Charles French June 13th

The Revolt of Mother: The passage in this piece that most stood out to me didn't come until the final words of the piece. When that father is described as being "like a fortress whose walls had no active resistance, and went down the instant the right besieging tools were used" (40). This passage stood out to me because it echos the traditional view as the male figure being the "protector" of the home, the one who is traditionally the 'bread' winner. In describing the father as a fortress these images are quite clear, only the passage turns the old beliefs on their head when it describes his walls as crumbling quite easily. I felt that this passage was the culmination of a relationship in which there was no compromise. Throughout the story before this point the father was the one to make all the decision regardless of what the wife, or anyone, had to say about it. Based on my own experiences and understanding that relationships are all about compromise it didn't surprise me that the mother took such arguably drastic measures in securing her new 'home'. She was pushed too far for too long.

Trifles: The image from this piece that stuck out to me, and continued to stick out to me throught the story was when Mrs. Hale kept on carrying on about the investigation, saying things like "I wish if they're going to find evidence they'd be about it" (401). She continues to be concered with the investigators finding their evidence and when they are going to be finished with it all. She is also the one who introduces the bird to the narration, when the ladies are looking for where the 'suspect' would keep her sewing materials Mrs. Hale is quick to suggest, "In that cupboard, maybe" (401). It is also at the end of the piece that Mrs. Hale is ultimately the one who ends up in posession with the dead bird, Mrs. Peters is to disturbed to even handle it. To me this points the finger at Mrs. Hale as either the killer or at least the one in conspiracy with Mr. Hale. Or perhaps it is just that I've seen too many murder/action/mystery movies and I am reading too closely into this plot.

As Children Together: The image that most popped out about this piece to me was both that of "the death face of each dark house" (308) as well as the one girl having taken "their collars into [her] fine chilled hands and lied [her] age to adulthood" (309). In my mind these two images are connected. Perhaps there was something that happened within the 'dark house' that caused the one girl to want to explore her own body and to become sexually active before adulthood? There is also the idea of the father drinking whiskey at the beginning of the piece that aligns with this reading of the piece. A lot of the surrounding imagery also seems to be quite dark which makes me think that this piece is not meant to be a happy, cheery, up-beat piece. But perhaps I am wrong?