52 pages • 1 hour read
A Lie Of The Mind: A Play in Three Acts
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Act IChapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness, cursing, illness or death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and domestic violence.
Act I, Scene 1 Summary
A man named Jake calls to his brother, Frankie, from a payphone on Highway 2. Jake is distressed and keeps slamming the phone into the receiver. Frankie asks Jake to calm down and give him the phone number, so he can call Jake back if they get disconnected. Jake cannot see the number in the dark. He says Beth is with him, which confuses Frankie, but Jake says Beth cannot “pull outa this one” (10), adding that she is red, black, and blue. Frankie does not understand, and Jake repeats that he did not see his violent episode coming. Jake says Beth is dead and hangs up the phone. Frankie yells Jake’s name in frustration.
Act I, Scene 2 Summary
Beth is in a hospital room with bandages on her face and head. Her brother, Mike, comforts her, and she struggles to speak. Beth starts removing bandages, and Mike tries to stop her, insisting she needs to rest. Beth is confused and asks Mike how far underground they are. Her speech is slurred. She says she is not dead, so they need to dig her up. Mike explains that they are in a hospital, and Beth gets angry, demanding to know who “fell” her.
