4000 Miles (is a long way to ride your bike)

I read the prompt before reading the play, and mistakenly thought that we were to take note of multiple motifs. Here's what I took note of, and will write about one more in depth...

• Vera stating that she's losing her words and constantly saying "whaddyacallit"
• Time (good timing, bad timing, duration)
• Relationships (cheaters, family, best friends, lovers, enemies)
• Bicycling 
• Appearance (healthy, in-shape, chubby, old/young, mountain-esque)
• Old-age (hearing, tooth loss, shaking hands, memory problems, etc)
• Plans

Motif of choice: Vera's repetition of "whaddyacallit"

Throughout Amy Herzog's play, 4000 Miles, the elderly character, Vera (91 years old) is constantly going on about how the things that happen to you when you grow old are "disgusting"...including losing a more varied pattern of speech. Vera says "whaddyacallit" or a variation of that twenty-one times in the thirteen page play. It is interesting because at times, it seems as if Vera is not completely out of touch with her memory when she recalls certain moments in her life, or various day to day things. Other times, she seems to be very forgetful. Both situations still employ her use of "whaddayacallit" reminding us that she is an elderly woman that is not as sharp as she used to be. She also smokes a bowl with her grandson, Leo, and her use of "whaddayacallit" in that scene is not as off-putting due to the nature of her actions. This motif definitely makes sense of Herzog's choices for this play in characterizing the elderly, more specifically, Vera. It makes Vera who she is and shapes her relationships and daily actions. At the end of the play, Vera astounds herself by remembering the expression "Green Thumb" instead of saying "whaddayacallit" in its place, allowing the audience to learn that although she might have struggled with her memory at times, but the small triumphs for elderly people are taken in great strides.
:)