How Does Lucille Fletcher Use Rhetorical Devices In Sorry Wrong Number

Left to Her Own Devices
Lucille Fletcher’s radio play Sorry, Wrong Number effectively employs the use of rhetorical devices to develop her characters. In Agnes’ interactions with others, the repetition of certain words and phrases show her state of mind, and the brief presence of dramatic irony gave Agnes room to grow as a character, and carefully exaggerated truths prevent her from getting the help she needs. Agnes’ most prominent character traits are revealed through constant repetition. When she called the police station to report the murder plot she had overheard, the repetition in the dialogue exchanged between her and the officer revealed a significant amount of information about her mentality. Agnes often stutters when she is anxious, and repeated her name, “Mrs. Stevenson, Mrs. Elbert Stevenson” (11), twice. She also spoke in quick, short phrases often beginning with “And…” (11), to add one more small piece of information to an already long and extended thought. The excessive repetition gives her dialogue a nervous, almost hysterical quality, and highlights her unstable mindset in her anxiety. While providing her address in great detail to the police, she eventually realizes the repetition in her own words, and begins to suspect she is the victim of the murder about to

As she reveals that she lives “near a bridge … [with] a private patrolman on [her] street … [a]nd Second Avenue is [nearby]” (11) the listeners recognize that some of the details are familiar, and the coincidences create a dreading atmosphere of dramatic irony. When Agnes does realize that she could be the target, she appeals desperately to the police to send help. However, she had already established her character to the officer as a hysterical woman from the start, and consequently influenced his dismissive attitude towards her for the duration of the phone