Kiet Nham
English 1B
Prof. Stein
16 May 2017
Compare and Contrast
In American Literature, there are many way that author can bring the specific meaning
and message to the readers. Thinking of all the writing styles, there is always a connection
between them, they somehow have some relations on the message of author’s illustration. There
are two stories that brought clear message and meaning to readers are Jury of Her Peer and The
Country Husband. Also, they are the best example of showing the difference and similarity
between two stories.
Susan Glaspell, in her 1917 story The Jury of Her Peers, depict the woman endure her
depressed marriage and she is against her husband to get back what she should have in her
remaining life. The story is about the murder case of a wife is culprit of her husband’s death. The
neighbor of Wright’s family discovers John Wright’s body, who he has been death in his bed
with a rope on his neck and his wife is calmly sitting downstairs. Therefore, his wife has put into
custody because they suspect that she could be the murderer of her husband. They imagine the
process of how a murderer kills Mr. Wright. Also, they have thought about the movement killing
her husband by strangling him while he felt asleep. Mr. Hale, the sheriff, following this murder
case with two other sheriffs to scrutinize evidence. While they are discussing the crime, Mrs.
Hale and Mrs. Peters, sheriff’s wife, left the conversation and went into the kitchen of Wright.
They take a look around the kitchen and discover the clue and killing motivation of Mrs. Wright.
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They understand Mrs. Wright’s life that is being trapped by her husband with depression. Also,
they found out the evidence that can sue Mrs. Wright for killing her husband; However, they
protect her, hide evidence away from the men because they excuse her, feel an unfair treatment
between men and women in the marriage. Glaspell describes women in that period are being
control by their husband, they have no right in the house and they must be housewives, doing
chores every day. Also, they must do whatever their husband tell them to do, with no refuses to
the command. There is one evidence that Mrs. Peters found to show the loneliness of the wife is
the birdcage with a bird inside, which illustrates Mrs. Wright trapped in the house. However,
Mrs. Wright chose to stand up for herself by murdering her husband to have her freedom back.
In the criticism of Susan Glaspell, she was an American fiction who stood up for the
