George and Martha: "The Trip"

George takes Martha on an awful outing, and every time Martha complains, George fails to empathize. He keeps falling back on a (covertly) bullying phrase: "Use your imagination!"

Finally, Martha snaps. She gives George a taste of his own medicine. She tells him she has spotted a shark, and he flips his shit.

When George realizes there isn't any shark nearby, he confronts Martha, and Martha brings down the (inevitable) hammer: "Really, George, you must learn to use your imagination."

This is situational irony: The "teacher" (George) fails the "test" (being fanciful).

It's also a fun spin on the standard "journey" story. People say there are only two plots: (1) I go on a journey, or (2) A stranger comes to town. Here, G and M seem to be taking a "trip," but really the trip is emotional. George must come to understand the pain he is inflicting on Martha. That's the journey. Once again, the title has more than one meaning (as we've seen, also, with "The Fibber," "The Special Gift," "The Tightrope" ....)

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