Plot

Exposition

- The sheriff (Mr. Peters), his wife (Mrs. Peters), the County Attorney, and the neighbours, Mr. Hale And Mrs. Hale, enter the kitchen of the Wright household. Mr. Hale explains how he paid a visit to the house on the previous day. - Once there, Mrs. Wright greeted him but behaved strangely. She eventually stated in a dull voice -that her husband was upstairs, dead. - Mr. Hale is the first (aside from Mrs. Wright) who discovers the body. Mrs. Wright claimed that she was sound asleep while someone strangled her husband. It seems obvious to the male characters that she killed her husband, and she has been taken into protection as the prime suspect. Rising Action - The attorney and sheriff decide that there is nothing important in the room: “Nothing here but kitchen things.” The men criticize Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping skills, irking Mrs. Hale and the sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters. - The men exit, heading upstairs to investigate the crime scene. The women remain in the kitchen. Chatting to pass the time, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters notice vital details that the men would not care about: ·         Ruined fruit preserves ·         Bread that has been left out of its box ·         An unfinished quilt ·         A half clean / half messy table top ·         An empty bird cage  Climax When gathering up the quilting material, they discover a fancy little box. Inside, wrapped in silk is a dead canary. Its neck has been wrung. Minnie’s husband did not like the canary’s beautiful song (a symbol of his wife’s desire for freedom and happiness). So, Mr. Wright busted the cage door and strangled the bird. Falling Action Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do not tell the men about their discovery. Instead, Mrs. Hale puts the box with the dead bird into her coat pocket ------- resolving not to tell the men about their little “trifle” they have uncovered. Denouement (Resolution) The play ends with the characters exiting the kitchen and the women have determined Mrs. Wright’s quilt making style. ( She “knots it” instead “quilt it” --- a play with words denoting the way in which she killed her husband. )