This essay is based on the symbolism presented in Trifles and what each of those symbols means. Symbolism is a very important part of creative writing; it makes the readers think for themselves and see beyond just the words that are on the page. Legacies defines symbolism as follows:.
"A symbol is a person, place, object, thing, name, title, aspect of setting that suggests something beyond itself and has a range of meanings. Since a short story, like poetry, is compressed, all aspects of the story-title, setting, characters" names, appearance, dialogue, and events of the plot- may contain symbolic meanings and create the theme. For example even in the informal telling of the ghost story, the girl's yellow hair and white dress suggest her innocence; the head under the pillow, the denial of truth." (Legacies 1220).
Symbols can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the reader. Some people may see the symbol as one thing while others think a completely different idea. .
The basis of the story is a woman (Mrs. Wright) is being accused of killing her husband (Mr. Wright), and the whole of the play takes place in her kitchen as various county officials are investigating the house. The main part of the story is two women (Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters) looking through her kitchen and gathering things to make her more at home while she is being detained. These two women discover all sorts of symbols along with evidence that could point to Mrs. Wright murdering her husband. These symbols are as follows: the jail, the quilt, the birdcage, and lastly the bird itself. .
The first symbol that comes to pass in Trifles is the jail. Mrs. Wright asked the ladies to bring her some items from her house while she's in jail; one of which is an apron. The other women don't understand why she would ask for that when she's in jail because there's not much to get dirty on in a cell. One of the ladies suggests that maybe she just wants to be more comfortable but I think that there is more to it than that (Glaspell 715).