Metaphor for Success
Peter is constantly pressured by his father to finish his Law School degree. Although he says that he pushes his son to help him realize his full potential and make something of himself, Peter feels that the reason he pushes him so hard is because he is vicariously living out his frustrations through his life. The money, the power, the influence that can be gained and all the perks that come with it is what makes a career in law so alluring to Mr. Keller so law school—and by extension becoming a lawyer—is a metaphor for success, at least in as much as his father is concerned.
Metaphor for Failure
Peter moves from one job to another, seemingly unable to hold down any form of work for any length of time. Despite being intellectually gifted he settles for a string of jobs that have the least amount of active thinking involved or the least amount of actual responsibility. These jobs are not just his form of rebellion against his father and rejection of his notions of success but it is also his means of manifesting his self-destructive tendencies, w, sabotaging any attempts to build a bright future for himself by wasting his time on low-paying jobs he doesn’t even like. These menial jobs, therefore, become a metaphor for failure because by engaging in them Peter effectively prevents himself from excelling in anything.
Metaphor for Hope
For a brief moment in time Peter finds himself doing something that he not just enjoys but is actually fairly good at: stand-up comedy. Through comedy Peter is able to find a creative outlet for his intellect at a means of coping with his numerous mental issues and frustrations with life. Humor, albeit dark and self-effacing, allows him to face his demons and allow other into his very private world to laugh with him rather than at him for once. Comedy therefore becomes a metaphor for hope as it allows Peter to laugh at his trouble for a moment rather than drown in it.
Metaphor for Identity
Stable employment is something that Peter seeks, the problem however isn’t the desire to find work but rather the motivation to work. The underlying reason however to Peter’s determination to be employed is because he is trying to establish an identity for himself, hoping that work—being a metaphor for identity—that he would actually like would help him achieve that goal.The truth however is that he really couldn’t care less about working or the type of employment. Peter is such a broken man that even when he does manage to land a job he underperforms in it and ends up getting fired. This lack of motivation combined with a lack of self-esteem is a recipe for disaster and he soon finds himself on a long string of menial jobs.
Metaphor for Disappointment
Peter’s father is the sour cherry atop the foul-tasting sundae of mental issues that Peter has. All his life Mr. Keller had drilled in the thought that his son’s primary objective in life is to try to impress his father, otherwise the paternal love and approval that he so dearly seeks would be denied him.Although Mr. Keller insists that what he desires is his son’s betterment his constant berating and seeming inability to be impressed by anything save a law practice by Peter transforms him from father to a metaphor for disappointment.
