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Jorge Verduzco

Professor Rodrick

ENGL 115

17 Nov 2019

Play it as it Lays: Escaping from Reality

Play it as it Lays is a novel that follows the hectic and confusing lifestyle of Maria. The

novel introduces various drama throughout the story, in the eyes of Maria. Thus, it can be seen

that some of the characters within the novel seek freedom and seek escape. Many of the

characters have their own sense and perspectives on what it means to escape their lives and have

a sense of freedom. In the novel, the theme of freedom can be seen trying to be attained by

Carter, Maria, and BZ.

The theme of freedom, in a way, can be seen trying to be attained by Carter. In the novel

Play it as it Lays, Carter’s way of freedom is being away from Maria after they had divorced.

The novels continuously shows Carter being far away from Maria, doing his own work-related

things on location. Carter came off as a character who shows no compassion towards Maria in

multiple scenes which makes it clear that the divorce does not really affect him. Carter

throughout the book is seen doing his own thing getting away from Maria, in a way seeking

freedom from his past life with her. However, I think is difficult for Carter to have his form of

freedom because of their daughter Kate. In many cases, when people have children it is harder

for the parents to move on because the child acts as the last thread of connection that keeps them

together. According to an article by De Jong Gierveld and Eva-Maria titled, ​Parent’s

Partnership Decision Making After Divorce of Widowhood, ​“Data shows that many children are
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involved in pure boundary work in an effort to guarantee in the continuation of their family”

(1098). Meaning that a child is the last connection that could bring a family back together. Even

if Kate is not really as involved in the lives of Maria and Carter because of her medical

condition, her existence alone makes it hard for Carter to move on because Kate is still a part of

him simply by being his daughter. Furthermore, his sense of freedom and moving on with his

work on location is continuously interrupted by Maria. There are instances in the novel where

Maria is looking for Carter and wanting to make contact with him. For example, Maria ends up

in Baker near to where Carter was on location. Maria wanted to make contact with Carter but

before she did that, she started playing out scenes in her head on how Carter would react to her

being in Baker. Some scenes that played out surrounding the idea that Carter would be happy

that Maria was near to where he was on location, other scenes he questioned her and wasn’t as

excited (31). This scene makes it clear that Carter seems to be the only one who has moved on

while Maria still holds on to him. Carter’s way of trying to move on and acquire freedom from

Maria is by being on location doing work. Ultimately Carter can’t seem to escape her and find

his freedom because of Kate and the fact that Maria finds her way back into his life.

The novel’s main focus, Maria is also in search of her own style of freedom. Maria deals

with many things throughout the book such as being unable to be with Kate, being raped by

those around her, being the one following orders never the one giving them, the divorce with

Carter, and the abortion she had are some of the examples Maria faced in the novel. These

problems she faces throughout the book lead her towards wanting to escape her own reality.

Seeking escape from one’s reality is often referred to as escapism. In a Youtube video titled,

“What is Escapism and how does it Affect People?” uploaded by ContinuityOfficer, goes on to
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explain that the general understanding of escapism is that “When people face uncomfortable or

unhappy realities, they may choose to leave this reality of escape” (YouTube.com). This form of

freedom can be seen through Maria’s action at the beginning of the novel where Maria is often

seen going on the freeway, driving aimlessly. Her way of escapism can be seen in this quote,

“...Maria found herself in Baker. She had never meant to go as far as Baker, had started out that

day as every day, her only destination the freeway” (30). The freeway is her way of escaping

reality, it is her own way of freedom. The things going on in her life prevent her from sleeping

because she can’t find a way to escape it. Another example of the freeway being her escape can

also be seen on page 18 of the novel, sometimes at night “flash images of Les Goodwin in New

York and Carter out there on the desert with BZ and Helene and the irrevocability of what

seemed already to have happened, but she never thought about that on the freeway.” Maria feels

encaged, unable to free herself from the confinement of her current lifestyle. Just like a bird in

the cage who is trying to fly freely, Maria speeds on the freeway, freeing her mind and escaping

her reality. On the freeway, she is no longer a caged bird, she is free.

The thought of freedom was different with BZ. BZ’s lifestyle seemed to have been fake

and only sustainable due to the fact that he had the money. BZ probably understand that people

stuck around just because he had money. Such as with Helene, who was with BZ and had to

endure everything he did to her because she was getting paid to do so. Life to BZ meant

“Nothingness” so he decided to no longer play this game known as life. This mindset of BZ is

seen towards the end of the novel where Maria and BZ are in bed, “He (BZ) poured twenty or

thirty capsules onto the bed…” (211). “He was swallowing the capsules with a glass of

water”(213). BZ uses the pills and overdoses which ultimately kills him. BZ’s theme of freedom
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was killing himself. According to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, reasons, why

people commit suicide, are due to the fact that they no longer see a point in life (American

Foundation for Suicide Prevention). Such was the case with BZ, he mentions life as being full of

“nothingness” therefore he viewed his life of having no value. It seemed as if he had no close

connections in life. Therefore, he decided to no longer play the game of life which was full of

“nothingness” and acquired his way of freedom through death.

The theme of freedom and wanting to escape their reality affects many of the characters

in the novel. Each character has their own way of acquiring such freedom. It seemed like Carter

wanted to escape his past life with Maria by working and always being on location. Although he

couldn’t really achieve it due to Kate and Maria always finding her way towards him. Maria has

various things going on in her life that overwhelm her state of mind. She seems truly alone

throughout the novel and seems to only care about her daughter Kate. So many things are

happening to Maria and it seems very overwhelming for her to handle. Maria uses the freedom

that freeway provides as an escapism. Due to this, she is able to clear her mind of all things that

are obstructing it. BZ can’t seem to truly relate to anyone within the book. He sees his life as

meaningless and only has people around him due to money. At the end of the novel, his urge to

acquire his own way of freedom is too powerful. Therefore he decides to longer be a part of life

which meant nothing to him and proceeded to kill himself. The novel portrayed the theme of

freedom for these characters differently, each one of them had their way of acquiring it. Whether

it being unsuccessful such as with Carter, temporarily such as with Maria, or in BZ’s case

successful.
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Works Cited

De Jong Gierveld, Jenny, and Eva-Maria Merz. “Parents' Partnership Decision Making After

Divorce or Widowhood: The Role of (Step)Children.” ​Journal of Marriage and Family​,

​ OI
vol. 75, no. 5, 2013, pp. 1098–1113. ​JSTOR Arts and Sciences II. D

10.1111/jomf.12061. 16 Nov. 2019.

Didion, Joan. ​Play it as it lays​:​ A Novel. ​2005 paperback edition. New York, Farrar Straus and

Giroux, 1970.

“Risk Factors and Warning Signs.” ​AFSP​, 14 Nov. 2018,

https://afsp.org/about-suicide/risk-factors-and-warning-signs/​. 17 Sep. 2019.

“What is Escapism and How Does it Affect People?” ​Youtube,​ uploaded by continuityOfficer, 19

August 2015, ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWDMSX8chKw​. 17 Sep. 2019.