Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates exposes the emptiness of suburban life by incorporating a play in the opening paragraphs, then continuing a theater metaphor throughout the rest of the novel. The novel opens with a theatrical failure that foreshadows the obvious downfall of Frank and April's lives. The characters in the book assume their own theatrical roles in the suburban setting in which they are all forced to act. The theatrical production of the first chapter becomes an enduring metaphor that begins in the author's decision to begin the novel with a production of The Petrified Forest, and is realized through the performances of Frank and April as they strive to act in a way that fits their suburban lifestyle. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Laurel Players' presentation of The Petrified Forest juxtaposed with the rest of the novel reveals the truth about suburbia. Painfully embarrassing, the cast's performance becomes difficult to watch. The audience cringes every moment as April tries to play her part. While performing, April is described as having "lost her grip", which made the audience "embarrassed for her" as "she had begun to alternate between false theatrical gestures and white-knuckled stillness" (Yates, Revolutionary Road) . Her failure to perform her role in the play foreshadows her inability to fulfill her role as a submissive housewife. Similar to the cast of The Petrified Forest, each character in the novel reads a “cultural script” given to them by the social interpretation of what suburban life should reflect. Each character in this suburb follows the same pattern of conformity found in the production of a play. The characters are “painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture” (Yates, Revolutionary Road). They stick to their cultural scripts, never straying from its directions. Additionally, Yates' choice to have April as the star in the production of The Petrified Forest becomes a foreshadowing of his turmoil. In the novel as in the play, the characters find salvation after their failure in death. In The Petrified Forest, Alan escapes the torments of his failure through death and Gabby finds freedom thanks to Alan's life insurance policy because it allows her to start a new life in Europe. Before his death, Alan said: "Alive, I'm worth nothing to her." Dead – I can buy her the tallest cathedrals, golden vineyards and dance in the streets” (Sherwood, The Petrified Forest). This mindset is also reflected in April's death, as she also gave her spouse a way to start fresh. After her death, Frank sent away their children and finally had the opportunity to unlock his true potential as a man. April and Frank argue or pretend like everything is okay when it clearly isn't. They lead a life alternating between staged events in which they appear to simply be reading from a script, or messy arguments that reveal their true flaws both in their marriage and in themselves. April finds herself lost in a pretend game while trying to be the submissive housewife she's supposed to be. After Frank's support in her play, she feels like she owes him to be the typical wife he thought he wanted. However, she secretly longs to find a greater purpose in her life outside of the discriminatory definition of being a suburban wife. April is a leading actress in The Petrified Forest and in the Wheelers' lives on Revolutionary Road, and in both productions she longs for escape. In his., 1962.