ough it is only referred to a couple of times, the portrait of Tom's father is one of the most important symbols representing Tom. In the play, the portrait is a constant reminder to Amanda of the past she once knew and cherished. A long time ago, Amanda's husband abandoned her and her children because of his unhappy home life. Tom, like his father, felt that his home life was suppressing his true desires for adventure. It became unbearable for Tom to enjoy himself with Amanda's nagging. Tom regularly spoke of his desire for adventure. He felt that instead of wasting his life away inside the house, he could experience something more exciting. Eventually, Tom makes a fanatical choice. Instead of paying for the electric bill, he decides to pay dues to the Union of Merchant Seamen. That organization was his savor from suffocation and a ticket to the life of adventure. Malvoli the Magician was an act that Tom would often see when he went to the movies every night. His coffin trick is a symbol of Tom's suffocating life. Both Malvoli and Tom face life-threatening situations. In the trick, Malvoli faces death by suffocation if he does not successfully escape the coffin. Tom faces death by emotional and spiritual suffocation if he does not find away out of the house. Also, the coffin itself symbolizes the lifestyle Tom is trying to escape. Tom views his life as a very cramped, dark situation. His biggest fear is him spending fifty- five years of his life in the basement of the warehouse, only making sixty-five dollars a month, and never being able to achieve his dreams. Although he loves his family, the thought of being entrapped in a lifestyle he desires no part suffocates Tom. Finally, during the coffin trick, Malvoli not only escapes, but also does it without disturbing any of the nails. Tom claims "You know it don't take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin. But who in hell ever got himself out of one w...
