Amy’s old friend

Amy’s old friend symbolizes the mundane for the husband in the story. He sees her and her husband as the epitome of banality. They offer nothing new or interesting for him. He considers them to be predictable and shuns their company as it scares him of his own predictability.

The prostitute

For Arty, the prostitute symbolizes his savior. He declares that she saved him by convincing him to take a pill that resulted in his near death experience,. He recognizes that in his previous life he was not really living and believes that the prostitute is responsible for his rebirth,

Kate Lotvelt and Eaton Aiken

To Leonard, Kate and Eaton symbolize everything he is not; socially competent individuals free from anxiety. In his mind Kate “had succeeded beyond the pedestrian sorrows of social anxiety”. He wishes he were Eaton as “If he...