Genre
Tragedy
Language
English
Setting and Context
The action takes place inside the main character's house.
Narrator and Point of View
Because this is a play, there is no narrator and no point of view. Instead, each character recalls the events they took part in from their own subjective point of view through their dialogues.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood in the play is a tense one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Jhana and the antagonists are her own parents.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is an internal one and is the result of the main character's desire to be closer to her parents and their incapability to form stronger relationships with their children.
Climax
The play does not have any moment which can be considered as being the climax. One moment which can be seen as such is the moment when Maddie realizes that despite her problems she must do everything in her power to take care of her child.
Foreshadowing
The dysfunctional nature of the family is foreshadowed at the beginning of the play when the main character's father is introduced and described as being a drunk and a womanizer who left his family so he could live a life of sin without being criticized.
Understatement
The play opens with the author describing the family analyzed in the play as being completely normal. This is later proven to be an understatement when the narrator presents the family as being far from normal and the relationship between the family members as being unusual and strange,
Allusions
One of the main allusions in the play is they the main character's health problems are caused by the strange relationship she has with her parents.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
One paradoxical idea is the fact that Maddie continues to return to her husband even after he betrayed her time and time again.
Parallelism
A parallel can be drawn between King and his daughter even though at a first glance they are completely different. Both characters have trouble accepting reality and live in a world that cannot understand them. Because of this, they suffer and have to deal with a lot of mental anguish.
Personification
We have a personification in the line "the cup screamed at the people in the room to be noticed".
Use of Dramatic Devices
The author uses the main dramatic device the aside, the dramatic monologue, and the stage directions. These are used to give additional information about the main characters and are also used to reveal the character's true feelings and ideas.
