: "In "A Jury of Her Peers", the isolation of the setting is introduced initially throughout the story. The isolation of the setting around the Wright's home soak copiously into the characters. During..."I agree with you how the not only the place but the characters itself can show a representation of isolationism. Just like how you gave an example of Mrs. Wright being affected herself.
The women described in the video by Mary Helen Washington, seem almost as prisoners in their own world. This is backed by the text as the women are described as, "Concerned with trifles" by the men who are like the wardens in their home prisons. The broken bird cage as well as the dead bird perfectly personify the seemingly pacific women.
