Apartment Key Symbolism

675 Words3 Pages
The symbolic nature of the apartment key is very strong and constant throughout the entire film. The entire film is basically centered on the use of the key and repercussions, good and bad, which come about to Mr. Baxter, the executives at his office and Fran because of it. This key is literally and figuratively the ‘key’ to Baxter’s upward movement at his job and the only reason for it. This key is also instrumental in Mr. Baxter finally getting a backbone and the woman of his dreams. One of the most telling things about the apartment key is that it is always left under the mat for Mr. Baxter to collect after the executives use his apartment for their trysts. The executives all treat him like a doormat and they continuously walk all over him easily with promises of a chance for a promotion. In these…show more content…
Baxter finally grew a backbone, he very boldly threw the executive washroom key in Mr. Sheldrake’s face, essentially quitting his job. I think this was the perfect way for Mr. Baxter to finally stand up for himself and no longer allow himself to be treated as a doormat by the executives, especially Mr. Sheldrake. It is interesting because this small action was the vital for Mr. Baxter to decide to pack and leave his tainted apartment and start over somewhere new and it even spurred him to unabashedly express his strong feelings to Fran. The lure of holding the executive washroom key was gone and it seems like giving that key back unlocked a hidden part of Mr. Baxter, a part that was being held back by his desire to do anything to get to the top. When Mr. Baxter first began lending out his key casually, he had no idea what a mess it would ultimately create. However, things all worked out the way they should have for everyone involved and the key was able to pave the way to unlock Mr. Baxter’s and Fran’s feelings for each other. It also was influential in both Fran and Mr. Baxter realizing their self-worth and standing up to Mr. Sheldrake’s manipulative
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