The Phantom Tollbooth, Act I

1. Milo, the protagonist, main character that readers are rooting for, opens a present
that contains The Phantom Tollbooth.
2. Milo is bored at the beginning of the play.
3. Milo is about to begin an adventure, the journey of life.
4. The Lethargarians say to Milo about what they do, Anything as long as its nothing,
and everything as long as it isnt anything. This quote tells readers about the
Lethargarians: they are lethargic, lazy, and unproductive.
5. Thinking is work and therefore it is not allowed in the Doldrums.
6. Words and letters are sold in Dictionopolis because people are too lazy to make up
their own words.
7. What are more important, words or numbers? The decision reached in the play is that
they are equally important. Using words and numbers wisely is important to personal
and professional happiness.
8. Milo tells Azaz, King of Dictionopolis, that Rhyme and Reason need to return.
9. Humbug says to Milo, Its something terrible, I just know it. Oh, no. Something
dreadful is going to happen to us. I can feel it in my bones. This quote is
foreshadowing, hinting, or predicting that more odd adventures are ahead for Milo.
10. One of the reasons The Phantom Tollbooth has been so well-received is the authors
clever, playful use of
language.
Ferocious: vicious
Consider-ation: thought
Pre-caution-ary: to take care or be careful in advance of something
Ignorance: lack of knowledge
Scrib, scribe = has to do with writing
Prepositions: about, above, across, after, against, among, around, at, before, beside,
between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, into, like, of, off, on, over, past,
since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within,
without
The Phantom Tollbooth, Act II
1. Kakofonous A. Dischord, Doctor of Dissonance.
Cacophony, discord, dissonance: ugly, clashing noise, not in harmony
2. Dodecahedron is a twelve-sided figure. In the play, he is a character with twelve
faces.

3. By having numbers be mined in the play, the author is telling us how valuable and
precious numbers are.
4. The Mathemagician, King of Digitopolis, has a magic staff (wand) with which he can
solve problems.
5. Stage directions such as [Sadness turns to fury.] or [said humorously] would tell
actors how to look when delivering a line and help audience see what the characters look
like.
6. Princesses Rhyme and Reason are worried that they wont be rescued in the play.
Rhyme and reason is an expression meaning logic and common sense.
7. Princesses Rhyme and Reason get out of the Castle-in the-Air when they get a
package of letters.
8. What do both King Azaz and King Mathemagician agree about Princess Rhyme and
Reason at the end? We need both rhyme and reason to help us govern ourselves and
our lives.
9. The Watchdog, Tock, teaches us the value of time, a limited resource. (We often
waste it, kill it instead of use it wisely.)
10. There are pessimists, negative people, and optimists, positive people. The
pessimists focus on failure, and the optimists focus on success. Milo is able to do the
impossible because he believes it is possible.
Malicious: evil intent
Accurate: precise, correct
Dissonance: not in harmony
Deficiency: lack of something
Contrast: differences between things
Compare: similarities, what is alike between two things