1.
What is the play’s major dramatic question?
The dramatic question is, how will Frank’s plan to trick Tom play out?
2. What is the protagonist’s goal?
Frank’s goal is to get Tom to stay away from Sue (and stays in Frank’s bed…)
3. What are the most important parts of the previous action?
Frank met Tom and Sue. They have been living together and working on the White Liars
together. Frank and Tom have had sexual relations for six months. Tom and Sue have had sexual
relations for three months. No one has visited Sophie for weeks, so she’s desperate to have
customers.
4. What elements of foreshadowing appear throughout the play? Use specific quotations
There are certain lines that hint at Frank’s feelings for Tom, and there are also some lines from
Tom that hint at it too:
-Frank pg. 14: “He’s an impressive boy.”
- Frank pg. 15: “He’s arrogant, He’s also extraordinary.”
- Frank pg. 15: “I created the liars especially for him.”
- Tom about Frank pg. 31: A whole month he followed us around… always grinning. Silly you
know, but very likeable.”
-Tom pg. 33: “he used to sit at the end of my bed.”
-Sophie and Tom pg. 35- S: “Poor stupid fellow, Ja, but people in love do many desperate things.
You wouldn’t understand that, of course. T: Look love, you really are in the wrong business,
aren’t you?
5. What is the play’s inciting incident? Describe in detail. When does it come in the play?
Who causes it? Who is affected by it?
When Tom and Frank are in the consulting room with Sophie, Frank flips a coin at Sophie’s
suggestion to determine who will go first. Tom calls heads. The coin lands heads, but Frank lies
and says it is tails, ensuring that he goes first. This is the first of many lies to follow. This
manipulated action makes Frank go first, and chaos ensues.
6. What is the protagonist’s goal? Use specific quotes if the protagonist discusses it.
Frank wants Tom to stay away from Sue and stay with him, but he only tells Sophie the first part,
and not the real reason why. The initial intent of the goal is unclear. It seems like Frank wants
Tom just to leave Sue alone so that Frank can be with Sue:
However, Frank’s last line reveals that there might be other motivation involved: “I wanted him
to leave her alone! … And to stay with me. In - my - bed. He’d been there six months”
7. What is the play’s second complication (following the inciting incident)?
When Tom reveals that he has fabricated his life and that Sophie’s trick is ineffective.
8. Of the rest of the play’s complications, which are most important?
The most important one I would say is when Tom reveals that Frank and Sue made up the lies
that Frank told Sophie about Tom’s life. Because this leads to Sophie’s confusion about who to
believe.
9. What is the play’s climax? Describe it in detail. When does it happen in the play? Who
causes it? Who is affected by it?
The climax is on page 37: “I wanted him to leave her alone!... And to stay with me. In my-bed.
He’d been there six months. Sophie is directly affected by it because it makes her seem like a fool
who really couldn’t figure out what was going on.
10. What is the resolution?
The resolution is a little unclear. It seems like it is Sophie finally admitting that she’s in the
wrong business and that she’s been lying about her past all along too?
11. Divide at least one scene into action units. Write a very specific event statement for each
unit, with the most active character in the unit as the subject of your sentence and the main
action of the unit as the verb. Identify the key moment of each unit. Also identify the
climactic unit of the scene.
Scene 3: Pages 20-23.
Unit 1: “Good then, sit, sit” to “SSSShhhh” Sophie being precautious
Unit 2: “And you my dear….” to “and thank you again” Sophie being deceiving
Unit 3: “Hello” to “mining village-father drunkard” Sophie being cautious
Unit 4: she writes in her fan to “pink scarf-pink scarf” Sophie pretending
The climatic unit of the scene is when Sophie takes Tom in and Frank is caught eavesdropping by
Tom.