Symbol for oppression
And important moment in the performance play is when the couple is taken to the cage and the lock is shown. The two Indigenous people are then locked inside the cage, the presented taking the key with her. The lock is used in this context as a symbol for the oppression felt by the couple in the cage. Because the cage is locked from outside, this transmits the idea that the couple can’t escape from their oppressors.
Everything was donated
When the viewers look at the various things inside the cage, the presenter comes and talks with the viewers, telling them how everything in the cage was donated by interested onlookers. This fact is repeated over and over again in the play and it is used to transmit another idea as well. The things donated are more than often electronics which the Natives learned how to use. Thus, this also suggests that the Native tribes had not culture and no inventions of their own and thus their advancement but be attributed to the adoption of various inventions from the ‘’modern world’’.
They don't speak English
Another common motif found in the performance play is the frequent reminder that the people in the cage do not speak English, and thus, will not be able to understand what those near the cage will be saying. This constant reminder has also the purpose to show to those near the cage that the couple is different from the rest of the civilized world.
Symbols for manners and civility
While there is a strange array of various items in the cage, eating utensils are missing completely. As a result, the couple in the cage either eats with their hands or has to be fed by their handlers from the outside. The eating utensils are used here as a symbol for civility and manners and the fact that these utensils are missing transmits the idea that the couple in the cage does not possess those qualities.
Come and take a picture with the Couple!
Another common motif is the way the handlers try to convince the onlookers to go and pay to have a picture taken with the couple in the cage. The possibility of having the picture taken for only 1 dollar is mentioned time and time again and presented as something which everyone can afford to do. This reminder is a common motif in the play, the people in it being reminded a few times about the opportunity they have.
