Sorry, Right Number

By Stephen King

What is a Drama ? Provide the definition of these terms

that are related to this genre.

Drama: A story told in dialogue form. Like fiction, drama

establishes a setting, a series of plot events, and centers

on one or more conflicts that characters must cope with.

Drama does not use a narrator to describe what

happens, and the plot unfolds through the characters’

words and actions.

Stage Directions : an instruction written into the script of

a play, indicating stage actions, movements of

performers, or production requirements

What is the difference between an act and a scene?

An act is a major division of a play; one act may be

divided into several scenes.HR

From lines 1- 145)

• At the beginning, the mood of the

story is normal or ordinary

• What is it about the phone call that

changes the mood of the story?

• The voice on the phone is followed by

‘desperate sobbing’

• It sounds ‘awful, heartbreaking’

• Then the connection suddenly is lost

• The mood now is disturbing,

unsettling, puzzlingHR

From lines 146 - 264)

• Understand the author’s technique

for building suspense

• After Katie speaks with Polly, what

does Bill say?

• He says that the sobbing phone call

was either “a prank” or “someone

who dialed a wrong number”

• Katie disagrees.

• Do you agree with Bill or Katie?

Why? HR

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From lines 146 - 264

• How does the difference in the way that

Katie and Bill react to the phone call add

to the suspense?

• Katie’s tone is emotional and panicky

throughout – she is pessimistic

• Bill is calm and composed – he is

optimistic

• His attempts to calm Katie down only

seem to make things worse, which

intensifies the conflict and heightens the

suspense

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What are Bill’s attempts to calm Katie down?

• Telling her to calm down

• Trying to convince her that it may not be

her family member – it’s a prank call or

somebody who accidentally punched their

number

• Trying to make the mood lighter (makes

small jokes – ‘..through a shimmering of

tears….we veterans…..)

• Laughing out and making fun of her

words

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From lines 265 - 359

• Do you feel that the operator acted

appropriately in this scene? Explain.

• No, her behavior is not appropriate.

• Bill and Katie is having an

emergency while the operator is

trying to strike a conversation about

Bill’s books

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• What natural and supernatural reasons might account for Dawn’s phone being off the hook?

• Supernatural event is an event that could not happen naturally in our world under any circumstances.

• Natural :

– someone took the phone off the hook because he or she didn’t want to be disturbed

– The phone was knocked off the hook during a struggle

– An intruder cut the phone wires so no one could call for help

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• What natural and supernatural

reasons might account for Dawn’s

phone being off the hook?

• Supernatural

– Some type of energy from space

interferes with telephone connection

– Some unnatural forces is affecting the

area

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Yes.

• She knows of Bill’s complaints about his health but she takes

it easy and doesn’t bother to take it seriously (as obvious

from her conversation with Lois). She assumes he is having

paranoia or he is overly anxious.

• Her panic and distress over the mysterious phone call and its

after effects make Bill nervous and on edge too. This could

have put strain on his stress level causing an adverse effect

on his already weak heart, thus, killing him.

No.

• It is fated that Bill should die from a heart attack. There is no

way Katie could have known that it was serious. There was

no serious symptoms that she should be worried about.

• Furthermore, Bill is responsible for his own health. If he

feels he has medical issues, he should have gone for a check -

up himself without waiting for his wife to tell him to do so.