Genre
play, tragicomedy
Language
English language
Setting and Context
somewhere in America, Mae's house
Narrator and Point of View
Directions of stage and the dialogue between the characters.
Tone and Mood
hopeless
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Mae; Antagonist: the two men in her life
Major Conflict
Mae is living with her partner Lloyd in her humble home. Lloyd is ill and not the brightest man to live with, so Mae finds herself in love with the well-spoken Henry.
Climax
Mae realizes that Lloyd and Henry are not that different, and both are no good for her, so she decides to leave.
Foreshadowing
"There is a reason why it happened to him and not to me."
-in the opening of Scene 12 from the Act Two, Lloyd's words foreshadow what happened to Henry prior to it being directly addressed.
Understatement
"I didn't steal it because it belonged to me."
- Lloyd justifying taking money from Henry because he entered his home and took his bed.
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
Imagery of Mae constantly doing some housework or holding something in relation to that to signify her role of an unlearned and unappreciated housewife.
"(Mae enters left. She carries a bundle of clothes.)"
Paradox
"I cry with joy"
Parallelism
"Mae: I am a hungry soul. I am a longing soul. I am an empty soul."
Personification
"Sometimes the shell of another hermit crab and then there is a fight. Sometimes the owner is pulled out. Sometimes the owner wins and stays."
Use of Dramatic Devices
The use of stage directions before every scene, and the stylistic use of directing characters to freeze after the end of each scene.
