Trifles Lesson Plan

Gendered Ability in I[Trifles]

Kind of Activity:

Group Work

Objective:

Discuss the role of gender in I[Trifles]

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2

Structure:

"Trifles, Susan Glaspell's little play, is an ingenious study in feminine ability at inductive and deductive analysis by which two women through trifles bring out the motive for a murder. As the protagonists, Marjorie Vonnegut and Elinor M. Cox are true to life in the repressive subtlety of their work."

The text above is a review of Trifles from a 1917 performance. As a class, conduct a close-reading of this excerpt. You should note, in particular, that the reviewer attributes Mrs. Hale and Mrs....