Symbolism in How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel Essay -- How Learne

Paula Vogels play, How I Learned to Drive, artistically tackles the disturbing issue of incestual pedophilia. The plays protagonist Lil Bit narrates the action as she goes by dint of her memory of specific events. Much like stream of consciousness, her narration does not campaign chronologically to scenes in her past. Rather it jumps back and forth betwixt the present and different points in her life. She tells of her memories of youth and her sexual and emotional relationship with her Uncle Peck. Rather than solely telling about her experiences, though, Lil Bit sh ares her memories through vignettes which show the audience her role in the affair within the context of learning to pound (Greene 425). Vogels writing exudes symbolism from the first word of the record book to the last from the rise of the curtain to its close. The glimpses into Lil Bits past are sometimes explicitly and literally described, but Vogel also a lot uses extended metaphors to act as a detailed commentary on the action. Why, however, did the playwright contract symbolism to convey the effects of sexual abuse as heavy as its subject matter may be during the late twentieth deoxycytidine monophosphate when seemingly nothing is censored in America? In order to answer this and better understand the way in which Vogel uses symbolism in the littler elements of the play and extended metaphors the terms must first be defined. Symbolism can be defined as the representation of a reality on one level of reference by a like reality on another (Symbolism 564). The word symbol comes from the Greek word symballein, which translates literally into to throw together and suggests the combining of two unrelated worlds. Much... .... capital of Massachusetts Bedford/St. Martins, 2003. 1617-19. Houchin, John H. Censorship of the American Theatre in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, UK Cambridge UP, 2003.Metaphor. Dictionary of World belles-let tres Criticism - Forms - Technique. Ed. Joseph T. Shipley. New York philosophic Library, 1943. 377-8. Pellegrini, Ann. The Plays of Paula Vogel. A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama. Ed. David Krasner. Malden, MA Blackwell, 2005. 473-84.Redmond, James, ed. Drama and Symbolism. Cambridge, UK Cambridge UP, 1982. Vol. 4 of Themes in Drama. 1982-1986. 7-10, 37.Savran, David. Paula Vogel. The Playwrights Voice. New York Theatre communications Group, 1999. 267-88.Symbolism. Dictionary of World Literature Criticism - Forms - Technique. Ed. Joseph T. Shipley. New York Philosophical Library, 1943. 564-9. Symbolism in How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel Essay -- How Learne Paula Vogels play, How I Learned to Drive, artistically tackles the disturbing issue of incestual pedophilia. The plays protagonist Lil Bit narrates the action as she goes through her memory of specific events. Much like stream of consciousness, her narration does not lead chronologically to scenes in her past. Rather it jumps back and forth between the present and different points in her life. She tells of her memories of youth and her sexual and emotional relationship with her Uncle Peck. Rather than simply telling about her experiences, though, Lil Bit shares her memories through vignettes which show the audience her role in the affair within the context of learning to drive (Greene 425). Vogels writing exudes symbolism from the first word of the script to the last from the rise of the curtain to its close. The glimpses into Lil Bits past are sometimes explicitly and literally described, but Vogel also often uses extended metaphors to act as a detailed commentary on the action. Why, however, did the playwright choose symbolism to convey the effects of sexual abuse as heavy as its subject matter may be during the late twentieth century when seemingly nothing is censored in America? In order to answer this and bett er understand the way in which Vogel uses symbolism in the smaller elements of the play and extended metaphors the terms must first be defined. Symbolism can be defined as the representation of a reality on one level of reference by a corresponding reality on another (Symbolism 564). The word symbol comes from the Greek word symballein, which translates literally into to throw together and suggests the combining of two unrelated worlds. Much... .... Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 2003. 1617-19. Houchin, John H. Censorship of the American Theatre in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, UK Cambridge UP, 2003.Metaphor. Dictionary of World Literature Criticism - Forms - Technique. Ed. Joseph T. Shipley. New York Philosophical Library, 1943. 377-8. Pellegrini, Ann. The Plays of Paula Vogel. A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama. Ed. David Krasner. Malden, MA Blackwell, 2005. 473-84.Redmond, James, ed. Drama and Symbolism. Cambridge, UK Cambridge UP, 1982. Vol. 4 of Themes in Drama. 1982-1986. 7-10, 37.Savran, David. Paula Vogel. The Playwrights Voice. New York Theatre Communications Group, 1999. 267-88.Symbolism. Dictionary of World Literature Criticism - Forms - Technique. Ed. Joseph T. Shipley. New York Philosophical Library, 1943. 564-9.