Night, Mother

The question, "Will Jessie kill herself?" is the most obvious choice for the major dramatic question (MDQ.) However, there are some alternatives such as, “Will Thelma (Mama) call the police/Dawson/anyone?" or "How will Thelma react to Jessie's suicide?" I believe that the most productive, or more interesting question would be, "Will Mama prevent Jessie from committing suicide?” Though the answer to this question and “Will Jessie kill herself?” are the same, the focus of each is slightly shifted. Once Jessie commits suicide, Mama goes to the kitchen, picks up her pan, and calls Dawson. This is where the play ends. As we read the play, Mama keeps trying over and over again to reach out for help. She attempts to pick up the phone several times. The play asks you to sympathize with the mother and to root for her. "Night, Mother" makes you hope that Mama will succeed and get Jessie to give life a chance. You want Mama to do what she can to get Jessie to change her mind. Essentially, the more interesting focus of the play is not whether or not Jessie will go through with it, it is whether or not her mother will have an effect on that decision. The entire play is about her mother trying to stop her, not her suicide. That is why the question, “Will Mama prevent Jessie from committing suicide?” is a better and more productive MDQ. The MDQ also often coincides with the protagonist’s main objective. In the case of “Night, Mother”, the main objective is to stop Jessie from killing herself, which coincides with the suggested MDQ. Furthermore, the suggested question answers all of the alternative questions, further suggesting that it is the most productive and efficient MDQ.