Symbol - Keys
Most of the men in their attempts to put their pipe dreams behind them turn in the keys to their rooms. They plan to move out and start anew, distancing themselves from their past idleness and dissolution. Each man who turns in the key does so in a conspicuous way, calling attention to the key as a symbol of entrance and passage. This symbol is complicated, however, for when they possess the key they are less free in that they are a prisoner of their dreams. When they are rid of the key, they are ostensibly supposed to be more free but psychologically they are still just as trapped. Thus, the key is a clear symbol but its meanings are shifting; this is purposeful in that O'Neill wants us to question the nature of freedom, dreams, and self-delusion.
Symbol - Women
The women in this play function as more universal symbols of femininity as conceived by men - mother and whore. Margie, Cora, Pearl, and the unseen Mrs. Parritt are whores, selling their bodies or giving them away too freely. They are the nagging, indifferent, callous, dangerous, and appealing versions of women, forever plaguing the men in their path. The deceased, thus unseen, Bessie Hope and Evelyn Hickman are mother types and are depicted as loving, kind, perfect, and long-suffering - until the men who knew them shift their stories to suit their own. They represented what was best in their husbands. Of course, these women are all seen through the lens of the men and their symbolism is just that, rather than an accurate assessment of who they are.
Symbol - The Iceman
The Iceman is a rather ambiguous figure but seems to symbolize death. Hickey's joke is that the iceman came and had a dalliance with his wife (a crude play on words), but ultimately that dalliance is with death. The bawdy tale turns tawdry in reality. Hickey is actually more of an iceman in that sense, as Larry often says that Hickey brought death with him.
Motif - Drinking
Drinking is maybe even more a theme than motif, but scenes of people drinking or talking about drinking are literally everywhere in the text. The presence of bottles and glasses is a reminder of the effects of that alcohol - it deadens and dulls, or rouses and riles. It is what the men turn to for safety and oblivion, or what gives them just enough to make it through the day. When a character says they aren't drinking, it implies that they are relying only on themselves - a dangerous idea.
Symbols - Characters
Many of the characters symbolize a concept or figure. Don Parritt symbolizes Judas, the betrayer. Harry Hope with his name symbolizes the modicum of hope the characters find in their pipe dreams. Hickey symbolizes a messiah or a bringer of death.
