Preview

Comparing A Jury Of Her Peers And Helen Reddy's Song I Am Woman

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1081 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing A Jury Of Her Peers And Helen Reddy's Song I Am Woman
Bonds So Strong, Murder Can’t Break Them Intertextuality suggest that all works of literature are in some way connected and are telling the same story, but in different viewpoints. Whether the author is aware or not, they are influenced from other works. It could be from a song heard, a movie seen, or a book read, but the author will in some way intertwine other works within their writing consciously or not. In Susan Glaspell’s short story “A Jury of Her Peers” and Helen Reddy’s song “I Am Woman”, intertextuality is not necessary evident, however, you can derive the same meanings from the two. While Glaspell may be unaware of her message of the empowerment of women, especially being that the story was written in 1917, Reddy’s is quite clear. …show more content…
Glaspell’s story is from the perspective of Martha Hale, who has been called to the home of Minnie Foster Wright, a neighbor, that has been accused of killing her husband. While you may focus on the storyline of the woman killing her husband as I did at first, once you reread the story you can grasp the message of women banning together to protect once another. Mrs. Hale responds to the county attorney of his comment on the state of Minnie’s home that, “There’s a great deal of work to be done on a farm…….Men’s hands aren’t always as clean as they might be.” (690). While the attorney is being scornful of the state of home, Mrs. Hale has a quick retort in the defense of her neighbor. Just as in Reddy’s song stating “I am woman, hear me roar/In numbers too big to ignore” (lines 1-2). In other words, women stick together and by doing so we have a strong voice. Both Glaspell and Reddy show how woman are always quick to defend our sex. It could be that we have a better understanding of each other and in that will extend our understanding to the most unlikely of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell reflected the time period where men dominated women. Over the years the roles that men and women play in society have been changed tremendously. It used to be that women were solely confined to house work, cooking, and taking care of their children. The men in most families were considered to be the winners in the household. In “A Jury of Her Peers” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the author’s symbolism and imagery to inform in conveying the place of women in society, and their struggle with gender inequality…

    • 1211 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the 1900’s, women have struggled with gender roles in society that leaned more in favor of men. Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles, reflects on this struggle by blatantly separating the ideas, opinions and actions of the men and women in the play. As the title Trifles suggests, the men in the play view the two women’s concerns as unimportant and frivolous in comparison to the “real” work the men have to do. Glaspell’s characterization of the sheriff, Henry Peters, the attorney, George Henderson, and the neighboring farmer, Mr. Hale, portrays them as typical men of the time who decide to take charge because, as men, that is their duty and only they know what can be done and how to go about discovering the truth. They only take along Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters to collect some things for Mrs. Wright, never taking a moment to think that from a woman’s perspective, the answer to the murder could be found.…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “When it was said that it was done to please a woman, there ought perhaps to be enough said to explain anything; for what a man will not do to please a woman is yet to be discovered” (Chestnutt 30). In the “Passing of Grandison” and “Editha” both authors bring to light the ideas of women and the impact they have on the actions of men. Both Charity and Editha have used their influence as women to convince their partners, Dick and George, of completing tasks they would not have done, other than for the love a woman.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between one story and another deepens our appreciation and experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text, which we may not be conscious of. The more consciously aware we are, the more alive the text becomes to us.…

    • 3599 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Throughout Literature the role and position of women has been constantly one of debate and controversy. For centuries women have struggled to exert any power or individual identity through times of male dominance. The novel The Great Gatsby as well as the play A Streetcar Named Desire and lastly the poetry of Anne Sexton, were all written during the 20th Century in America. Throughout the 20th Century, attitudes towards women in the USA were changing, the war had given an opportunity for women to realize and prove that they could look after the household without men. This called for much debate about the rights and roles of women which carried on throughout the 20th Century and inspired many of the characters and themes within Literature. In all three texts interactions between men and women are explored and represented in different ways. Each painting pictures of women whose compliance and submissiveness have resulted in their portrayal of being male dominated victims of society’s double standards.…

