Characterize the men in the story by contrasting them to the women. Be sure to include specific details/quotations to support your ideas

Lewis Hale is a farmer and neighbor of the Wright family. He is described as a straightforward, honest man, though, he is a bit rough around the edges from the harsh life of a rural farmer. He was the first to discover John's murder when he stopped by the Wright's farmhouse to interest them in sharing a telephone line, and he is hesitant to suggest that Minnie may have been involved.

Mrs. Hale is timid but determined, as evidenced in the way she conceals evidence from the murder investigation. As the men search the house for clues, Mrs. Hale gets frustrated with their patronizing attitude, because she understands and empathizes with Minnie's isolation and alienation. She was friends with Minnie during their youth and describes her as a vivacious and interesting girl.... at least until her marriage.

Of the two women in the play, Mrs. Hale seems to be the more observant and more prone to action. It is she who notices most of the clues first the bread left outside the box, the hasty quilt stitching, and the dead canary in Mrs. Wright's sewing kit. She is the one who suggests that John was an unhappy, abusive man who may have deserved his fate.

Ultimately, it is Mrs. Hale who hides the dead canary evidence suggesting a motive for the crime in her coat pocket to prevent the men from finding it.