Sure Thing by David Ives

Sure Thing is a comic play, which means that it makes a light and fun reading (or watching, since it is a play). The readers just have a good laugh, and then they move on. It does not really make us think deeply about what message the play conveys. However, if we were to examine this play more deeply, there would be a couple of interesting topics to discuss.

Love Portrayed in Sure Thing

In Sure Thing, there are only two characters (the waiter never appears)--Bill and Betty. At the beginning of the story, Bill makes many attempts to make a conversation with Betty, but Betty gives the cold shoulder to him. When one of them says something that hampers the progress of their relationship, a bell rings. After this bell, Betty and Bill are given another chance to start over.

Maybe the story is trying to show us the value of the relationships we have with others. There are so many things that could go wrong in a relationship until it finally suceeds. This story makes you cherish your love by reminding you that the chances of finding someone so perfect for you is maybe one in a billion. It makes us appreciate the relationships that we have with other people.

The story might also be teaching us that patience and continual effort are required to begin and maintain a relationship. When something goes wrong in a relationship, some people just shrugg and say "Well, maybe this person was not for me after all," and they break up and seek "the perfect lover," who might only exist in their imagination. At the beginning of this play, Betty also keeps rejecting Bill, thinking that he is not for her. When she does open her mind, everything works out well in the end, even though they face many obstacles on the way.

"The bottom line is that people are never perfect, but love can be. Love is the one and only way that the mediocre and vile can be transformed. We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating. --Tom Eugene Robbins