Sheriff Prejudice Essay

Prejudice, in particular, prejudice directed at women, helps the men decide whether an object can serve as evidence. Before the County Attorney walks upstairs, he questions Sheriff Peters: “Are you convinced that there is nothing important here [in the kitchen]—nothing important that would point to any motive?” Although Mr. Henderson is willing to consider the kitchen objects as evidence, he relies on Sheriff Peter’s evaluation of the kitchen. The sheriff responds: “Nothing here but kitchen things.” The sheriff’s response evinces prejudice; instead of telling Mr. Henderson about the broken preserve jar, an abnormality calling for further investigation, he determines the ‘kitchen things’ worthless because women use them. The sheriff, however,
Ignorance guides the County Attorney when he condemns Mrs. Wright’s ‘homemaking instinct’: “Dirty towels! (Kicks his foot against the pans under the sink) Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?” When the County Attorney kicks the pans, he disturbs the crime scene’s authenticity and erodes Mrs. Wright’s ‘housekeeping’ ability. Additionally, the County Attorney conveniently forgets how Sheriff Peters insinuates Frank disturbed the crime scene: “When it dropped below zero last night I thought I’d better send Frank out this morning to make a fire for us—no use getting pneumonia with a big case on, but I told him not to touch anything except the stove—and you know Frank.” Unlike the County Attorney, Mrs. Hale remembers Sheriff Peter’s innuendo: “Duty’s all right, but I guess that deputy sheriff that came out to make the fire might have got a little of this on. Wish I’d thought of that sooner.” Some may argue her usage of the verb ‘guess’ and the modal verb ‘might’ shows Mrs. Hale is uncertain, however, her word choice reflects a feeling of hesitance. She says this immediately after the men walk upstairs. The overbearing male presence lingers in Mrs. Hale’s mind causing her to censor her thoughts. Their lingering presence suffocates her. It causes her voice to be