Play: A Visit to a Small Planet (Gore Vidal)

Q1: What is ironic about Spelding’s broadcast in the beginning of the play?

Ans: Roger Spelding announced in his broadcast that the flying object in the sky was just a meteor and nothing else.
According to him it was neither a flying saucer nor any secret weapon of the United States of America. His broadcast was
based upon ironical statements as the flying object happened to be a space ship.

Q2: Why is Spelding unhappy about the relationship between Ellen and John?

Ans: Mr. Roger Spelding is unhappy about the relationship between her daughter Ellen and John. John is a farmer and he
grows English walnuts in his farm. Spelding wants her daughter to be married with an ambitious and famous man.

Q3: Why did Kreton want to visit Earth?

Ans: Kreton wanted to visit Earth because the Earthlings were his hobby. He studied everything about Earth dwellers. He
felt that the people of Earth are extraordinary because of their so much emotional nature. He also wanted to intoxicate
his mind with these thoughts. It later came out in the play that he wanted to take charge of the whole world.

Q4: How is Kreton able to communicate with the people on Earth?

Ans: Kreton was an alien and he had a special ability to hear the minds of people. In this way, he learnt all the languages
of the world and able to communicate with the people on Earth.

Q5: Describe the reaction of different characters to Kreton’s visit.

Ans: John and Ellen were surprised and happy to have an alien in their house. Spelding thought that he could take an
interview of Kreton and this will make him famous but afterwards he became annoyed with Kreton because of the
martial law in his home. Mrs Spelding liked the whiskers of Kreton but she did not like the spaceship in his rose garden.
General Powers thought that Kreton was a hostile alien and he came on Earth to know all the details about this planet.
He was thoroughly angry with Kreton.

Q6: Why is General Powers paranoid about Kreton’s visit?

Ans: General Powers was Paranoid about Kreton’s visit because he thought that Kreton belonged to a hostile race. He
was sure that the aliens were planning to invade Earth and so they had sent Kreton to investigate Earth prior to invasion.

Q7: What restrictions are imposed on Spelding’s family?

Ans: General Powers imposed a martial law in Spelding’s home. They were prohibited from going outside their home.
They were also abstained from making a phone call. Powers thought that the presence of an alien in Spelding’s house is
a classified information and this should not be spread far and wide.

Q8: What extraordinary powers does Kreton possess, and how does he exhibit these powers?

Ans: Kreton was an alien and he had extraordinary powers. He had the capability of reading people’s minds. He also had
the power to make an invisible wall around his ship which could not be broken down. He was also able to make such a
wall around himself. At the end of play, when Powers and Aide tried to grab him, they could not do so. Kreton went to
sleep untouched.
Q9: Why does Spelding want Kreton to stay?

Ans. At first, Spelding wanted Kreton to stay so he could record his interview. Afterwards he became fed up with the
martial law and he wanted Kreton to go out from his house. General powers gave warning gestures to Spelding. Due to
the fear of Powers, he asked Kreton to stay in his house.

Q10: Why did Kreton’s friend consider him perverse?

Ans. Kreton’s friend considers him perverse because he wanted to visit the Earth. Kreton belonged to a planet that was
highly sophisticated and they were no way interested in Earth dwellers. Kreton was very much interested in planet Earth
so his hobby was visiting us.

Q11: How does Kreton reveal that he does not have any favorable view of Earthlings?

Ans. Kreton revealed it by saying that he was going to take the charge of the World.

Q12: How does Kreton fail General Power’s attempts to confine him?

Ans. Kreton used his supernatural abilities to fail Powers’ attempts to confine him. He was able to create an invisible
shield around him so no one could touch him. When Aide and General Powers rushed to grab him, they stunned a foot
before as Kreton became untouchable.

Q13: Who is Aide? What is his role in the play?

Ans. Aide was the sub ordinate of General Powers. He assisted General Powers in the play. He obeyed all he commands
of General powers.

Q14: How did Aide describe Kreton’s spaceship?

Ans. Aide described that Kreton’s spaceship was elliptical in shape. It was made up of an unknown metal which was
much shiny. The diameter of space ship was 14 feet. The spaceship was empty inside and there were no instruments or
food.

Q15: Describe the main comic incidents of the play.

Ans. The play ‘A visit to a small planet’ was a comedy science fiction so it is full of comic incidents. The argument
between Spelding and his daughter was much comical. The way Kreton described about Earthlings was also a Marvellous
piece of comic writing.

Q16: How is media depicted in the play?

Ans. Several bitter truth of media was depicted in this play. Roger Spelding was a famous TV commentator and he was
also dictating the words of General Powers. Everyone knew that the flying object was not just a meteor but Spelding did
not agree with this fact. After the broadcast, the mechanical smile of Spelding vanishes immediately which proves that
everything is artificial in front of the camera.

Q17: The play is a satire on American society. Discuss.

Ans. “Satire” is any work of art that uses ridicule, humor, and wit in order to criticize and provoke change in
human nature or social institutions. Vidal is widely known as a satirical writer, and Visit to a Small Planet is a
work that strengthens such a reputation: when Kreton, an alien visitor, invades a middle-class Virginia home,
the characters react to him in ways that showcase their fears and frustrations with their own lives. The play
examines contemporary ideas about war, the fear of “foreign” invasion. Vidal ridicules military bureaucracy and
paranoia through General Powers, the influence of television on American life with Roger Spelding, and, in
general, the irrational, “primitive” impulses that often govern our lives. Through the eyes of Kreton, an alien
with little understanding of American life, Vidal is able to offer his viewers an “objective look” at their society
and attitudes as well as a commentary on how odd ideas and attitudes may be.
Q18: How does the playwright expose the inferiority of the present race to that of the future?
Ans. The playwright Gore Vidal exposed that the present race is quite inferior to that of the future. Human
beings will be too much advanced in the future and space travel will be easier than ever. There will be more
modern means of transportation and communication as described in the play.
Q19: Describe the arrival of the flying saucer in your own words.
Ans. At first the flying saucer seemed to be an meteor but then meteors were super-fast and blazing hot. The
flying saucer was not falling but it was landing on the rose garden of Mrs. Spelding slowly. It was so much
shiny and elliptical. When it landed, the doors began to open from all sides and Kreton came out from it.
Q20: How much advanced is the civilization of Kreton that of the Earth?
Ans. They civilization of Kreton was much advanced than that of the Earth. Kreton’s planet dwellers started visiting Earth
long before there were people in the Earth. Space travel was a normal thing for them. They had special monitors and re-
creators for observing the whole universe.

Q21: Why can the people of earth not compete with people of Kreton?

Ans. Earthlings had no match for the people of Kreton. Kreton’s planet dwellers could not die and they were way
scientifically advanced than us.

Q22: What type of life do you foresee in the year 5000?

Ans. It all depends upon the actions of mankind. If we keep on destroying our environment then we would return to
stone age in the year 5000. On the other hand, if we remained environment friendly then we would be able to see a
scientifically sophisticated society where space travel is easier and an abundance of luxuries will be there.

Q23: What are the literary elements used in “A Visit to a Small planet” and how they enhance the story?

Ans. Four literary elements were used in “A visit to a small planet”

(a) Plot (b) Character (c) Dialogue (d) Setting

Q24: Who is your favorite character in this play and why?

Ans. My favorite character in this play is Mrs. Spelding. Although her dialogues are very limited in this play but you one
will burst in laughter due to her innocence. When the whole family was surprised to see an alien in their home, she was
worried about the flying saucer in her rose garden. She seemed to be in Euphoria all the time. She was little interested in
all the things going on at their house.

-Sir Nasim Zulfiqar