Part 2: Act 5, Scene 4 Summary

Joe returns from Louis's apartment, with his suitcase.

Roy appears, wearing a black velvet robe. Joe is terrified, and questions him about his having AIDS rather than cancer. Roy says everybody needs to be beaten (referring to the fight with Louis). Joe is upset that Louis will never see him again. Roy kisses him and tells him that his love will take him to places he never dreamed of before. He disappears, and Harper enters. She says she has been to paradise.

Part 2: Act 5, Scene 4 Analysis

Joe and Roy are reconciled. Roy describes love as a means of liberation. This suggests movement and exploration. Roy's death points towards freedom and progress. Roy's speech is vague, so we cannot know at this point whether he is encouraging Joe to return to his old lifestyle, or to follow the new one...