Monologue Analysis

http://www.monologuearchive.com/w/walker_001.html

THE CHOCOLATE AFFAIR
A monologue from the play by Stephanie Alison Walker:

I'm up every day at five. Every day. Up at five, go for a jog, take a shower, wake Sally, cook breakfast—something healthy—egg whites, flax, kale, organic coffee, sprouted wheat. Sit down with Dave and Sally for breakfast. Eat a tiny portion. Be sure to leave some on the plate. Always leave some on the plate.
Get dressed. Something feminine, flattering. Kiss Dave goodbye. Make sure to give him a little something worth coming back home to.
Check on Sally. Comb her hair. Pack her lunch. Wait with her for the bus. Hug her goodbye. Make sure that hug lasts all day long...that she feels your arms around her even at recess when the mean kids pick on her because their moms don't hug them enough. Then let go. Watch her walk away, board the bus.
Choke back your tears. Taste the salt slide down the back of your throat. Go back inside. Check yourself in the mirror. Ugh. Turn around. Turn back hoping to see someone else. Cross through the kitchen. Pause. Feel the quiet of the empty house. No one watching. What can you eat? Open the pantry, look inside. Grab the jar of peanut butter. Unscrew the lid. Take a whiff. Stick your finger in the jar of peanut butter. Lick it off. Feel someone watching you. Shit. Turn around to face them. No one's there. Put the peanut butter away. Wash your hands, careful to remove any trace of peanut butter. Reapply lipstick. Head out the door. To work. Again.
This isn't fun anymore. There's something wrong with me.


This monologue starts with a short sentence to set the scene for the reader. By using a time (five), as one of the first things said, it allows the reader to start building a picture in their mind. Another thing that Stephanie Walker has used at the beginning is a list. This gives the reader an 'endless' feeling. By using only commas in the list and avoiding the use of the word 'and' it gives across the impression that she is bored of having so much to do and it makes the list seem longer than it actually is. In fact the writer uses short sentences the whole way through to make the whole monologue seem like a list. This makes the reader sympathise with her as it seems as if she doesn’t stop doing things all day. By using plenty of full stops it means that the reader keeps pausing throughout reading it and makes them seem almost 'out of breathe' whilst reading it, as if the woman is extremely tired.

Stephanie uses many contractions at the beginning of sentences, such as 'I'm' and 'There's'. By using this lexis it makes it seem as thought she does not have enough time to say the two words seperately and that she has to shorten them both to be able to fit them into her very 'busy' day. She also uses a lot of imperatives in her writing for example 'Grab the jar of peanut butter.','Pack her lunch','Unscrew the lid.' and 'Choke back the tears' This almost gives across the feeling that she is in some sort of strict routine as they sound very much like orders.