Genre
Drama
Language
English
Setting and Context
A Plantation on the Malay Peninsula and in Singapore — 1927
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that is Leslie and Joyce
Tone and Mood
Serious and Dramatic
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Crosbie. Antagonist is Joyce and Leslie
Major Conflict
Hammond has been murdered by Leslie, who claims he was attempting to rape her.
Climax
Hammond was Leslie’s lover, and she killed him for leaving her. She convinces Joyce to pay $10,000 to buy her letter to Hammond which will prove she murdered him, but Joyce does so without telling Crosbie. Leslie is free, yet her secret is revealed.
Foreshadowing
The opening scene foreshadows that we don’t know who has done what, and we will have to decipher the truth.
Understatement
It is understated as to how Ong Chi Seng came to know the Chinese woman and convince her to sell the letter.
Allusions
The play is an allusion to manipulation and betrayal towards the one we claim to live the most. How damaging secrets are is a central topic.
Imagery
The murder in Act I vs Act III
Paradox
Joyce pays the blackmail to protect his friend. But paradoxically when his money is at stake he isn’t so quick to let his money go.
Parallelism
The final murder scene parallels the play's opening scene.
Personification
Leslie becomes the personification of betrayal.
Use of Dramatic Devices
The replaying of the actual events of the murder at the end of the play contrast the opening scene.
