Play 1: Heat Lightning
This chapter is from the 1st Year English book 3 and it has been written by Robert F. Carrol. we have presented the important questions and main idea of this chapter for the intermediate (part 1) fsc fa ics i.com first year students.
Summary
The play “Heat Lightning’ is about a girl who is victim of fear. She is afraid of something unknown. On a dark and stormy night she has a notion that she is being attacked by someone, Running away from the killer she finds shelter in a bus station. She tells a man in the station that she is being chased by a killer. The Man consoles her and assures her complete protection. The Girl does not trust his words. She is emotionally disturbed. She has always fearful notions in her mind. As a frightened person she behaves in a strange way. Her mind is occupied with symbols of terror. Storm terrifies her. Lightning terrifies her. The crash of thunder terrifies her. The image of the killer terrifies her. The Man is waiting for the bus, which is late because of storm. The Man asks the Girl about the killer. The Girl does not give a satisfactory answer. In fact she does not remember clearly what she had seen. In the meanwhile, a stranger comes in.
Questions Answers
Q: Briefly describe the Man.
In the play “Heat Lightning’ the Man is one of the main characters. The Man is a professional killer. He is clever and artful. He succeeds in making the Girl believe that he is her protector. He is able to calm down the Girl. He asks the Girl probing questions to be reassured that the Girl does not suspect him at all. He is also able to deceive the Second Man. He comes out of tight situations rather well. He is too clever and deceptive. His communication skills are effective. The Girl and the readers never suspect him to be an evil man. Only in the end the Girl comes to know that he is the real killer.
Q: Describe the sensational events in the play “Heat Lightning’.
The play “Heat Lightning’ is full of sensational events. The scene of a fellow dragging the dead body is horrible. The Girl can see the parts of the dead body even in the dark, misty night. The following incident is equally alarming. The killer chases the Girl to the last. The killer could catch hold of her anytime, but she is lucky to escape. The Second Man also poses a threat. The Girl believes that he is the killer. The Man lets him come in. The Girl is shocked to see all this happening. Finally, there comes an alarming situation when the Man’s identity is exposed. The Girl at last comes to know that he is the real killer. He attacks her, but once again she has a lucky escape.
Q: Briefly narrate the story of the play “Heat Lightning’.
There is a Girl who sees a fellow dragging the dead body in a dark, misty night. She runs away from the evil man. The killer chases her. Luckily, she safely enters the coach station. There he tells a man that she is chased by a killer. The Man consoles her and assures her complete protection. Meanwhile another person rather forcefully enters the coach station. The Girl suspects that he is the killer. After some time the Second Man leaves the place. At the end the Girl sees her torch in the hands of the Man. Now she comes to know that the Man is the real killer. The evil man rushes towards her. She has a lucky escape. The evil man runs away.
Q: Why couldn’t the Girl describe the killer?
The Girl could not see the killer because it was dark. Besides, she became terrified and upset after seeing the dead body. For these reasons she was unable to describe the killer.
Q: What were the circumstances that forced the Girl to leave the car?
The Girl’s car ran out of fuel. There was no one around on the stormy dark night, and therefore, she could not ask someone to help her. In these circumstance she left the car on the way and started walking.
Q: Why did the Girl ask for help from the First Man?
After the Girl saw the killer dragging the dead body, she started running. The killer chased her. Luckily, she safely reached the bus station. At this point she thought that the killer might come there anytime. She asked the First Man to help her from the killer’s possible attack on her.
Q: What was the condition of the weather?
Throughout the play we see storm, rain, thunder and lightning. The roar of thunder and sudden flash of lightning made the situation fearful.
Q: Why did the Second Man accuse the First Man of lying?
The Second Man asked the First Man about the presence of the Girl inside the room. The First Man denied the presence of the Girl. After some time the Girl appeared. At this point the Second Man accused the First Man of lying.
Q: Did the Girl become suspicious of the First Man as the play progressed?
The Girl believed that the First Man was his protector. She did not become suspicious about him at all. Only at the end, she came to know that he was the killer.
Q: What is the impression of the Girl about the Second Man?
The Girl was suspicious about the Second Man from the time he entered the bus station. She was not sure that he was the killer, but she did have serious doubts.
Q: Why didn’t the Girl accompany the Second Man?
The Girl was suspicious about the Second Man. Besides, she trusted the First Man a lot. For this reason she did not accompany the Second Man.
Q: What type of play “Heat Lightning’ is?
The “Heat Lightning’ is a melodrama. It consists of sensational events. The reader never knows what is going to happen next. The ending is, however, comic.
Q: Which characters are there in the play?
Apparently there are four characters in the play. There is a girl, a man, a second man and a suspected killer. The Girl, the Man and the Second Man are presented directly. There is suspense about the killer right to the end. Maybe, we are left with only three characters at the end.
Q: What type of character the Girl is?
The Girl is highly emotional. She is driven by fear. Though she is emotional and fearful, she can think and plan rather well. What type of character the Man is? The man is a cool fellow. His moves are quite calculated. Some of his actions indicate that he is not quite predictable.
