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The Consumption Of Desperation : A Telephone Call

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The Consumption of Desperation: A Telephone Call Can a telephone control our love for someone? In the short story "A Telephone Call" by Dorothy Parker, she captures the reader’s attention by using various narrative devices such as conflict, style, setting to foreshadow the theme of desperation and anxiety a woman faces when she discovers her love for someone. Women are attention crazed beings, and this is seen thoroughly in this story. The author’s use of conflict is illustrated by the narrator’s battling with herself as to whether she should contact him or not. The protagonist in this story is very confusing due to the fact that she is in trepidation as to if she would receive a phone call from him and if she should be the one contacting him. Her lack of realizing she had false hope was hindered because of her focal point being centered on sweet names such as “darling”, which gave her a sense of assurance. Some men extol the use of admirable names to achieve supremacy over women, which then forces women to become more emotionally attached. Furthermore, she became very indecisive which lead to her conflicting habits throughout the story. “This is the last time I’ll look at the clock (Parker 3),” and “He might even hope that I would call him up (Parker 13).” These are distinct quotes which demonstrate the personal conflict of her calling him and her trying to convince herself that procrastination will lead to a phone call. Hereafter by her counting “five, ten, fifteen,

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