Name____________________
EDWARD ALBEE'S THE SANDBOX
1. PLOT: EXPOSITION: What characters are introduced in the Exposition?
__________________________ __________________________________
_________________________
2. What is the SETTING?
The setting consists of a large sandbox with a toy _____ and shovel; there are
also some chairs, one of which has a ________ stand before it. This setting is meant to
represent a ___________. The play begins during the lighted part of the day.
3. What is the INCITING MOMENT?
The Inciting Moment occurs when Mommy and Daddy bring ______________
onto the stage and dump her in the _______________. At this point we ask, "Why
have they brought her to the beach?
Why are they depositing her in the
___________?"
4. RISING ACTION: In the Rising Action, complications develop, involving conflicts
between the protagonist and the antagonists. Concerning the Antagonists (Mommy and
Daddy), cite three instances which show that Mommy dominates Daddy.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
5. Concerning the conflict between the Protagonist (Grandma) and the Antagonists,
what is the attitude of Mommy and Daddy toward Grandma?
They treat her, an 86-year-old woman, without respect or dignity. They seem
uncaring toward Grandma, who is so upset by their treatment she protests that all she
wants is for them to __________ her alone.
At one point to show her irritation, Grandma throws ________ at Mommy.
Mommy does not care where they bury her mother; she just wants to get ______ of
her.
Both treat Grandma as a child or an animal. Grandma says they took her off her
farm and put her in their townhouse. There, they put her under the __________, gave
her an army ___________, and her own dish; in essence, they treated her like a pet
Name____________________
_________.
Although Mommy and Daddy treat Grandma as a child, they themselves act
childish. Also while being called Mommy and Daddy, they appear to be childless.
6. CLIMAX: The Climax section of the play begins when the lights begin to dim. Copy
the speech that reveals why Mommy and Daddy have brought Grandma to the beach.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
7. As they watch Grandma "dying," whom do Mommy and Daddy ironically think
about?
They principally think about __________________ and their suffering at
watching Grandma die. They complement themselves on how __________ they have
been during the dying process.
They are relieved that the ordeal is over, and they immediately turn their
attention to this world, believing Grandma is no longer a part of it. Their callousness is
seen when Mommy tells the _______________ he can leave or swim.
8. At the point of Climax, what "trick" does Grandma play on Mommy and Daddy?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
9. FALLING ACTION: What RECOGNITION and REVERSAL occur?
Grandma recognizes that she is stuck in the _________ and cannot get up; she
knows she is going to _______.
The REVERSAL is that Grandma had played ________ to trick Mommy
and Daddy, but the trick is on her, since she is going to _________.
10. How does Grandma react to this unforeseen development?
At first she is shocked: "I can't ________ . . . I can't _________”.
However, finally she becomes resigned to her fate and accepts death.
She becomes peaceful. In complimenting the ___________ Man, she shows
that she will die thinking of someone else, that is, not being selfish as Mommy and
___________ were. She makes no objection when the young Man kisses her (literally,
“the kiss of _________").
10. RESOLUTION/DENOUEMENT: Who becomes the Antagonist here, and what is the
CATASTROPHE?
Name____________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
11. Why is Grandma the PROTAGONIST? What admirable qualities does she have?
What disagreeable qualities?
Grandma is the protagonist because like all old people she wants to be treated
with respect and dignity, little of which she gets from her _______________ and
_________________.
Her admirable qualities: A sense of ___________, strong-willed endurance, an
active __________ (shown in her ability to _________ Mommy and Daddy), an
intolerance of hypocrisy, bravery in the face of ___________.
Her disagreeable qualities: Her mistreatment by her daughter has made her
cranky and difficult, sarcastic and stubborn.
12. Why is the Musician present?
Most ______________ have some music.
13. How is the Young Man an unusual Angel of Death?
The Young Man is young and muscular and associated with light, while Death is
usually portrayed as __________, skeletal, and covered in a __________ robe.
14. DIALOGUE: To whom can Grandma speak honestly and openly? To whom can she
utter only animalistic sounds?
Grandma speaks honestly and openly to the audience and to the __________
Man. To the audience she gives an account of her past life. She shows kindness and
helps the Young Man when he ______________ giving his only line.
Grandma utters only animalistic sounds of groans and moans to
______________ and Daddy: "Graaaaa!" and "Ah-haaaaa! Graaa!"
This language indicates the young and the old cannot communicate, and suggests
that part of the breakdown of the ___________ structure is that the old and the young
cannot communicate.
15. SYMBOLISM: How may the sandbox itself be seen as a symbol?
(1) A beach; (2) Grandma’s second ______________________ (she
plays with a toy ___________ and ______________, which also may represent the
gravedigger’s spade; and (4) the barrenness of the modern American family.
16. What is the THEME of the play?
The major theme of the play is that the Modern American family has becomes a
hypocritical institution, no longer bound by love, trust, compassion, and
Name____________________
communication, all of the qualities which make a family "a family."
According to Albee's play, the _____________ are not treated with respect.
They have little freedom of __________ and must be dependent on the younger
members of the family.
The elderly must endure much hypocrisy, such as Mommy's phony
__________ as she thinks Grandma is dying. When Grandma is "dead," Mommy and
Daddy felt as if a _______________ had been lifted.
Although Mommy goes through the motions of grieving, she is inwardly happy
to be rid of her mother, whom she has distanced from herself by calling her not
"Mother," but "Grandma."
The old are treated as children or as pets. The play may be suggesting that
certain modern American children often abandon their old _____________ by
"dumping" them in a _____________ home.
17. DARK COMEDY OR THEATER OF THE ABSURD is a term applied to plays whose
humor depends on ridiculous situations which suggest the futility of life.
What ABSURDIST elements are used in the play?
(1) There is no attempt at realistic characters, settings, or actions since the
Absurdist dramatist believes the real world is phony and sterile.
(2) The play treats serious situations _____________ because life is so
meaningless all one can do is laugh at it.
(3) The play uses repetitive and cliché-ridden _____________ to
illustrate the essential emptiness of the lives of the characters.
(4) The characters are viewed as types, not as individuals; the characters
are not given ____________, but titles.