“The busy signal, the crossed wires, the mechanical voices of the operators, are its chief technical elements, providing the conflict without which Mrs. Stevenson’s dilemma would be impossible.”

Lucille Fletcher introduces the concept of the phone as a technical obstacle before the first page of the actual play. Though the phone is also symbolic in nature (and represents both literal and metaphorical communication issues), Fletcher as a writer was interested in the logistics of the phone as a suspense-building literary device. She crafts a horrific world in which the protagonist feels helpless against a piece of technology, and those on the other end of the line.

“Aside from its emphasis on mechanics, this play requires acting above all […] by every subordinate player, brief though his bit may be. Each should present a little vignette of human nature […].”

The supporting characters in the play emphasize the theme of Selfishness Versus Civic Duty. Though most of them only appear for a brief moment, Fletcher utilizes each of them to reflect society’s mechanical lack of empathy. The operators don’t flinch when Mrs. Stevenson reports the murder plot she overheard, and Sergeant Duffy tells her the details are too vague. The “important matters” he must attend to instead are his dessert options on his desk. Ultimately, Fletcher portrays humans as unfeeling, selfish, and entitled.