Literary Devices

Irony

• Sheriff Peters and County Attorney, George Henderson, pride themselves on their powers of detection and logical reasoning. But it is the two women, Mrs.Peters and Mrs.Hale, who discover the clues and establish a motive amid seemingly harmless items in the Wright home. The story ends with an ironic between Henderson and Mrs.Hale :

COUNTY ATTORNEY (facetiously). Well, Henry, at least we found out that she was not going to -------- what is it you call it, ladies?

MRS.HALE (her hand against her pocket). We call it ------- knot it, Mr.Henderson.

Symbolism

1) Bird : Mr. Wright's spirit

2) Cage : John Wright's oppression of his wife and her spirit

3) Stove, Cold House and Broken Jars : When the stove fire goes out, the house temperature drops below freezing point and all but one of the preserve jars break. The stove fire appears to represent John and Minnie Wright's marriage. The fire probably goes out just before or immediately after the murder. The resulting temperatures crack the jars of preserves, apparently representing Minnie's mental being. That jar that remains intact seems to symbolize the modicum of sanity left to her and the hope for a brighter future that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters envision for her.

4) Unevenly Sewn Quilt Block : Mrs. Wright's disturbed mental condition.

5) Rope: Minnie Wright's unsurpation of male power. Strangulation is a man's method of killing . In her rebellion against her domineering husband, Minnie musters the strength to murder like a man, thus perversely asserting her quality.