Trifles - Stephanie Ramos English 2341 Adelle Mery April 6...

Stephanie Ramos
English 2341
Adelle Mery
April 6, 2016
Freytag’s Pyramid for “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell

7. Climax
8. Title Effectiveness
6. Stable Situation
5. Falling Action
4. Crisis
3. Rising Action
2. Exposition:
a. Setting
b. Characterization
1. Unstable Situation
1. Unstable Situation: The unstable situation is the
underlying problem of the story. In “Trifles”, Susan Glaspell jumps into the play
with an untimely murder. John Wright was found dead in his house with a rope
around his neck, when his wife, Mrs. Wright or Minnie Foster, was calmly
rocking in a chair in their front room. When asked by Mr. Hale where her
husband was she simply replied, “Cause he’s dead.” Later when Mr. Hale asked
her how John died she replied “He
died of a rope round his
neck.”(page 4). The net day the sheriff, county attorney, and the Wright’s
neighbor Hale, who was the one who found Mr. Wright dead and Mrs. Wright in
her rocking chair along with his oldest son Harry. Mrs. Hale and the sheriff’s
wife Mrs. Peters both tagged along, in order to get
things to Mrs. Hale while she was in jail.
COUNTY ATTORNEY: How did she seem to feel about your coming?
HALE: Why, I don't think she minded—one way or other. She didn't pay much
attention. I said, 'How do, Mrs Wright it's cold,
ain't it?' And she said, 'Is it?'—and went on kind
of pleating at her apron. Well, I was surprised; she didn't ask me to come up to
the stove, or to set down, but just sat there, not even looking at me, so I said, 'I
want to see John.' And then she—laughed. I guess you would call it a laugh. I
thought of Harry and the team outside, so I said a little sharp: 'Can't I see John?'
'No', she says, kind o' dull like. 'Ain't he home?' says I. 'Yes', says she, 'he's
home'. 'Then why can't I see him?' I asked her, out of patience. ''Cause he's
dead', says she. 'Dead?' says I. She just nodded
her head, not getting a bit excited, but rockin' back and
forth. 'Why—where is he?' says I, not
knowing what to say. She just
pointed upstairs—like that (himself
pointing to the room above) I got up, with the idea of going up there. I walked

from there to here—then I says, 'Why, what did he die of?' 'He died of a rope
round his neck', says she, and just went on pleatin' at her apron. Well, I went out
and called Harry. I thought I might—need help. We went upstairs and there he
was lyin'—
COUNTY ATTORNEY: I think I'd rather have you go into that upstairs, where
you can point it all out. Just go on now with the rest of the story.
HALE: Well, my first thought was to get that rope off. It looked ... (stops, his
face twitches) ... but Harry, he went up to him, and he said, 'No, he's dead all
right, and we'd better not touch anything.' So we went back down stairs. She
was still sitting that same way. 'Has anybody been notified?' I asked. 'No', says
she unconcerned. 'Who did this, Mrs Wright?' said Harry. He said it business-
like—and she stopped pleatin' of her apron. 'I don't know', she says. 'You don't
know?' says Harry. 'No', says she. 'Weren't you sleepin' in the bed with him?'
says Harry. 'Yes', says she, 'but I was on the inside'. 'Somebody slipped a rope
round his neck and strangled him and you didn't wake up?' says Harry. 'I didn't