Connections in Trifles by Susan Glaspell - Book Report/Review Example

Connections in Trifles by Susan Glaspell The life experiences of every person go towards making him or her what they are. What that person becomes allows them to create their own destiny, happiness, and achieve their potential. But circumstances, values, attitudes and wider society can aid or prevent such self-fulfillment, and that can lead to dangerous outcomes. Expectations may be lowered, self-worth diminished and the results can be either catastrophic, or maybe provide a chance to review life and make important positive decisions. These are the issues that connect the poem ‘Harlem’ by Langston Hughes, ‘Trifles’ by Susan Glaspell, and ‘Everyday Use’ by Alice Walker; specifically, how dreams or aspirations are necessary for personal growth, and that they impact on everyone’s life. The three pieces are placed in different settings, with varied themes; Hughes warned of potential for destruction if dreams were put aside; Walker showed differing views on culture and heritage, and Glaspell explored gender differences, moral choices and women’s rights. All contained the ‘dream’ metaphor in some form, that essential part of reaching self-fulfillment. It is not enough to be well-fed, clothed and warm, we must always seek to achieve our potential. In the three pieces, there is evidence of striving for that. Hughes asked the rhetorical question, “What happens to a dream deferred? (l.1), metaphorically and symbolically answering it with the sensory imagery of waste and decay: “Does it stink like rotten meat?” (l. 6), “Or fester like a sore – “ (l. 4). Mama, in ‘Everyday Use’ (Walker, 1973) exposed her relationship with her daughter Dee, in the opening paragraphs of the story, with her dream. “Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a TV program…I am the way my daughter would want me to be: a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake.” Mama had already told us her reality, dispelling the dream images with gentle, sardonic wit, with a tone of acceptance of their differences, unlike the angry tone of ‘Harlem’. Mama showed their separate values and attitudes and that she was content with her lot and happy with her place in society. Hughes and Dee wanted more, and Mama told how fiercely Dee worked to achieve this. In a different time and place, but with a similar, austere rural setting, Susan Glaspell’s ‘Trifles’ depicted the destruction of Minnie Wright’s dreams, picked over by uncaring male authority, but recognized by the women there. Mrs. Hale’s description of Minnie suggested a young woman full of hope and happiness, with dreams, in fact. “She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster,…singing in the choir.” (Glaspell, 1916) A connection to ‘Harlem’ occurred with the imagery of “Or crust and sugar over - / like a syrupy sweet.” (l. 7-8), reflected in ‘Trifles’ with similar meaning: “It’s a shame about her fruit. I wonder if its all gone.” A senseless, sticky waste is called to mind with both statements. These small things take on great significance in both pieces, setting a tone of regret and foreshadowing a disaster to come, the explosion when dreams are destroyed. In contrast, Walker’s Maggie and Mama had less aspirations to break out or away from the hardworking, old fashioned life they led; they understood and accepted their heritage and culture very differently from Dee. She, even as a child, had the determination and ambition to realize her dreams: “She was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts.” (Walker, 1973). The author put the point of view “but at what price?” as the story moved to explore the symbolic importance of the quilts, yet another connection between the two stories, and one that can possibly be related to ‘Harlem’, as will be mentioned later. ‘Harlem’s’ small things combined to become a metaphor for trouble brewing, people discounted, kept seething in a place and situation that denied them access to the right to achieve happiness, live their dreams. Minnie’s trifles metaphorically represented the same sense of denial, foreboding and ultimate catastrophe. The murder of a cruel, mean spirited man, in her case, and in ‘Harlem’ a backlash from a whole community were the outcomes. The small, everyday things that people use to make a life were ultimately not enough. But for Maggie and Mama, with different values, they were. Dee’s views highlighted this and that her perceptions were so different: “You just don’t understand…Your heritage…It’s really a new day for us. But from the way that you and Mama still live you’d never know it.” (Walker, 1973) The ‘new day’ was what Hughes was hoping for, a chance to rise up and make dreams of a better life come true, but in ‘Everyday Use’ the feeling was that in Dee’s achievements, she had lost something of her heritage along the way. A question arises as to whether Maggie and Mama were right to stay as they were, but if they were