Goodbye
Bill's goodbye to Anna over the phone constitutes his final words of the play. This is a metaphor that the reality of the falseness of his life being found out has been discovered. He knows he has lived a fraudulent life and there is no escaping it. From this point on, he is on his own.
Office Work
We watch as Bill and the rest of the cast exist in the setting of the law firm he has built. This setting is a metaphor for Bill as though it has the appearance of being successful it is hollow, which is represented by the fact that everyone who comes into it leaves. And Bill is completely alone by the end of the play.
Jones
Bill trusts Jones to do the necessary workload, but does not trust him personally. This is a metaphor for the fact that Bill sees him as a threat; potentially because Jones understands that Bill is a phony. Thus he keeps him at a distance as best he can.
Shirley
Shirley has been Bill's secretary for quite some time and she is quitting today as she is pregnant with her boyfriend's child. Her making the clear decision to leave is a metaphor for the fact that nothing of true worth can be given birth to while working in such close proximity to Bill who is a bully, and a man who goes after her sexually.
Jane
Jane has come to see his father at his office in order to speak with him. But, when she is finally called into his office he speaks almost unendingly allowing her no room to respond. This is a metaphor for how Bill has created the distance in his life between the people he is meant to love by not allowing them the chance to truly communicate with him. Instead, he steals the air out of every room he is in.
