Essay Questions

What is the irony in Larry holding the profession of doctor?

Larry being a doctor is ironic in this play, as a doctor is the symbol of being a healer. But Larry, in his relationships outside of doctor-patient, is one who is willing and ready to destroy. He hardly lets a moment pass when given the opportunity to destroy anyone who has caused him any amount of pain.

What is the deeper meaning of the ending with Anna and Alice?

Alice has been killed in New York by being hit by a car. Dan is off to identify her body. Anna has brought the news to Larry who has met her after their relationship has ended. Dan's flying to New York is a continuance of him chasing after the dead (he wrote obituaries at the beginning of the play), and his inability to connect to deeper meaning in the world. Larry is in a relationship with another woman already, which relates to his inability to deal with his emotional issues. Alice's death is a symbol of someone who had no past, it was a mystery, that now has no future. And, Anna is left alone as everyone else is gone. This relates to the fact that she was already lonely (see the Aquarium seen--we find her alone), and after all of that drama is once again left alone without anyone to support her.

Why does Dan lament to Anna about his ex, Ruth, and her husband at the end of the play?

Dan is an aspiring writer, but he's only been able to find work writing obituaries and taking Alice's story and using it to sell for himself. He speaks of Ruth, his ex, having fallen in love with a poet she never met just from reading his poems. How they are married and have a child with another on the way. Dan says all of these things because his quest for lust, and fulfilling his impulsive desires has led to him realizing that he is back where he began--desiring to be a writer and to fulfill a deeper call in his life. One that he continues to run from because of his fear of exposing what is inside of him. This is his desire, but it is what alludes him as he is only able to express what others have gone through.