Lyrics from The Piano Man

"He's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be.
He says, 'Bill I believe this is killing me'
As a smile ran way from his face.
'Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star,
If I could get out of this place.'"


These specific lyrics from The Piano Man by Billy Joel relates to how Esther is feeling constantly while she suffers in the mental institute. In the beginning of the novel, she is willing to go to parties and wander about New York City but when her mental illness is discovered, all of that changes. Esther, similar to "John" in The Piano Man, believes that only if she could escape this illness and the hospital she could be a great writer. She thinks that this illness is killing and suffocating her just as if she were trapped underneath a bell jar. Constantly making attempts at suicide, Esther believes that this is the only way that she would be able to escape her suffering. If only this illness and hospital life would go away, she could be a famous writer, just as "John" in the song believes that he could be a movie star.