Each character in the story has a dream, the story revolves around who the characters are, and who they want to be. In this, the author addresses the way people communicate who they are, as well as the things they dream of. The author studies these random characters in their natural habitat revealing the hope and fantasy of being someone else that every individual possesses. According to Shields, humans carry two gowns in their time on earth; one that showcases who they are and the other revealing who they dream or desire to be. These facades are natural and are crucial to our existence since they act as a consolation in our time of despair.
I context, I believe that this concept is something that everyone experiences in their own lives. Tamara starts her day by choosing who she wants to be, and from this, we can infer that each of her choices isn't based upon who she really is as a person, but rather, how she is feeling at any given moment. Bright colors brighten the day, and no matter her mood, for Tamara, the appearance is what really counts.
For Roger, the purchase of something new, in this case a mango, is something out of the ordinary. It doesn't matter that he doesn't know what to do with it... it provides him with a new outlook... possibly a sense of adventure, but all in all, it pulls him out of the rut he's been living in. Small changes can make huge differences.
The Borden sisters have lived their dream... skiing in Happy Valley. They left the mundane and lived out the excitement of the slopes. Continuing to wear their ski passes affords them the chance to regularly relive the dream, even after returning home to their mundane lives. The passes might also serve as a reminder that the slopes are still there waiting for them.
All in all, we've all done things that help us to escape the ordinary. Whether it's buying a new outfit, checking out a new food that everyone is raving about, making an impromtu date to eat at a fancy restaurant, planning that dream vacation, or simply going for a walk to refresh our minds... to taking the time to really look around us and to view the world with a different lens.
