hite set, which seems to cheer up the scene and portrays John's recovery from his illness.The characters themselves also play a major role in the ongoing symbolistic transformations in the production. A character's demeanor, his speech and his mannerisms are all important forms of symbolic subtleties that if picked up and understood can add a dramatic amount of meaning to a production. One of the first noticeable symbolic sayings in the production occurs between John and Alma. In the beginning, Alma is complaining to John that she is feeling weak and faint at heart. John then quickly retorts and says that she has a doppelganger. Not knowing what a doppelganger is, Alma brushes it off and pays no attention. Later, Alma then finds out that the term doppelganger means that she has a person inside of her. The doppelganger that John refers to symbolizes an alternate behavior, or to be more specific an alternate personality inside of Alma, which she does not yet exhibit. This facet of her personality is her wild side, "the person that never says No". This behavior manifests itself later in the production.The second and more inconspicuous symbolism is found in the title of the production. The smoke in Summer and Smoke, represents two different things. As Alma was talking to John in the second to the last scene of the play, she states, "smoke comes, from my burning inside". This statement from Alma points to the fact that she is hurting from her undying love for John, to which he is not willing to reply, and seeks to give to Nellie. The second possible meaning for smoke is also shown in the second to the last scene where John points at the anatomy chart and try's to explain to Alma that he has come around to her way of thinking, that there is a soul in the human body. He states " the soul is as thin as smoke, but nevertheless it is there".Adding yet another dimension to the play are the costumes. The costumes can enlighten the au...
