It is also particularly interesting that Peter works as a textbook publisher, because textbooks exist to turn complicated ideas into things that are simple and easy-to-learn (for example, a biology textbook might group animals by the region they come from, the food they eat, or their key behaviors). In one crucial line, Peter muses that it is hard to believe that “people like really are,” because he believes they are “for reading about.” Peter, it seems, is so sheltered from the messier aspects of life that he has convinced himself that such things exist only in fiction. However, as Jerry begins to describe some of the more unsavory characters he regularly encounters in his life, Peter’s reading begins to symbolize his cluelessness about the real world. As the play begins, Peter is sitting on a bench and “reading a book.” At first, Peter’s interest in books seems to be mostly an indicator of his class and profession, and Jerry even mocks him for having unoriginal taste.
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