Literal Comparison of A Jury of Her Peers, and Trifles - Essay Example

? Literal Comparison of “A Jury of her Peers”Versus “Trifles” “A Jury of Her Peers” (1917) and “Trifles” (1916) are a short story and a play by the author Susan Glaspell. The former is an adaptation or rather a derivation from the play. In an attempt to compare these two literary works, certain aspects have to be considered and these will be brought to light as the paper progresses. The first thing which denotes a contrast of Glaspell’s work, are the titles which she has assigned to them. This difference in titles somewhat signals to the audience that there are two different focuses which are between the short story and the play. The title “Trifles” appears to inform the audience that the play is about particular or specific objects and this is depicted by the focus put on the objects that judge Minnie Foster. The play progresses in a smooth manner from one episode to the next each episode being about a particular thing that makes more to be known about the events. The title “A Jury of Her Peers” notifies the audience that it will mostly focus on the characters of Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. The short story gives provision for more description particularly of the information of the interaction of the characters; it also allows for more insight into the cognition of the characters which is contrary to the insight that the audience would achieve by watching actors on a stage. This brings about a shift of judgment from the actual objects in the play while Mrs. Peters and Hale interpret them for the audience. The audience is required to give the judgment of Minnie Foster to Peters and Hale by giving readers a little more insight into how they are internalizing the entire episode (Ben-Zvi 1). As mentioned thereon earlier, “A Jury of her Peers” is an edition gotten form the play. “Trifles” is written in a play version while the short story, “A Jury of Her Peers” is written in prose form. The short story is written from a storyteller’s perspective which means that the third person identity is the one in application. Alternatively, the play is narrated in form of a speech characterized by numerous explanations about the actions of the characters. The form of speech in the play is direct while in the short story it is reported. With reference to this, it therefore leads to the application of language which is of great significance as it provides true sense of the content through allowing display of emotions as well as tone variations ("Trifles vs. a Jury of Her Peers" 1). The two stories are similar in settings as well as context but nevertheless, they have different presentations and semantics. The main focus is hence to analyze these two literary works and in turn come up with differences like the one discussed above but now in their form of writing and the indirect environment and sense. The story “A Jury of her Peers” comes out as rich in semantics when compared to the drama. This opinion is supported by some of the explanations of the dealings exhibited by the characters which are interchanged in the real version of trifles. For example, in “A Jury of her Peers”, the storyteller states that, “then Sheriff Peters stepped back from the stove, unbuttoned his outer coat, and leaned his hands on the kitchen table.........” which is contrary from the original version of rifles which goes like: “SHERRIF [Unbuttoning his overcoat and stepping away from the stove as if to mark the beginning of official business.] Now…” The act of stepping away from the stove while unbuttoning his outer is different in the two versions. The true definition of what denotes the official business is also not found in between the two versions. A controversy arises where one is left wondering whether if leaning on the kitchen table or unbuttoning the coat is the beginning of official business. There are no detailed wordings and actions in the play because the tale does not focus on irrelevant information which cannot be set as direct dialogue or contemplation linking the characters. Cognitive thinking of every character and acts are elaborated in depth in the short story (Ben-Zvi 2). Feelings of each character as well as thoughts are captured concurrently to the course of the story. For example, Mrs. Hales thinks about how her husband wanders in speech and says that he should not act simultaneously when he begins to narrate his tale. The prose format enables the reader to from somewhat of a psychological picture of the story as it flows scene by scene. The contrast of the tone is depicted in the move from dramatic to prose. The tone applied in the dramatic formal is characterized by being formal and somber. The formal aspect of the tone is depicted as words are not used or wasted in the elaboration of the actions which are not troubled with the instant step of the characters or rather the indirect denotation of the stage show. The somber mood of the tone is explained by the fact that there is no space for play or for other thoughts for that matter. Contrary to the drama, the tone under the prose format is featured by side thoughts as well as remarks. There is allowance for the use of sarcasm and condescending tones. The wife of the sheriff is depicted as an unsettled character while Mrs. Hale is disdainful ("Trifles vs. a Jury of Her Peers" 1). She is even in a position to inform the attorney right on their face that men are unclean. The tone of the format in prose hence comes out as being filled with confidence as opposed to the dramatic format which is defined by a sympathetic tone. Further depiction is found in the explanation of the death of the bird and how it was discovered. The dramatic format on the other hand is taken aback by the fact that, the neck of the bird was wrung. In the prose format, Mrs. Peters confidently notifies others of what she has found. Imagery has been depicted in the short story’s prose format more than it has appeared in the dramatic format. Some meanings which are implied are also more frequent in the latter’s format as opposed to the former’s format. This is due to the ability of the prose format to make known the thoughts of the characters which is contrary to the dramatic format of the play. The insinuation that Mrs. Wright was unclean is broadly elaborated upon in the prose format as opposed to the dramatic format. The reason being that Mrs. Hale disregards sitting on the chair due to its description witnessed in a former scene. The application of the bird, the cat and the cage imply that there is some sort of relationship with the killing of Mr. Wright. It is hence the connotation of the short story that the man had been killed a sentiment not shared by the dramatic version of the story (Ben-Zvi 5). Conclusively, Trifles which is the original, story written in the dramatic format, brings about short alterations in its context and meaning and thus affects the opinion of the account by the intended reader. Emotions and feelings are not in any way part of the tone applied in the former’s dramatic format as compared to the latter’s prose format. Comparing the two stories, the short story version, is characterized by better description and content that its counterpart. “A Jury of Her Peers” thus is most preferable of the two. Work cited "Trifles vs. a Jury of Her Peers" StudyMode.com. 10 2008. 10 2008 . Ben-Zvi, L., ed. Susan Glaspell: Essays on Her Theater and Fiction, University of Michigan Press, 1995. Read More