Much like a funhouse uses mirrors to create infinite reflections, inviting viewers to mistake images for reality, "Lost in the Funhouse" lures readers into embracing the common literary idea that sex serves as a metaphor for language. However, Ambrose's adventure through the physical funhouse in Ocean City, alongside the complex narrative of the story, reveals the opposite: language is actually a metaphor for sex. Within the story, sex is deemed the "whole point . . . of the entire funhouse!" Ambrose is constantly surrounded by the sounds of sex, described as "the shluppish whisper, continuous as seawash round the globe, tidelike falls and rises with the circuit of dawn and dusk." He imagines that if he possessed "X-ray eyes," he would perceive that "all that normally showed, like restaurants and dance halls and clothing and test-your-strength machines, was merely preparation and intermission."

Ambrose's fixation on and fear of sex arise not only from his youth but also from his distinctive nature. He realizes that the funhouse is enjoyable for lovers, yet he is conscious that he is not among them. Reflecting on a childhood game where Magda introduced him to the realm of sex, he recalls not the passion or physical pleasure but the intellectual dimensions of the experience. Unable to forget "the least detail of his life," Ambrose remembers "standing beside himself with awed impersonality," noting specifics of the woodshed scene, such as the design on a cigar box label. He later describes his "odd detachment" during that episode: "Strive as he might to be transported, he heard his mind take notes upon the scene: This is what they call passion. I am experiencing it."

A central attraction in any funhouse is the hall of mirrors, where visitors encounter distorted and unfamiliar versions of themselves. This self-awareness, or consciousness, is a distinctive and often unsettling aspect of human nature. Both Ambrose and his narrator alter ego are marked by their intense self-awareness. This is why they are captivated by the hidden workings of funhouses and take pleasure in manipulating them rather than simply enjoying them.

Unlike couples like Peter and Magda, Ambrose and the narrator struggle to lose themselves in the play of reflections: "In the funhouse mirror-room you can't see yourself go on forever, because no matter how you stand, your head gets in the way." The story suggests that the problem with consciousness is not only the paralysis and alienation it brings but also the uncertainty about which self is the true one, or if a true self even exists. As Ambrose observes, "You think you're yourself, but there are other persons in you." After eventually navigating back to the main section of the funhouse, Ambrose finds himself in the mirror-room. Ironically, surrounded by his own distorted reflections, he realizes "more clearly than ever, how easily he deceived himself into believing he was a person."

In an interview from 1994, Barth remarked, "Fiction has always been about fiction." He is not fond of the term metafiction because he believes it has negative implications. Barth explained further: "Fiction about fiction, stories about storytelling, have a long history. I'm convinced that if the first story ever told began with ‘Once upon a time,’ then the second story probably started with ‘Once upon a time there was a story that began Once upon a time.’"

"Lost in the Funhouse" exemplifies a story about storytelling. The narrator tries to recount Ambrose’s journey into adulthood but frequently pauses to critique its effectiveness and to highlight various literary techniques available. Barth's goal is not to diminish the art of storytelling. He does not imply, as critic...