This crucial piece of evidence uncovered by Martha Hale and Mrs. Peters reveals Minnie Wright’s guilt, but also shows the cruelty of which John Wright was capable. Although John Wright’s act of strangling the songbird was a single cruel act, it symbolizes the way he has treated Minnie throughout their marriage. This symbol is developed over the course of the story as Martha Hale, who knew Minnie as the unmarried Minnie Foster, repeatedly equates Minnie with a bird, emphasizing her love of singing and her lively and bright personality. While the songbird was literally strangled by John Wright, Minnie Foster was figuratively strangled by life with a man who was cold, unkind, poor company, and kept her isolated. Trapped in her marriage, like a bird in a cage, Minnie desperately needed a companion, which she found in the bird. The act of killing the bird also “killed” Minnie’s remaining hope, causing her to retaliate in response to years, rather than one single act, of mistreatment.
The Dead Bird Quotes in A Jury of Her Peers
“‘When I was a girl…my kitten—there was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyes—and before I could get there—’ She covered her face an instant. ‘If they hadn’t held me back I would have’—she caught herself, looked upward where footsteps were heard, and finished weakly—‘hurt him.’”