The Escape of the Freeway in Didion 's Play it As it Lays The absence or termination of life or existence provokes an act of escape. Escape from a life of nothingness can be both a healing mechanism and the discovery of purpose in an individuals life. Maria Wyeth 's intensity of denial and passivity devour every single one of her actions throughout Joan Didion 's Play It As It Lays. It seems as if nothing really gives genuine meaning in Maria 's life, however, something she does possess is strong emotions for indiscriminately driving on the freeway. She has absolutely no direction or idea of where she 's going in life in general without the freeway. Maria finds comfort in driving on the freeways and looks to it almost as a distraction from
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Her dedication to driving on the freeway gives meaning to her life. The way it mends the brokenness inside of her in result of not having Kate, ultimately makes the freeway significant. It is also evident that the roads Maria is driving on aren 't just random roads to places she doesn 't know of or hasn 't given much thought to. It is a routine therefore she does this so often that it becomes a lifestyle. All her time and stamina are committed to where she eventually wants to be and where she is headed to. This could very much imply that her destination could potentially take place from one freeway to another until she eventually reaches her desired destination. This idea of driving on the freeway not only becomes such a big part of her life, but she almost becomes one with it. She is so accustomed to the idea of the freeway just like a routine that it becomes an escape for her. This is seen perfectly when Didion is describing the way Maria connected with the freeway through her use of metaphors when she says, "She drove it as a river man runs a river, every day more attuned to its currents, its deceptions."(16). Driving on the freeway in this context is almost portrayed as if it is a career, or an occupation. Maria knows every design and arrangement of the freeway and she 's certain in where the freeway leads to and bases her actions on that by moving forward. The fact that she 's moving forward implies that she is giving her life significance through the routine of driving on the
Her dedication to driving on the freeway gives meaning to her life. The way it mends the brokenness inside of her in result of not having Kate, ultimately makes the freeway significant. It is also evident that the roads Maria is driving on aren 't just random roads to places she doesn 't know of or hasn 't given much thought to. It is a routine therefore she does this so often that it becomes a lifestyle. All her time and stamina are committed to where she eventually wants to be and where she is headed to. This could very much imply that her destination could potentially take place from one freeway to another until she eventually reaches her desired destination. This idea of driving on the freeway not only becomes such a big part of her life, but she almost becomes one with it. She is so accustomed to the idea of the freeway just like a routine that it becomes an escape for her. This is seen perfectly when Didion is describing the way Maria connected with the freeway through her use of metaphors when she says, "She drove it as a river man runs a river, every day more attuned to its currents, its deceptions."(16). Driving on the freeway in this context is almost portrayed as if it is a career, or an occupation. Maria knows every design and arrangement of the freeway and she 's certain in where the freeway leads to and bases her actions on that by moving forward. The fact that she 's moving forward implies that she is giving her life significance through the routine of driving on the