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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
A. Characteristics of Male and Female Characters
The male and female characters are presented with different characteristics. They have distinctive features in their characteristics, which are obviously seen in this
story. Here are the characteristics of male and female characters as what is stated in the story Trifles.
1. The Characteristics of Male Characters
The group of male characters is presented as the superior. Susan Glaspell shows the superiority of the male characters by characterizing them with dominant
and powerful characteristics. It is because the superior is powerful and dominant and the inferior is weak and less dominant. These words below are about the
characteristics of male and female characters that are shown in the play.
a. Sarcastic Mr. Henderson
Mr. Henderson is the county attorney who was young, respected and honored. Mr. Henderson is a sarcastic person. The most obvious evidence about Mr.
Henderson’s sarcasm can be seen from his opinion about the condition of the kitchen. The County Attorney, after again looking around the kitchen opens the door
of a cupboard closet. He gets up on a chair and looks on a shelf. Pulls his hand away, sticky.
MR. HENDERSON. Here is a nice mess. McQuade, 1999: 982 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Mr. Henderson’s words above shows his opinion about the kitchen that is in a mess condition w
ith term ‘a nice mess’ which is sarcasm. Sarcasm itself means the use of words that opposite of what you really want to say especially in order to insult
someone or to show irritation. In this case, the term ‘a nice mess’ is used to show the
condition of the kitchen which is really messy, and it is not a nice thing. In patriarchal system, it is a common fact that the men cannot respect
women’s hard work. They believe that women’s work is not a real work because women are physically weak and emotional. This belief results a kitchen as the best
place for women to work. Mr. Henderson’s sarcastic characteristic which is categorized as rude and impolite shows his superiority over women because he has no
respect towards women in his society.
b. Careless Mr. Henderson
As a county attorney, Mr. Henderson should pay attention in every detail of the information. But in this investigation, he missed some important information
related to the murder case. Actually, the information that he missed are the clues to the evidence that he was looking for. His careless characteristic can be seen from the
dialogue below. HALE. I spoke to Wright about it once before, and he put me off, saying folks
talked too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet —I guess
you know about how much he talked himself. MR. HENDERSON.
Let’s talk about that later, Mr. Hale. I do want to talk about that, but tell now just what happened when you got to the house.
McQuade, 1999: 980 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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