Discussion 2

The first couple of lectures framed literary analysis as a kind of detective work, where you need to look closely at any details that pop out (peculiarities) or anything that seems to form a suggestive pattern. The larger things (plot and character) are more obvious, but it's the small details that often add up to what a story is really about.

This week's Posting will have two parts

You will be looking at smaller details to try to figure out what they add to your understanding of Susan Glaspell's "Trifles," and you will then select one (JUST ONE!) of the three other readings to compare/contrast to the play. NOTE: the plots do NOT parallel, but some of the central ideas/theemes DO.

• First, in a detailed paragraph with concrete quoted/cited examples, discuss the significance of the title of Susan Glaspell's short play "Trifles"? How do small, seemingly-trivial, details in the murder mystery suggest what really happened in the farmhouse? NOTE: some of the details, like the knotted stitch, might even be symbolic of what really went on.

  Unraveling the mystery with small (not huge, glaring) bits of evidence (much like modern forensic science) is a fairly literal device that explains the title, but how else is the worrd trifles used in the story? Is there a second story here that is an attempt to justify the murder.

Hint: Glaspell actually re-wrote this as a short story and later as a short screenplay; the title for both of those versions was "A Jury of Her Peers."

In a second paragraph (in the same discussion) explore how some ideas in the play overlap, while some ideas contrast with, just one of the following.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to spread the class out (last semester everyone wanted to write about the same shorter work), your last name will determine WHICH of those three you will be Comparing/Contrasting with "Trifles."

• If your last name begins with A-F; you will be discussing "The Applicant" by Harold Pinter

• If your last name begins with G-M, you will be discussing "The Unicorn in the Garden" by James Thurber

• If your last name begins with N-Z, you will be discussion "You Were Perfectly Fine" by Dorothy Parker

Yes, I know, you might not like that, but it is the only way to keep everyone jumping on the Thurber story and saying the same things over and over. Sadly, many don't really get how different the story is from "Trifles" (though they DO overlap in spots). HINT: it is not about women's lack of empowerment; none of these are, and, in a way, even "Trifles" is about empowerment in an incredibly sexist time and place.

NOTES

The first part of this discussion topic is pretty easy; the second part might prove more challenging. Try to have some fun with it :)

And although the second POST topic has been selected for you, you are completely free to REPLY about any of those shorter works, though do try to bring fresh things and examples if possible.

There should be no "I think," "I feel," "I believe," or "In my opinion" sorts of statements; you need to show you can sift through examples/evidence that demonstrate your conclusions.

VERY IMPORTANT: I am a member of this class, and I will be peppering the board with tips, hints, ideas. You really DO want to pay attention to my comments. Oh, sometimes they are just silly things, but very often I will drop clues that can help you answer these queestions :).

Once again, as always, your posting should be about 300 (or more) words; each of your responses should be about 200 (or more) words. And be sure you have direct quotations from the works along with properly-done parenthetical citations following those quoted passages.