Monologue

Examples
-

A speech given solo by a character in a movie, play or performance

A monologue where I talk to somebody
A monologue where I express my thoughts
Good place to keep a one sided conversation
Shows a significant change of heart or attitude
o Shows inner tension to benefit reader
Find the correct place to place monologue
Cut to the chase
Use a variety of tones
Use silence
Who is character speaking to
What happened right before the monologue
Easiest to do with either the protagonist or the antagonist
Long excerpt in a play that reveals a characters thoughts and feelings
Tones set the mood
Depressive themes open up monologues easier.
Beginning of a monologue hooks the audience
Tension in the middle
Bring the story back around to the play at hand.
Stay in character
Great opportunity to pause the main plot
Use exclamation points sparingly
Open up the character to the audience instead of the characters in the
play
Looking back at what the character has already done and evaluating it.t

Old man witness

-

First person
Wears glasses
Does not understand the concept of time
Fabricates evidence
Stay in character

Thoughts and Feelings

Thinking his age is being used against
him
Discriminating
- Not reliable enough
- Respect for age
- Loss of hear
- Demented
- Suspicious
- Dislike of the young
boy(personal grudge)
- Jump to conclusions
- Stereotype young people as
drugees, thieves, bad people,

Actions
Drinks coffee
Sits down a lot
Walks with a cane
Hunchback
Lives a solitary life in a small
tenement, not well dressed,
appearance would be questionable,
reads the paper, does the crossword.
Bad leg, drags foot as he walks
Wrinkly looking old man

do wrongers
Back in their day it was great
but youth of the current
generation are destroying it
The whippersnappers
Disgruntled, disappointed, told
to be a liar, Calling me crazy,
saying I want attention, think
im imagining stuff, Im sure Im
right
Ive heard their arguments
before
All my life I was an accurate
observer, and a keen listeners
yet his evidence is thrown out
due to 12 jurors aquiting a
murderous young boy
All I have is circumstantial
evidence
Conclude with something like it
was all because im an old man.
I heard a man screaming from
above clearly and I saw that
young boy running down the
stairs, what more evidence did
they need. And yet they let him
go.
Angry and raspy voice
My god whts this world coming
too
The big man up their knows
what happened. He knows I am
right and that I am honest and
truthful.
Discrimination due to age is
one of the greatest tragedies of
modern life
Thats part of American
greatness is discrimination, Yes
sir aged inequality.
They think I see things but I
know better.
I definitely heard the words I
will kill you coming from that
young boys voice and I
definitely saw him as he
clambered down the stairs. I
cant believe I was so easily
dismissed. Those young
whippersnappers really have no
respect for old men like me
these days.

Pointing fingers at people when

talking about the younger generations
His Jacket has many seams under his
arm
Torn Jacket
Two canes
Quiet frightened, insignificant man
who has been nothing all his life.

Discrimination due to his living

location, the Bronx in 1950s.
no credibility
Socioeconomic status has
thrown out my evidence, only if
I was younger, a more imposing
personality, more of a higher
status person.
Its all circumstantial evidence.
As train goes by I can still hear
a baby crying in the apartment
below, how ridiculous it is to
say that the train muffles these
sounds.
Decripit am I with my limp leg,
you think I am old and dottery
aye.
Wants to prove to himself that
he is correct
They put doubt in my mind but
not in my heart.

Feelings after Court case

Anger
Disappointed for a guilty young man
is acquitted
Feels Worthless

Facts and thoughts

Evidence is discredited
Age discrimination
Poor appearance
How jurors looked at me
- With those eyes that did not give
me any attention, were not
interested in me,looked very
closely at my clothing,
scrutinizing me and judging me
because im an old man and a
poor old man at that.
Portay the discrimination dont retell
the story

Stamps his canes in fury

-

Change the way people feel about me

Acting like a furious old man stamping cane every once in a while
Prove that Old man can hear and see by hearing the baby through the el
train and seeing a bird from afar.

End with Oh its been a bad day for new York, a very very bad day for new York.

Monologue- Old Man Witness.

To start he Walks in to apartment after trial
Taps both canes heavily as he walks in and sits down on his chair shaking his
head in disgust
Then vo

ice gets louder

Starts by muttering to self as he walks in muttering Its been a bad day for
new York
Sits down and peers into the crowd and says for one last time its been a bad
day for new York
Oh those young fools have let a murderer on the loose in the streets of New York.
How dare they let that boy out of his cell? He killed his father for god damn
sakes. Theyre trying to kill us all by letting him back on the streets. I saw him
run down those stairs after hed screamed out that hed kill his father. I swear to
God that he did. Im telling ya, get him before he gets us.
They think me a senile poor old fool with nothing better to do but do the daily
crosswords, but I will prove them wrong. [louder] I will prove them all wrong I say.
Seeing is believing I say, I definitely saw that boy clambering down those steps.
They think me a fool but I know better, because I know what really happened.

[Wakes up in chair yawning] It has been quite a long day at court. It feels like
years have flashed by without me noticing it. It has truly been a painful day. First
I had to get out of bed, get dressed, walk myself to court, walk up to the stand,
get questioned by whippersnappers who have no respect for an old man like me,
then my witness statements were thrown out of court because apparently I am
senile old man who does not know his right from left and the defendant walked
free. He killed his father and he walked free. What has this world come to? In my
days, children like this would be sent to those kid jails or even normal adult jails.
living amongst these young, disrespectful rats who do not understand the worth
of an old man whose main job is to see and then listen. They doubt my senses
but whats this; an el train is passing yet I can hear the baby from downstairs
crying for some milk. The el train is passing but I can hear the sound of the
woman across the street yawning as she gets up from bed.
They doubt my sight but I can clearly see that woman, as she opens her drawer
and pulls out her glasses. As she puts them on, she faces me and smiles. I can
see all this, I can hear all this and yet they still doubt me. Wait they do not doubt
me, they doubt the age in me. They believe me to be a senile old man, an
inhumane existence with no purpose, but I shall prove them wrong. I shall prove
them all wrong.
They tried to put a seed of doubt in my mind but they have not made me doubt
my heart. I still believe that boy is guilty and that he will wreak havoc again. That
guilty boy is pure evil, probably does drugs in the backstreets while flinging that
little knife of his at people. I have had enough with that annoying little brat. I

wish they had put him in a cell and left him there to die. Isnt he worth only that
much because he killed his father?
I saw him running down those stairs, I heard him scream, I am going to kill
you! What more evidence do you youngsters need? It all happened and I used
all my senses to explain to you what I saw, what I heard and what I felt, and yet
you still deny it. You not only deny him being guilty but you deny my very
existence by throwing out my evidence, saying that I am an old man that could
be hearing things, seeing things. What you dont understand is that when this el
train passes, I can still hear everything, I can hear a crow across the street
scream, I can smell cooked food from across the street and yet you still deny me.
You youngsters now days have taken things too far, become too lenient, that boy
shouldve gotten fifty lashes for even playing with knives in public but these days
your only sent to prison camps where supposedly you can redeem yourself and
change, but everybody knows that you cant change because youre a little kid
on drugs playing with knives all day. All you can do is play with knives anyway so
whats the point of that.