Prison

Prison is the central motif of the story, representing both literal imprisonment, which Tommy narrowly avoids, and the metaphorical prison in which he finds himself as an adult. Tommy’s youthful involvement with local criminals placed him on a path toward actual jail time, but interventions by his father saved him from that fate. Despite evading a physical prison cell, Tommy ends up trapped in a different kind of confinement: the monotonous and oppressive life he leads in the candy store, which becomes a metaphorical prison.

As a young man, Tommy flirted with a life of crime, getting involved with a local gang. His actions as a teenager—small-scale criminal activities that could have led to significant legal consequences—culminated in a pivotal moment where he was saved by his father’s intervention. His father arranged for him to marry Rosa and take over the candy...