Miss Lulu Bett

What is the author's style in Miss Lulu Bett by Zona Gale?

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Miss Lulu Bett is a comedy. The majority of the comedy in the play derives from the shenanigans of the characters. Dwight's pomposity—marked by his language, and most notably, his mispronunciation of words—is cause for mirth, especially since he does not recognize his own inflated self-importance. Di's forbidden romance with Bobby Larkin plays out under the eyes of her witless family; at the end of act one, stage directions read, "At the window, behind the curtain, Di has just kissed Bobby goodby"—all despite the presence of her mother, father, and prospective suitor in the very room. Mrs. Bett's chronic confusion comes and goes in flashes—one minute she encourages Lulu to accompany the theater party and the next she forgets where everyone is going—but she still emerges as one of the few sensible members of the family. Comedy also arises from Gale's use of repetition. For example in act 2, scenes 1 and 2 contain identical dialogue: "Mama, I have to go down to the liberry," Di says—and action—the family is seated in the "approximate positions" on the porch.

Monona, left out of the family dramas because of her young age, craftily eggs her family on; as she informs her grandmother, "Oh, I like to get them [Dwight and Ina] going." Other times, Monona sassily responds to her family's constant shuttling her around, as when Ina tells her to run off and play and she "runs her circle and returns." Monona's one-liners, such as that "grown folks" do not act grown up, or her wondering if grown ups "always say something bad," provide comic relief while giving voice to the truth as applies to this household.

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Miss Lulu Bett