Rejection In Sure Thing, By David Ives

Rejection is something we all face everyday whether it be from asking someone out, to asking our parents for money. We all come to deal with it in a variety of ways, some give up, and others are extremely persistent. Despite dealing with it everyday, we all fear it, and it can keep us from experiencing some of the most amazing journeys in life. In David Ives’, Sure Thing you can see that Billy is constantly rejected by Betty, but continuously restarts over, and keeps facing the rejection until he gets it right. Similarly, in my play No Thanks, Henry does not give up and keeps trying to sell Mary a vacuum despite her constant rejection. Furthermore, the male characters in both cases don’t always say the right things but are determined to get …show more content…
Right in the beginning he goes for it saying, “Excuse me. Is this chair taken?”, and the chair opposite her is empty, but she rejects him. Therefore, we can see that Billy right off the bat faces the rejection of love. Yet, he makes the foolish decision to persist on even though Betty seems to have no interest. After the bell rings Bill can start over, showing how in love establishing a first impression is very crucial to establishing a connection. Nevertheless, during this play Bill tried again and again, and his character was constantly fine tuned until he would say a line to win Betty’s heart. One major aspect of the theme of rejection by the one you love is shown through the use of the bell. For instance, in the scene when Bill says, “What’s the book”, and betty responds “The Sound and the Fury”, and asks “Have you read it?”, and Bill responds “I’m a Mets fan, myself. Then the bell goes off because he had messed up and not said the right thing to Betty, and if the bell had not gone off he would have been rejected and not given a second chance. Therefore, the bell is basically symbolizing rejection, and that if one’s timing is off, or if one says the wrong thing, a connection is missed and the romance is over before it has even begun. However, through the tone of the narrator we get that rejection is occurring but it is represented in a light, witty, and sarcastic way. …show more content…
As Henry is a nervous vacuum salesman trying to get a woman to purchase a vacuum from him. Likewise, right in the beginning he goes for it by delivering his salesman pitch “Hello can I interest you in a vacuum?”, and Mary doesn’t even give him a chance to continue his pitch but says “No Thanks”, and shuts the door in his face. As a result, we see that Henry faces sales rejection. Yet, he doesn’t give up and keeps being persistent like Bill was, even through Mary does not seem like she is going to be a prospective client. Regardless of the rejection, when Henry rings the doorbell, instead of a bell to get a fresh start, showing how salesman need to have convincing responses to roadblocks standing between them and a sale. Even so, Henry had to try again, and again until he formulated the right sales pitch to get Mary to buy. Likewise, the stage business in No Thanks helps to establish rejection better than Sure Thing. Ives’ play was very minimal when it came to stage business. His main stage business is just having someone ring the bell. Where as, in my play we get more “nonverbal actions that are engaging the audience”. For instance, each time Mary slams the door in his face we are getting a more intense feeling of rejection. When the salesman also gives a live demo it helps him to win over the costumer. Still the doorbell here shows how the salesman would