Telephone Call By Fleur Adcock

Question 1

They asked me ‘Are you sitting down?
Right? This is Universal Lotteries,’
they said. ‘You’ve won the top prize,
the Ultra-super Global Special.
What would you do with a million pounds?
Or, actually, with more than a million—
not that it makes a lot of difference
once you’re a millionaire.’ And they laughed.

Answer 1

Establishes sense of excitement
“Universal Lotteries” - sounds grand yet vague, hinting at something too good to be true
“Ultra-super Global Special” - exaggeration feels almost comically excessive, hinting at absurdity of situation
“More than a million” - further inflates promise

Question 2

‘Are you OK?’ they asked—’Still there?
Come on, now, tell us, how does it feel?’
I said ‘I just . . . I can’t believe it!’
They said ‘That’s what they all say.
What else? Go on, tell us about it.’
I said ‘I feel the top of my head
has floated off, out through the window,
revolving like a flying saucer.’

Answer 2

First lines - push for emotional response; gives a sense of mocking
Ellipsis: shows disbelief both in excitement and skepticism
Metaphor in last three lines: shows how his worries dissappear with money - shows vulnerability and easy manipulation of people - conveys empathy
Simile: “ like a flying saucer” - humourosly conveys shock but conveys a sense of surrealness and unseriousness

Question 3

‘That’s unusual,’ they said. ‘Go on.’
I said ‘I’m finding it hard to talk.
My throat’s gone dry, my nose is tingling.
I think I’m going to sneeze—or cry.’
‘That’s right,’ they said, ‘don’t be ashamed
of giving way to your emotions.
It isn’t every day you hear
you’re going to get a million pounds.

Answer 3

Physical reactions to the news - gives sense of empathy as he takes it very seriously + shows his puzzled state and diverse emotions: “sneeze” “cry”

“Thats right” etc. - manipulative tone - conveys empathy towards writer

Question 4

Relax, now, have a little cry;
we’ll give you a moment . . .’ ‘Hang on!’ I said.
‘I haven’t bought a lottery ticket
for years and years. And what did you say
the company’s called?’ They laughed again.
‘Not to worry about a ticket.
We’re Universal. We operate
a Retrospective Chances Module.

Answer 4

“Now, have a little cry” - makes it personal and emotional

Ellipsis: Speaker finally starts questioning call; leads to shift in tone

Question 5

Nearly everyone’s bought a ticket
in some lottery or another,
once at least. We buy up the files,
feed the names into our computer,
and see who the lucky person is.’
‘Well, that’s incredible,’ I said.
‘It’s marvellous. I still can’t quite . . .
I’ll believe it when I see the cheque.’

Answer 5

Caesura: at the end emphasises sense of shock - doesn’t fully believe it

Ellipsis: reinforces the doubting of the call, but wants to believe it

Question 6

‘Oh,’ they said, ‘there is no cheque.’
‘But the money?’ ‘We don’t deal in money.
Experiences are what we deal in.
You’ve had a great experience, right?
Exciting? Something you’ll remember?
That’s your prize. So congratulations
from all of us at Universal.
Have a nice day!’ And the line went dead.

Answer 6

“But the money?” - lack of excitement and puzzlement

Interogatory language - shows the narrator let down / in shock

“And the line went dead” - symbolic of narrators hopes

Lack of judgement - extreme shock + dissapointment

Adcock teaches that money isn’t the real prize, but the emotions we feel - we should enjoy life