Genre
Drama
Language
English
Setting and Context
Late 20th Century, rural area
Narrator and Point of View
The story is written in the first-person perspective of the two Characters: Thelma Cates (Mother) and Jessie Cates.
Tone and Mood
Suspenseful, tense, funny, tragic
Protagonist and Antagonist
Thelma Cates (Mother) is the protagonist who tries to convince her daughter Jessie from committing suicide. Jessie is the antagonist who dismisses her mother’s pleas and shoots herself.
Major Conflict
Thelma Cates tries to convince her daughter Jessie from committing suicide.
Climax
Jessie locks herself in her room, her mother bangs on the door pleading her to open it.
Foreshadowing
Jessie’s plan is foreshadowed when she asks her mother, “Where's Daddy's gun?” in Act one.
Understatement
Jessie says, “the gun is for me”. This ultimately foreshadows her death but ultimately understates her intentions.
Allusions
One of the major allusions it to mental health issues. Jessie struggles with suicidal thoughts and has symptoms related to depression. She says, “I'm just not having a very good time and I don't have any reason to think it'll get anything but worse. I'm tired. I'm hurt. I'm sad. I feel used.”
Imagery
Thelma tells Jessie to throw away all of the pots before she leaves. Jessie refuses to throw them away. After Jessie commits suicide, Thelma holds it “like her life depended on it.”
Paradox
The protection paradox: The gun was kept in the house for protection against criminals. The gun was used by Jessie to kill herself.
Parallelism
Jessie’s life paralleled her father’s. They both struggled had epilepsy and struggled with having seizures.
Personification
N/A
Use of Dramatic Devices
COMIC RELIEF: Thelma makes funny sarcastic comments to alleviate some tension in the play such as “How am I supposed to act? Tell you to go ahead?
O, Might try it myself. What took you so long?”
