Question

What is the conflict of the play "Arsenic and Old Lace".Where are the rising events,climax and the falling events.Describe the events that leads to the climax and then from climax to the resolution.Also,provide moral of the story.

Answer 1

Conflict of the play :Even though the story revolves around the premise of the aunts' mercy killings, the central conflict is with Jonathan. Without Jonathan's arrival as the primary antagonist, there would be few to no real obstacles between Mortimer and his goal of protecting his aunts and committing Teddy.

Rising events :

When Mortimer discovers Mr. Spinalzo in the window seat (the aunts’ original victim has been taken “down to Panama” for burial). He realizes this body belongs to Jonathan and that he can pin all the murders on him. (Note how you literally see the realization dawn in his facial expression. This is common at the Midpoint’s Moment of Truth, when the character’s new understanding of the nature of the conflict suddenly allows him to shift from reaction into direct action against the threats of the antagonistic force.) Mortimer threatens Jonathan, telling him he must leave and take his “cold companion” with him.

Climax ;

When police arrive in time to save Mortimer and end up in a brawl with Jonathan, who takes offense when one of them claims “he looks like Boris Karloff.” The police chief takes Jonathan into custody after realizing he’s a wanted man. Meanwhile, Mr. Witherspoon, the head of the sanitarium, arrives to collect Teddy.

Falling events :

When The aunts grieve that Teddy is to be taken away from them and decide to commit themselves. Mr. Witherspoon resists at first, thinking them sane, but Mortimer convinces the police chief they are in fact crazy.

Moral of the Story :

Let’s just say outright whatever already knows about this movie: It’s nuts! The structure, as a result, is a little nuts itself. Although it hits all the classic beats, its pacing and a few of its narrative decisions are unusual. The interweave of character motivations and various conflicts makes it a surprisingly complex movie to analyze. If I hadn’t already had it practically memorized from many previous viewings, I would almost certainly have had to watch it several more times to pick out the correct moments for each structural beat.