Sorry, Wrong Number

Mrs. Stevenson argues that it is her civic duty to try to prevent the murder from happening. Does Mrs. Stevenson seem more driven to solve the mysterious phone call by this sense of duty, or is she more driven by her own fear? Use examples from the play to support your answer.

How does Fletcher use irony throughout the play to intensify the danger of Mrs. Stevenson’s situation?

Sorry, Wrong Number continues to influence the modern suspense genre. In what ways have the writing techniques in this play been updated for today’s audiences? Use specific examples from modern books, TV shows, movies, or podcasts.

Fletcher originally wrote this play to enact revenge on a woman she met at the supermarket whom she found to be insufferable. Does this knowledge influence your opinion of Mrs. Stevenson’s character? Why or why not? How does Fletcher complicate the notion that Mrs. Stevenson deserves what happens to her?

The telephone gives Mrs. Stevenson “her first premonition of disaster, and inevitably lead[s] her through frustration, hysteria and desperation to her final doom” (4). Describe the device of the telephone as a means of driving the story forward, and how it serves as the primary source of conflict for the play.

In what ways can this play, which centers society’s duty to one another to prevent harm, relate to modern social justice issues? In what ways is this play a warning about the consequences of inaction?

Though it is never explicitly stated, Fletcher makes several suggestions in her writing that Mrs. Stevenson’s husband is the mysterious client who hired the murderers. Make a case for or against this theory, and whether or not this is effective storytelling, using evidence from the play.

Each of the characters besides Mrs. Stevenson is meant to “present a little vignette of human nature” (5). Pick one character besides Mrs. Stevenson and explain what part of human nature they represent.