    • 3734 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Comparatively, in Irving’s short story, Rip Van Winkle, a man goes up to a mountain to hunt to escape from his wife’s nagging. In the short story, the main character’s desire to escape from his responsibilities and his nagging wife was seen as misogyny from female…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The patriarchal system is one of the foundations of Western civilization, being based on Christian beliefs regarding men and women’s proper roles in the society and in the domestic sphere. In her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Gilman makes a feminist statement by illustrating the failures of the patriarchal system, which condemns women to silence, isolation and decay. In the short story, the male character is twice a representative of this system, as a husband who dominates his wife privately, and as a physician who is able to dominate women in the public sphere, by imposing his judgements and prejudicial…

    • 1655 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The role of women in society has changed dramatically over the centuries from women being inferior to men, to women gaining autonomy. The issue of gender roles has also changed over time; where in the late 1800’s males dominated the workplace and home, to women now acquiring more independence and self-worth. This paper will discuss the similarities of themes between the two short stories of “The Revolt of Mother” by Mary E Wilkins Freeman and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Through each of these short stories the literary elements of style, symbolism, and irony will be discussed, impacting the theme in various ways. Over time, the role of women in society continues to change, shaping each individual into a new era of freedom and rights.…

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mrs. Beazley's Deeds

    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The treatment of women was extremely negative; most were expected to stay home to fulfill domestic responsibilities. Mrs. Beazley’s issue involved her husband selling land and property that was willed to her by her father. She signs the legal documents due to feelings of force from her husband. At one point Mrs. Beazley says to her husband after he exclaims, “You’ve signed the deeds,” she replies, “Yes, I know I have- you made me” (389). Mr. Beazley brings home a tenant to keep his spouse occupied and distracted from his escapades only to have the woman legally advise her of her rights. The author wrote “Mrs. Beazley’s Deeds” to shed light on how women were treated in the nineteenth century society and how they are still treated to this day in time. Gilman writes this story to appeal to American men and women and make them aware of how men and women are equals.…

    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    These women authors have impacted a male dominated society into reflecting on of the unfairness imposed upon women. Through their writings, each of these women authors who existed during that masochistic Victorian era, risked criticism and retribution. Each author ignored convention and proceeded to write about women 's issues. They took the gamble and suffered the consequences, but each one stood by what is just and reasonable. They were able to portray women as human beings, rather than as totally self-sacrificing and sanctified women, as was expected of women in that era.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I do feel like men try to overpower, and look down on women in certain situations. In this time frame women were not taken seriously, and had no say in any situation. I understand why Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Peters stuck together to protect their friend even when her actions were wrong. These women understood what it felt like to mistreated and not being able to voice their opinions to their men. In today’s society I still believe women stick together because we understand one another, and have come a very long way to have our opinions matter.…

    • 98 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Intertextuality is more than recognising similarities between texts, it is a reading strategy employed by readers to enhance their understanding of a text. Intertextuality involves recognising similarities between texts and then using your understanding developed from the previous text to develop a reading for sequential texts. “Burning Sappho” and “Prize Giving” by Gwen Harwood, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Macbeth by William Shakespeare, have all been constructed to explore gender roles within society. It is this similarity between these texts that allowed me to apply intertextuality as a reading strategy to enhance my understanding of the characters within these texts.…

    • 1655 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever wondered; just how much can one person take from another? What amount of cruelty and abuse persuades the fury in a typically passive person to leap into aggressive action? Susan Glaspell's play Trifles shows us just how far one woman, Mrs. Wright, is pushed before she snaps. This is a classic tale of spousal abuse, based off of a true story, which was not too uncommon and almost expected back in the late nineteenth century. Back then women were controlled by their husbands and were seen as insignificant by all the men around them. In this play the women fight the patronizing and belittling society and join together to support another woman. During this time in history, "marital conflict, frequently including violence, was mostly taken for granted in many working-class communities; in itself, it was rarely sufficient to warrant communal censure." (Hammerton 155)…

    • 1700 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Along with imagery, Glaspell uses symbolism to allow the men to make trifling presumptions about Mrs. Wright’s character. The pleating of her apron while rocking back in forth in the rocking chair with a queer look was symbolism of the loss of her ability to feel emotion. It is evidence of her emotional and mental detachment from her husband long before he died. It is not possible for anyone to show concern where concern…

    • 784 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Susan Glaspell's short story, A Jury of Her Peers, was written long before the modern women's movement began, yet her story reveals, through Glaspell's use of symbolism, the role that women are expected to play in society. Glaspell illustrates how this highly stereotypical role can create oppression for women and also bring harm to men as well.…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics