A Sunny Morning (One Act Play) Exercise

 A Sunny Morning (One Act Play)

By Serafin Álvarez Quintero

and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero

EXERCISES
Understanding the text

a. What makes Dona Laura think that Don Gonzalo is an ill-natured man? Why do neither Dona Laura nor Don Gonzalo reveal their true identities? 

Answer: The rude behavior, act and the talking manner of Gonzalo makes Laura think that he is an ill-natured man. Gonzalo scares all the pigeons when Laura is feeding breadcrumbs in a park. He answers Laura's question in a very rude manner too. Neither Dona Laura nor Don Gonzalo reveals their true identities because they realise that they were lovers in the past time. Both of them are very old now and they have their own families. They think it better to hide their identities and prefer to be happy through admirable words from both sides.

b. At what point of time, do you think, Laura and Gonzalo begin to recognise each other?

Answer: I think Laura and Gonzalo begin to recognise each other at the time when Gonzalo says he is from Valencia and Dona Laura reveals that she has lived in a villa at Maricela near Valencia. They easily know that they are telling their own love affairs in the past.

c. When does Dona Laura realise that Don Gonzalo was her former lover?

Answer: Dona Laura realises that Don Gonzalo was her former lover at the time when he tells her about the Silver Maiden named Laura Llorente and her beauty. She realises him as her former lover to hear his admirable description of her.

d. Why do Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo spin fictitious stories about themselves?

Answer: Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo spin fictitious stories about themselves because they don't want to expose their real identity to each other. They are quite old now and away from their romantic past. They think that it is better to interact with each other being unfamiliar and unknown.

e. How do Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo feel about each other?

Answer: Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo feel annoyed about each other at the beginning of the play because of the ill nature of Gonzalo. They use harsh and pinching words against each other. But, later on, when they establish their friendly relationship, they realise that they are former lovers. They start relating their past stories hiding their real identities. They feel good about each other and enjoy their admiration and past stories. They plan to meet there in the park if the next morning is sunny.

Reference to the context

a. Look at the extract below and answer the questions that follow:

“Yes, you are only twenty. (She sits down on the bench.) Oh, I feel more tired today than usual. (Noticing Petra, who seems impatient.) Go, if you wish to chat with your guard.”

i. Who is the speaker? 

Answer: The speaker is Dona Laura.

ii. Who does ‘you’ refer to?

Answer: 'You' refers to Dona Laura's maid Petra.

iii. Who is the ‘guard’ the speaker is talking to?

Answer: The 'guard' is the 'park's guard' the speaker is talking to.

b. Read the extract dialogue from the play and answer the questions that follow:

            DONA LAURA: (Indignantly.) Look out!

            DON GONZALO: Are you speaking to me, senora?

            DONA LAURA: Yes, to you.

            DON GONZALO: What do you wish?

   DONA LAURA: You have scared away the birds who were feeding on my crumbs.

            DON GONZALO: What do I care about the birds?

            DONA LAURA: But I do.

            DON GONZALO: This is a public park.

c. Who is Dona addressing by saying “Look out”?

Answer: By saying "Look out", Dona is addressing Don Gonzalo.

d. What was Dona doing?

Answer: Dona was feeding breadcrumbs to pigeons in the park. 

e. Who scared the birds? Are they pet birds?

Answer: Don Gonzalo scared the birds. No, they aren't pet birds.

f. Where are the speakers at the time of the conversation?

Answer: At the time of conversation, the speakers are in a park.

g. What is the effect of flashback in the play when Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo knew that they were lovers in the past?

Answer: Flashback is a dramatic device in which earlier events are inserted into the normal chronological flow of a narrative. The flashback helps Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura to know that they were lovers in the past. Their flashback has extended this play with varieties of hidden facts. Due to its usage, they narrate their past stories pretending false characters. They think that revealing the true fact can be problematic to their happiness of present time. Flashback can be considered as the base of this humorous play.

h. Discuss how the play is built around humour and irony.

Answer:  This play is written around humour and irony or it is full of humour and irony. Humor is carried in the opening scene of the play. The comic sense of Laura is admirable when she remarks on Gonzalo’s walking. She says “A carriage would not raise more dust than his feet.” Her utterance creates laughter when she asks Gonzalo if he uses his handkerchief as a shoe brush.

We find irony in plenty of pinching words from both characters. It is ironical that they do not want to reveal their identities, as they fear that their changed looks can be restraints in their newly found happiness.Their manner of interacting using ironic remarks, their false stories related to their deaths, the ways of concealing their identities to fool each other, their promise to meet in the next sunny morning etc. have made this play full of humour and irony.

 

i. How is the title ‘A Sunny Morning’ justifiable? Discuss.

Answer: The title 'A Sunny Morning ' is justifiable. This play is based on a set of a park in Madrid, Spain during a sunny morning. Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo loved each other but circumstances separated them. They used to be active, romantic and lively which suits the atmosphere of sunny morning. But they are inactive now. The wonderful memory of their youthful days makes them forget their age and think that they will meet if it is a sunny morning next day.

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