Problem
Let's begin with the concept of reform. How is it represented here? As mentioned, our authors this week were both advocates for certain kinds of political, social, and economic change. Many of these changes might involve the legal system. Recall, for instance, that women in most parts of the western world, including the United States, were not granted the vote until two decades into the twentieth century, and it took several more decades before gender was considered an integral part of jury selection. In London's story, Carter Watson is explicitly cast as a "sociologist" (that is, someone who studies society and human relations) and a reformer. Despite his "wide experience," does this protagonist come off as naive (93)? What do you think he was expecting to come of his explorations and his first violent encounter? Is his subsequent response only a matter of personal revenge, or is it ultimately an attempt at "reform"? Turn to Glaspell's story: There are no overt, self-identified reformers here, but does the narrative implicitly make the case for another kind of reform? If so, how?