The Sandbox

The Sandbox Quotes and Analysis

"Whatever you say, Mommy."

Daddy

Daddy says this when Mommy asks his opinion as to whether the setting will do for Grandma's death. The quote reveals that Daddy is especially submissive in the relationship, and takes a passive approach to everything, caring very little about what happens and always deferring to Mommy.

"I mean...I mean, they haven't given me one yet...the studio..."

Young Man

The Young Man says this to Grandma when she asks his name. He is an actor there to play the Angel of Death, a young man from Southern California. His statement is comic in that he has completely given his identity to a movie studio, letting executives and producers decide something as basic and essential as his name. This line shows that the Young Man is a kind of phantom, someone without an identity.

"So it is! Well! Our long night is over. We must put away our tears, take off our mourning...and face the future."

Mommy

Mommy says this just moments after Grandma dies. While the previous evening, Mommy was very sad about Grandma's death, in the light of day, she is able to move on very quickly. Her ability to bounce back goes further than resilience, and has a chilling pragmatism to it.

"You've got that...you've got a quality."

Grandma

After the Young Man tells Grandma that he is the Angel of Death and that he is going to take her to the afterlife, she assumes the role of a director or a casting agent, and delivers this line. Rather than internalize what he has just told her, that her life is ending, she flatters the young handsome actor, and suggests that he has a quality that could make him a star.

"There's no respect around here!"

Grandma

Grandma says this after asking the Musician to stop playing when she is trying to talk to the audience. She already feels disrespected by Mommy and Daddy, who have carted her out to a sandbox to die, and here she expresses her disappointment with the Musician as well. In her eyes, no one respects her and she is mistreated in her old age.