Short Story Analysis: A Telephone Call by Dorothy Parker

I. A Telephone Call
By Dorothy Parker

II. SYNOPSIS
An infatuated, obsessed woman is eagerly waiting for her boyfriend to call her up at
5:00. Now it is 7:10 but he has not called up yet. She thinks that this is God’s way of
punishing her for being bad. She promises to be good and sweet to her boyfriend if he
calls up now. She keeps on calling God’s attention, frantically waiting for her boyfriend to
call up. She thinks that perhaps he is on his way to her place, and this is the reason for his
not calling up yet. On one hand, she thinks of calling him up, but hesitates. She counts
anxiously while waiting for that telephone call.

III. SHORT STORY ELEMENTS

A. CHARACTERS
There is only one main character in this short story, and is flat and static, the persona
of this short story, the “I.” The minor character, though not formally having a direct role
here, is the “he,” also flat and static.

B. PLOT
a) Introduction
The characters, the persona “I” and the minor character “he,” are introduced.
b) Rising Action
 The complication of the short story starts when a woman, the persona, recalls that her
boyfriend told her he would call her up at 5:00, but still has not, at 7:10.
c) Climax
The climax is when frantic thoughts run across the persona’s mind, just because of her
boyfriend’s not calling her up at the promised time.
d) Falling action
The events and complications start to resolve when she decides not to call him up.
e) Denouement
The final outcome happens at the end of this short story when she decides to wait
further, by doing her counting again.

C. SETTING
a) place – in the living room
b) time- late afternoon towards early evening
c) weather conditions- fine
d) social conditions- middle-class
e) mood or atmosphere- the female persona is very anxious; frantic, waiting for his call

D. POINT OF VIEW
The Point of View used in this short story is the First Person - The story is told by the
protagonist or one of the characters who interacts closely with the protagonist or other
characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc). The reader sees the story through this
person's eyes as he/she experiences it and only knows what he/she knows or feels,
focusing on the thoughts and agitations of the crazed woman. This short story is a
monologue.

E. LITERARY DEVICES
In my opinion, the literary devices used in this story are first and foremost Irony; the
title is A Telephone Call, but there is no telephone call in this short story, and then
Symbols; the telephone unit itself symbolizes something deeper, it is the center of the
persona’s crazed antics and thoughts.

F. THEME
 For me, the theme Being in love with someone brings not only happiness but also pain
is appropriate for this short story.

G. CONFLICT
The conflict here is Internal, that of Person vs. Himself, as the persona is a crazed,
obsessed, anxious woman who waits for a telephone call from her boyfriend, and in the
process of doing so, comes in psychological conflict with herself. --ARV