Dramatic Monologue #2

Erin Conley

Mrs. Jernigan

AP English Literature

7 February 2011

Dramatic Monologue

           “Hazel Tells Laverne” is a witty and ironic story of maid who encounters a frog in while cleaning the toilets. The maid, Hazel, seems to be catching her friend, Laverne, up on the latest gossip. Her colloquial tone provides humor and shows how she is just bubbly, funny, and fully of personality. I can just see her howling with laughter while telling her friend about her strange night. She describes how the frog just jumped up the toilet and scared her. Then “sohelpmegod” the frog started talking to her and asking her to kiss him and she could become a princess. Hazel laughs as she exclaims that there's no way she could be a princess, and so she told him to get away “ya little green pervert” and flushed him down the toilet three times. It seems to be a funny telling of a weird night in the life of a maid.

           For everyone who knows the tale, though, the frog really meant what he said. It is ironic that Hazel missed out on her chance to get rid of her lifestyle and become a princess. I think the author, Katharyn Howd Machan, is trying to make a point. Women, like Hazel, can have such a low view of themselves that they do not even acknowledge the possibility that they could be something special. I feel that this humorous monologue has to have some sort of motive behind it, and I feel that the author was trying to show women how they need to recognize their worth.