happy, then who was to try to change that? Minnie Wright seized the chance of her ‘new day’ by taking her life back in an explosion of violent action, recognized as having a moral justification. Hughes’ explosion too, contained the same moral rights, with its stark warning of what could happen in such circumstances. The main metaphor in ‘Everyday Use’ had to be the quilts and what they meant to the women in defining characters, values and life views. In ‘Trifles’, the quilt was symbol, metaphor and resolution. Before examining the quilts and connections in these two stories, it might be suggested that ‘Harlem’ too, has its quilt. The sensory image of “Maybe just sags / like a heavy load. (l. 9-10) could be applied to the physical qualities of a quilt; not just a cover, but as with Minnie, an emblem of a burden, wearing down the creators and owners of the important item. The condition of Minnie’s quilt, where the quality of work had deteriorated, described her state of mind before she ‘exploded’. Mrs. Hale’s interpretation and attempts to rectify the damage, explained the realities of Minnie’s life of duty and isolation, and foreshadowed how female solidarity would affect the outcome. It was almost as if making the quilt kept her sane, or was at least a way of dealing with her circumstances. With Dee and Maggie, the quilts denoted their different values and perceptions and how they viewed their history and heritage. Dee outwardly embraced her African roots, calling herself Wangero, and wanted to “Hang them” to enhance and define herself, to show off to others in fact. Maggie’s intended use and her appreciation of the history they represented seemed based on a more genuine set of cultural values, but the question remained as to whether this was the case. The ambiguity in the words “Hang them” suggested a killing off of old ways in favor of Dee’s more modern views of the status of African American women. The hanging motif, the “knot it, Mr. Henderson” is reflected in ‘Trifles’, in a different context but with equally significant and similar meaning. The words here implied the truth about the murder, the circumstances of Minnie’s life and the potential for a better, freer future for her. Dee and Minnie might well have had a lot in common. In addition, the imagery in ‘Harlem’ of “…just sags / like a heavy load” (l. 9-10), calls to mind a body swinging from a rope, powerful and threatening, yet denoting despair and loss. The literary structures of the three pieces are, of course different, the tones, settings and themes created different moods. Hughes’ voice is angry and despairing, while containing the threat of violence. ‘Trifles’ proposes two opposing views, moral or legal justification for murder, in a rural white community, with emphasis on the status of married women; the violence is subtler but always present. The tones vary from regret to irony and ultimately to triumph. Walker gives several viewpoints, with an easygoing relaxed tone, some satire and irony too, and raises questions as to whether Maggie needs to make changes, as advised by Dee. Maggie could quilt for herself, Dee could not, but that skill identified her own potential for happiness, her way to keep her heritage, culture and dreams intact. Mama, in taking the quilts from Dee, agreed with Maggie’s way. The sister considered backward, and maybe less valuable in a wider society, gained the mother’s support and kept her inheritance and her own self worth. “Maggie smiled; maybe at the sunglasses. But a real smile, not scared.” (Walker 1973) Minnie’s quilt became her cover and protection, and if given the peace to go ahead and “knot it”, could remake her life. The explosion Hughes warned of, did indeed take place, sadly with the violence he foresaw, but with positive change too. All three pieces confirm that life experiences go help to make people what they are and that we all have dreams and aspirations. The realization of these will make us happier and more fulfilled. All pinpoint the human need for self-actualization and to recognize everyone’s rights and worth. They all contain the message of the dangers to society and individuals if circumstances, values and negative attitudes prevent people from achieving their potential, living the way they want to, and hopefully, making their dreams come true. The pieces also demonstrate that everybody has different dreams, different ways to live a happy and fulfilled life, and that these should be acknowledged and accepted, without prejudice because of the differences, so that everyone can make their own decisions for their life. The connections in these pieces express universal truths about the human condition and the right to follow our dreams. Works Cited Glaspell, Susan. Trifles 1916. 22 July 2007 from: http://www.repeatafterus.com/print.php?i=7492 Hughes, Langston. Harlem 1926. Walker, Alice. Everyday Use 1973. 22 July 2007 from: http://www.bow.k12nh.us/jmcdermott/everyday_use_by_alice_walker.htm Read More