Essay Questions

What is the significance of the character of the Fire Chief?

The Fire Chief says his job is to extinguish the fires in the city. He comes to the Smiths' home until he must leave, in order to extinguish fires that are planned for other parts of the city. The significance of him being a fire chief is that his fire was extinguished by Mary years ago; his love was extinguished years ago, Thus his character relates to how love is being extinguished throughout the city.

What is the significance of the Martins taking the Smith’s place at the end of the play?

By the Martins taking the Smiths', place the playwright is saying that these characters are interchangeable. In the bigger picture, the idea is that we all are interchangeable when we aren’t fully present in a conversation, which leads to our communication between one another being empty and vague. This is a comment on society at large not being able to communicate with one another in articulate way while being present.

Why doesn’t Mr. Smith respond to Mrs. Smith at the beginning of the play?

At the beginning of the play, Mr. and Mrs. Smith have just finished dinner. Mrs. Smith goes on to speak about her feelings about the dinner and discuss other matters. Each time, Mr. Smith does not respond. The point that the playwright is trying to make is that the lack of being able to truly communicate with people in the world begins with our unwillingness to speak to one another in our own homes, in particular husband and wife.