Shine
Roger and Billy are heard saying they are going to wax the floor in their barracks while everyone else doesn't understand why they would put in the effort to do so. The symbol is that Billy and Roger are the two young men in the play that are attempting to put a shine on things that aren't necessarily what they seem to be such as the Army, homosexuality and race.
Drunk
Rooney and Cokes are seen twice in the play and each time they are incredibly drunk. Both are men that have served for multiple wars and conflicts. Their drunkenness is a symbol of the pain they have endured in war and how they must drink it away each and every day.
Barracks
Rabe places the entire play in the barracks of only a few soldiers that have yet to be called to go to Vietnam for the war. This is a symbol that there are wars happening in our everyday lives that we have yet to deal with, yet our focus is on a war many believe we shouldn't be fighting.
Greasy
Carlyle is always seen wearing dirty and greasy fatigues. This is a symbol that he himself feels dirty and filthy on the outside but desires beauty inside. It also inflates the characters ability to inflict fear in the men when he is present as he also acts from a place of violence without notice.
Billy's Story
Billy tells a story about his friend Frankie being gay and how he used to hang with him as a kid in high school. The story is a symbol of Billy's fear surrounding being gay and it is also a symbol used by Richie to claim that Frankie is Billy causing others to question Billy.
