Question

[The setting is the living room at Horatio’s house. Horatio opens the door, and Caitlin follows him in. Horatio sets his backpack on the floor.]

2 HORATIO: No, it’s not a garden. Guess again.

3 CAITLIN: [She throws her hands up.] A terrarium? I give up. What is your big new project? You said you had to feed it, so I’m completely stumped.

4 HORATIO: [He grins.] Stay here.

5 [Horatio exits. Caitlin sits on the couch. Horatio returns holding a container covered with a linen cloth. He places the container on the coffee table before Caitlin.]

6 CAITLIN: Is this another volcano? Don’t you remember when your volcano for the science fair erupted all over the carpet after you fed it all that baking soda? [She motions around her.] There was lava everywhere!

7 HORATIO: No lava. I promise. [He lifts the linen cloth with a flourish, revealing a glass jar. Inside is a doughy off-white substance.]

8 CAITLIN: [She scrunches her face.] What on Earth is that? </divp

9 HORATIO: This ancient being is a sourdough starter. It is used to bake sourdough bread. Do you want to feed it?

10 CAITLIN: I don’t understand the question, but I’m leaning toward no.

11 HORATIO: My grandmother sent me home with a piece from her dough—it’s alive because of the yeast. My grandmother said she’s kept this sourdough starter alive for over 50 years.

12 CAITLIN: Why do you want to make bread from something that old? And what does a dough ball eat?

13 HORATIO: It’s a descendant of the original dough. You create new dough by feeding it flour and water and letting it expand.

14 CAITLIN: OK, but I’m still not sure what the big deal is. It’s just dough.

15 HORATIO: Just dough? This dough is a family heirloom. The bread created from this dough is the most delicious bread in the world. [He cradles the jar.] I will nurture it like my grandmother did before me. This sourdough will live for a century! [He holds the jar up triumphantly.] To the kitchen! [He exits.]

16 [Caitlin follows him off stage.]

How do Caitlin’s responses to Horatio in Scene 1 help develop the plot of the play?
A
They cause Horatio to become interested in other types of activities.
B
They prompt Horatio to make a commitment he will struggle to keep.
C
They cause Horatio to wonder if he has taken up too many responsibilities.
D
They prompt Horatio to make a plan for accomplishing his goal.

Answer 1

B

Caitlin’s skeptical, dismissive responses (refusing to feed it, calling it “just dough”) prompt Horatio to overstate his intentions—he vows to nurture the starter “like my grandmother did” and keep it for a century. That declaration is a clear commitment that can drive the play’s future conflict as he struggles to live up to it.