“Destiny waits alike for the free man as well as for him enslaved by another’s might.” (Aeschylus) There are many ways a person can deal with the things that oppress them. In considering a comparison of Mrs. Wright in “A Jury of Her Peers” and Mama in “Everyday Use” we can see two completely different examples of Oppression and how it can be handled. Each woman had obviously become adapt to her immediate standings.
In “Everyday Use”, Mama did not display in any manner disgust or distaste with her situation, she seemed in fact to be very content. We read about Mama and how adaptive she has been, and oddly enough can see the pride that she feels in her own heritage. And in “A Jury of Her Peers”, Mrs. Wright had found meaning and purpose in maintaining her home and keeping to her fruits. Both Mama and Mrs. Wright have been placed by twisted fate into a day-to-day life that is not desired by either.
The greatest difference between them is actually not their situation, race or even time period but is entirely based on how they handle their individual paths of life. Page 2 ENGL 2302. 090 Prof. J. Redmond Heather Cords 7123 Clipper Ridge Converse TX, 78109 First lets look at Mrs. Wright, who to the unknowing male at the time appeared to be a content housewife with no reason to be unhappy.
They search for a motive… probably never to find one because of the silence of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters as they protect her instinctively. To Mrs.
The Essay on Mrs Wright Peters Bird Hale
Characters Mrs. Peters Mrs. Hale Mrs. Wright Sheriff Peters Scene: Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters bringing Mrs. Wright her personal belongings. Time Period of the Play Mrs. Hale: Minnie how yer' holding up? Mrs. Wright: Alright I guess, how is my fruit? Mrs. Peters: (nervously digging in her bag) Oh they are just fine, here we brought you one of you jars of cherries. Mrs. Hale: Minnie (in a low tense ...
Hale a housewife in a somewhat similar situation it is obvious that Mrs. Wright had every reason to be malcontent. In a Jury Of Her Peers Mrs. Wright’s home was not a pleasant place to be, not unhappy to say…
just very dull. Unlike the short description given of Mrs. Wright long before the days of being misses anything. “She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively — when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls, singing in the choir.
But that — oh, that was twenty years ago.” (205).
She (referring to Mrs. Hale) had been startled to hearing Mrs. Peters say: “A person gets discouraged — and loses heart.” Though this statement is spoken by Mrs.
Peters who is not intimately involved it is a very accurate culmination of Mrs. Wrights life. From “A Jury of Her Peers” we can determine that Minnie Wright managed to contain her discontent of the oppression that ran her life. The story leaves us with the impression that Mrs.
Wright snapped unable to further suppress her unhappiness. Page 3 ENGL 2302. 090 Prof. J.
Redmond Heather Cords 7123 Clipper Ridge Converse TX, 78109 Second we need to look at Mama from “Everyday Use”, now mama is very different from Mrs. Wright as her oppression is more defined and obvious to the reader. However Mama deals with her oppression by adapting, she sets reasonable standards and is pleased by what others would see as minor things such as the swept clay patio that she used as a second living room. Mama describes herself as “a large, big-boned woman with rough man-working hands.” (90) Mama is not angered by her situation but by her daughter, Dee who is not content with the life she has worked hard to give her. Mama was able to live satisfactory with the oppression that she found common. Now through these two woman, Mrs.
Wright and Mama we have gained a new understanding of how oppressions both obvious and those which are unseen can rule our lives if we let it. The most important thing we can see from these two women is how we handle the oppression that affects us everyday, is in the end what will matter most.
