49 pages 1 hour read

Susan Glaspell

A Jury of Her Peers

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1917

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Activities

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Mrs. Wright’s Journal”

In this activity, students will write a journal from the perspective of Mrs. Wright in the days leading up to her husband’s murder.

Mrs. Wright is an extremely important character who never actually appears in “A Jury of Her Peers.” The audience learns about her from the other characters and the description of her kitchen but never sees Mrs. Wright. You will write a journal entry from her perspective based on an event or specific passage from the story.  

  • Identify 2-3 passages in the story that focus on Mrs. Wright, her life with her husband, or specific events from her life.
  • Share the passages you found with a classmate. Listen to their passages and ask them to listen to yours. Through discussion, you and your classmate will each select one of your passages to write about in your journal.
  • Remember to write from the first-person perspective of Mrs. Wright. Aim to explore her thoughts, emotions, and motivations.

After you have finished, write a paragraph reflecting on what you learned about Mrs. Wright through this process, and if your thoughts on the theme of The Law Versus Justice have changed after this activity.