The Glass Menagerie

In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams uses the theme of escape to propel the play. Characters all have their own means to escape there lackluster life. The fire escape is a motif that symbolizes the escape the at all the characters have. It symbolizes how Tom always leaves through the fire escape to go out on the town and how Amanda hopes that a gentlemen caller will come up it for Laura. Laura's escape is not to go anywhere and stay with her glass menagerie collection because she has many self esteem issues so she stays indoors and to herself. Jim uses his high school past as a means of escape. Amanda uses her past memories of her glory days to escape the monotony of everyday life. Tom goes out every night to the movies and gets drunk so escape his nagging mother. Mr. Winfield who “fell in love with long distances,” (Williams 1) left the family left them a long time ago. In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, each person in the play escapes their present lackluster reality through a different medium.

The Glass Menagerieanimal collection, in which she had great care for. Laura was nearly crippled with her bad leg and because of her self-consciousness of her leg; she dropped out of high school. Laura wasn't a very popular girl, unlike her mother Amanda, who told stories of her 17 gentlemen callers. Amanda wanted Laura to find a nice gentleman caller so she took matters into her own hands and asked her son, Tom, to bring one home for her. The following day Jim O'Connor came for dinner. When the two get the chance to talk alone, they seem to hit it off, and Jim even kisses her. Then he tells her a little about his past and how he was previously engaged. This really upset Laura and when Jim left, she returned to her glass animals. is a play written by Tennessee Williams. The play is told by the memory of Tom Wingfield and takes place at the Wingfield's home in St. Louis. Laura Wingfield, who the story is mainly about, is a young girl who most people would see as lonely. Laura however didn't see herself that way. She had the company of her glass. (Berkowitz 150-53)

The history of this play goes back to the 1940's where it was first premiered in Chicago. The author of the play is Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams). He was born in Columbus, which is now known as Mississippi, in 1911. Many people say the play was written based on the author's life because there are characteristics linking Tennessee and the boy from The Glass Menagerie (Tom). More characters also resemble some of his family members, such as Laura and his disturbed sister. This play has won New York Critics Circle Award for the best play of the season. The Glass Menagerie was one of his finest plays.

Laura is a very introverted person. She stays to herself and doesn't ...