Sure Thing Essay Questions

How does the title “Sure Thing” function in the play?

“Sure Thing” is an ironic title, because the phrase means "with absolute certainty," and Bill and Betty’s relationship is anything but certain. It fails many times before it finally works. “Sure Thing” is also an interjection with several meanings, which the play makes full use of: thank you, no problem, yes, don’t worry about it, you’re welcome, that’s ok. It can be welcoming or dismissive or simply polite. The ambiguity of the phrase works well in the play, as Bill and Betty’s relationship and fortunes shift.

Does this play work in the era of internet dating?

The process that Bill and Betty go through of editing their identities to match each other is now completed by filling out an internet dating profile. Saying the wrong thing in person is less of a possibility because people select who they will meet in advance based on a set of criteria. It could be argued that social conformity has stayed the same, it is simply organized by a computer now. But the internet has also given those with more idiosyncratic personalities and preferences the ability to find one another.

How do Bill and Betty perform their gender identities?

Bill alters his identity to display symbols of status to Betty: origin and education, for example. He thus performs the role of financially stable provider. Betty’s identity shifts less than Bill’s, but her availability changes rapidly. She also displays disgust over being picked up for a one-night stand. She thus plays the role of both the desired but unavailable conquest, and the decider.

How does genre function in the play?

The romantic comedy genre determines the form of the play: the classic “Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back again.” This includes a happy ending, defined as marriage. In order to fit into this genre, Bill and Betty must continue their conversation. That is, neither must reject the other. Within this form, the play has a unique structure. Because they are granted the opportunity to begin again at every failure to communicate, Boy loses Girl, and gets her back again over and over. But in order to reach the end they must stop making mistakes—that is, they must conform to the conventions of genre, which, this play argues, means having identical upper-middle-class identities.

What does the bell do in the play? What does it mean?

The bell rings at the end of every scene, which coincides with each moment of Bill and Betty’s failure to connect. So the bell signifies the end of a round, like in boxing. It also interrupts the flow of conversation, taking on a life of its own, and comes to signify the demands of social conformity.