etting away when things become too unbearable.
Tom's constant moviegoing is also symbolic of his desire to escape and of his particular world of illusion, different from his sister's but effective for him just the same. Laura's failure to escape from her dream world into the real world is brought to mind throughout the play by the typewriter chart on the window--she tried to learn to type in order to get a job in an office but could not hold a job.
The fire escape is an important element in the setting and is a different sort of symbolic device. It is a natural element in the scene, but it is made unnatural by the fact that characters enter and exit through it, notably Tom, who uses it as a door. When he leaves for good, it is through the fire escape, emphasizing that this is indeed an "escape." The world of illusion is heightened as the real world is not, and in this heightening symbolism is created, symbolism that evokes ideas, attitudes, themes, and chara
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