Goodbye Good Girl
Bernard and Danny are girl-watching at the beach when they spot one who is wearing an especially revealing swimsuit. Bernard says she’s flaunting it and Danny responds with a metaphor indicating that she not cares about projecting herself as a “good girl” because as far as that goes:
“She is casting it to the winds.”
The “My Life is a _____” Metaphor
Out of all the descriptions to fill in that familiar blank, Bernard’s is one of the most unusual. It certainly is a mouthful:
“My life is a bunch of having to make split-second decisions.”
The “Life is a ______” Metaphor
While the “My life” metaphor is specific, the philosophical metaphor for what life is applies generally. For Joan, life is about coming to a self-understanding that makes you more human, but that whole part about understanding yourself is:
“a puzzle…but a finite puzzle. Whose true solution likes, perhaps, in transcending the rules themselves.”
It's not Really About the Shampoo
Fact: the people in this play are the definition of self-involved. Their perspective is so limited that the playwright can write an entire scene that is an argument over whether or not a person knows offhand if they have any shampoo. Why? Because:
“Shampoo is a staple item of your existence. Of course, you know.”
Remember: A Metaphor Doesn't Have to Be Factual
Joan and Deborah have a conversation. The scene begins with an assertion through metaphor by Joan that doesn’t seem to be ironic, but the sincerity of seems quite suspect at best:
“You learn from your mistakes, Deborah. Man is the one animal who has that capacity.”
