True West Metaphors and Similes

True West Metaphors and Similes

No one can disappear

Austin says this to his brother when Lee tells him that he will disappear if he helps him to write the screenplay. It is a metaphor that in life though we make our attempts to disappear, just as their father has disappeared into the desert, that no one can truly hide themselves. They still must contend with themselves even if they place themselves into isolation.

He Lost His Teeth

Austin tells Lee that their father lost his real teeth, then he lost his false teeth. This is a metaphor for their father loosing his ability to speak, and thus his right to make something of himself as Biblically it is the word that brings everything in creation into existence.

A Bet

Saul shuts down Austin's project and goes with Lee's idea after losing a bet to the older brother on the golf course. This is a metaphor for how Hollywood betrays the search for truth because of a inconsequential wager. They make up their own truth and replace the opportunity with actual truth in order to save face.

I'm Your Brother

Austin and Lee are at each other's throats, but Austin in the midst of it tells Lee that he can talk to him, that he's his brother. This is a metaphor for the desire for closeness and relationship that both men desire but are nearly incapable of admitting.

Golf

Saul and Lee play golf together and Austin stays behind. It is a metaphor for the fact that Austin doesn't play the "games" that these two men are willing to play in order to get what they want--for Lee money, for Saul success in the form of a hit story which will increase his stature in the Hollywood ranks. Austin is out for the purity of writing, the search for truth and what is real to life. Thus, his not playing golf speaks to this.

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