Summary
Scene 1
Act 2 begins with Harry and Tom at home. They are discussing how their family needs the upcoming holiday, with Harry alluding to the fact that it has been a rough year for their family—especially for Vic. Though Tom seems to understand all this and claims he looks forward to the trip, there is a great deal of unspoken tension between them as they speak. Even so, Tom says that he has been looking forward to the trip since "that day in the hospital" when Harry "brought in the tent and put it up in the ward" (14). Harry tells Tom that the vacation will not be an extravagant one, but Tom is fine with this.
The two continue to discuss the vacation, with Harry telling Tom that he should look like he's enjoying himself, even if he's just pretending, to make his mother happy. Again, Tom assures him that he will truly enjoy himself and tells his father not to worry about him. As the scene closes, they discuss Tom's presents for his mother, then each goes to bed.
Scene 2
The scene opens with Gwen and Meg preparing for their own holiday. Gwen is hurrying Meg and Jim to pack, and she laments their lack of preparation. Meg tries to convince her mother to go to sleep, but Gwen insists that she will just take a Bex instead. Gwen continues to scold Jim and Meg for the lack of effort they are putting into the vacation preparations, but Meg tells her that this degree of planning is not "fun" (16). In response, Gwen rebukes Meg and tells her to go live with Tom if she just wants to have fun all the time.
After Gwen and Meg shut a suitcase with some difficulty, Gwen finally goes off to sleep. At this point, Jim enters and begins to talk to Meg. When Meg expresses her dislike for her mother, her father tells her that she is just worried about Meg's relationship with Tom. Meg resents this, and tells her father that she isn't pregnant or anything of the sort. She then tells her father that she does not intend to stay much longer at home, but Jim tells her not to abandon her mother. Meg then brings up Gwen's own past as evidence against her character: it seems that Gwen ran away from home, met Jim, got married, saw her parents at the wedding, and now only rarely speaks to them. Meg cites this as an example of true abandonment.
In response, Jim contextualizes Gwen's past in terms of the economic depression that was ravaging Australia at the time. People, including Jim and Gwen, had to wander all over the country in search of work, and Gwen's relentless and pedantic planning is a result of the trauma of this experience. Jim then implores Meg not to derail Gwen's plans, since she is so important to her mother's vision of what life should be. In response, Meg says that she does not believe in "giv[ing] in for the sake of peace and quiet" (18). Jim begs Meg to be patient, but she only says that they ought to go to bed, and the scene ends.
Scene 3
The scene starts with Roy and Coral in the heat of a two-point argument. First, Roy tell Coral that she needs to stop acting "like a ghost" around other people (19). He tells her that there is definitely something wrong with her, and that the department cannot keep giving him leeway to deal with her at home instead of working. He also worries about what other people are saying about Coral.
Second, Roy mentions to his wife that he also misses their son, and he reveals that their son was killed in war. Even so, he implores Coral to pick herself up and move on, since this is what he believes all of history to be—"people picking themselves up, pulling themselves together and going on" (20). Coral changes the topic by asking Roy if he thinks she looks like Kim Novak. This upsets Roy, so Coral promises him that she will behave on their trip, and not mention helicopters, jungles, or death (all implying that their son died in the Vietnam War). Roy responds by saying that Coral can't blame anyone for their son's death, since some sacrifices had to be made to ensure a high standard of living in Australia.
As the scene closes, the two briefly reconcile and promise each other that they will have a good time. Roy tells Coral that she looks like Kim Novak, and Coral seems to tell Roy that he reminds her of their son. Before she is able to finish speaking, though, she stops herself.
Scene 4
In the middle of the night, Vic and Tom run into each other in their home. They each discuss their respective difficulties sleeping, and the conversation turns to their upcoming trip. Just like Harry, Vic then tells Tom that, even if he isn't enjoying himself, he should at least seem like he is for his father's sake. Tom assents without arguing and jokingly tells his mother that he has purchased them extravagant gifts this year. As this brief scene ends, they part ways and go to bed.
Analysis
This act largely develops the themes introduced in the play's opening scenes. Here, too, particularly important are the central ideas of performativity, class difference, materialism, and the tension between youth and adulthood/death.
Virtually every conversation conducted in this act revolves around the idea of putting on airs or performances for the sake of others. In Scene 1, for example, Tom and Harry discuss the prospect of Tom pretending to enjoy himself for his mother's sake on account of how difficult the year has been for her. In Scene 2, Jim reveals that Gwen's anger and overplanning are a kind of bravado that she puts on in order to compensate for her past as an economically troubled young woman. In Scene 3, Roy endeavors to convince Coral that she should act more composed for the sake of others and their marriage, despite Coral's real and deep ongoing sadness over the loss of their son. Finally, in Scene 4, so as to emphasize the emptiness of these performances, the tables are turned on Scene 1, with Vic now telling Tom that he ought to act like he's enjoying himself for the sake of his father.
The hollowness of Gwen's performative snobbishness is also important for the way it sheds light on the nature of class difference in Australia. Specifically, we learn from the conversation in Scene 2 that Gwen resents Vic and Harry not because they are different than her, but rather because they remind her of her own past. What Gwen represents, then, is not someone who is too stuck up to accept different lifestyles, but rather someone who refuses to confront their own imperfections. Gwen's struggle for a sense of stability and prestige then has possible implications on a national level for the way that a country might think itself better than others and ignore its own history. This is doubly reinforced by the fact that Gwen is, herself, a nativist who ostensibly dislikes Vic and Harry because they are immigrants.
Another important element of class difference as treated in this act is material wealth and materialist cravings. Vic and Harry, despite their overwhelming positivity, are still insecure about the modesty of their vacation, each telling Tom that he ought not to expect anything too "flash." Moreover, materialism is used by Roy in an effort to pacify Coral and alleviate her worries. It is okay that their son is dead, he tells her, because his sacrifice has helped to ensure that they can have a high standard of living in Australia. Coral merely shushes Roy in response to this point, but note later on that she will appropriate his logic and manipulate it to upset other people once they are at the Gold Coast hotel.
Finally, this act addresses and deepens the existing tension between youth and death in several meaningful ways. Though it is merely relegated to the background here, this act sees the first mention of Tom's illness through an indirect mention of his time at the hospital. This then leading into the discussion of Tom's performed enjoyment is important because it shows that artificially planning enjoyment and forcing people to treasure their youth (as Tom's parents are attempting to do on this last holiday) does not work. Additionally, Vic and Harry's efforts reinforce the value that those of middle and old age vest in an enjoyable youth. Finally, the fact that Coral seems based on the last act to be particularly struck by her dead son's youth, while Roy totally ignores this fact, shows that Coral may be a deeper and more rational thinker than Roy thinks, since she is able to move beyond platitudes and understand the genuine tragedy of her and Roy's unique situation.