Q: What type of character the Second Man is?
The Second Man is a very intelligent person. He can guess and predict very quickly. He seems to be a considerate and sympathetic fellow.
Q: What does the Girl do as she notices the Man coming towards her?
The Girl is terrified to see the Man advancing towards her. As she notices this, she runs up to the center door and pulls at it. She bolts the door before the Man Comes near her.
Q: How does the Girl escape from the evil designs of the Man?
As the Man advances towards her, a dog comes there by chance to save itself from the storm. The dog jumps and seizes the Man with its sharp teeth. The dog forces him to run away and the Girl has a miraculous escape from the wicked fellow.
Q: As a reader give your brief comment about the play?
The play “Heat Lightning keeps the reader guessing to the end. It is full of thrill and exciting actions. The most satisfying thing is that the ending is happy.
Q: Have you any experience of a similar situation as faced by the Girl?
Three years back i went to see my relatives in a town nearby. Our bus had a minor accident on the way. Thus, I reached the city late at night. From the city hired a tonga to reach the town which was five miles away from the city. On the way I smelt something terrible. It was a smell of burnt flesh. shared this with the coach man. He told me to shut my mouth. Meanwhile I saw him taking out a dragger. screamed and hit the coach man. Luckily, the coachman loosened the grip on the reins of the horse. The horse started running like a deer. After a couple of minutes the horse fell down. also fell down opposite side of the coachman. I got up and So did the coachman. I saw a field of Sugarcane, and jumped into it. Luckily the coachman did not chase me into the field. I could hear the sound of a wagon’s horn. This made the coachman fearful. He went back towards his tonga. After half an hour when I was fully convinced that the coachman had gone, came out of the sugarcane field and walked to the town on foot.
Q: Why did the Girl consider the First Man her helper?
The Girl had a lucky escape from the killer. When she entered the bus station, she found the First Man there. She had gone through a tense situation, and now. she was dreaming about any person who could help her. Thus when she saw the First Man in the bus station, she had a notion that this gentleman must be his saviour. This notion changed into strong belief after some time. The First Man behaved very nicely and was able to make her believe that he would help her through thick and thin. The words of encouragement from the First Man were taken very positively by the Girl. Besides, his suggestion that she must go to the police removed any suspicion that he himself could be the killer. All these factors made the Girl believe that the First Man was her helper.
Q: What are the factors that played their role in saving the Girl?
The Girl had lucky escape on numerous occassions. First, the killer chased her a long way, but he could not trace her. Perhaps, dark night and bad weather proved for the Girl as blessing in disguise. Later, luckily for the Girl, the First Man was dead sure that she did not suspect him at all. He asked many probing questions, but the Girl was too upset to answer these questions properly. The First Man was relieved to know that she did not remember his features at all. He was also relieved to know that she did not want to go to the police. Had the First Man become suspicious about the Girl she would have been in real trouble. At the end, the Girl sees her flashlight with the First Man, and then she came to know that he was the killer. At this point she rushes outside and the First Man chases her. Luckily again, a dog who wanted to get away from the storm entered inside. The dog attacked the evil man who ran away instantly. Thus, the Girl had the last miraculous escape.
Q: How did the Girl realise the truth?
The Girl had a lot of faith in the First Man. She never suspected him. In fact she considered him as her saviour. it was only in the end that she came to know the truth. After the Girl had refused to go with the Second Man, the Girl started talking with the First Man. Meanwhile, the light became very dim. They could not see anything at all. The First Man turned the flashlight on. The Girl was quick to remember that it was the same flashlight that she had dropped on the way as the killer was chasing her. Finding this flashlight with the First Man, she came to know that the First Man was the real killer.
Q: What type of environment is there in the play “Heat Lightning”?
The play consists of sensational events. Fear prevails everywhere. At the very start we see a man dragging a dead body. The Girl suspects him to be a killer. She runs away from the spot. She has a notion that she is being attacked by the killer. The Second Man also terrifies her a lot. She thinks that he might be the killer. At the end the Man is exposed. She now comes to know that the Man is the real killer. She has a lucky escape here. The whole surrounding is terrifying. Dark night, storm, thunder and the lightning make the Girl fearful. Even the dismal and mysterious setting of the station is rather disturbing.
Q: Give a brief description of the Girl.
In the play “Heat Lightning the Girl is the main character. The Girl is the victim of fear. She is young and emotionally unstable. The shocking incident of seeing a person dragging the dead body makes her fearful and suspicious. As a frightened person she behaves, in a strange way. Her mind is occupied with symbols of terror. Storm terrifies her. Lightning terrifies her. The crash of thunder terrifies her. The Second Man terrifies her. The image of the killer terrifies her. In this state of mind she behaves like a child. She looks for safety and security. She at last puts faith in the Man. She shows faithfulness to the Man by refusing to accompany the Second Man. She prefers to stay with the Man. She never knew that the Man was the real killer.
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