Literary devices used in both "RoseColored Glasses" and "The Glass Menagerie" - the three themes: disappointment, expectations, and escapism.

"The Glass Menagerie" is about a dysfunctional family that consists of a mother, and her two adult children, Tom and Laura. All of them dream to seek comfort and to escape reality because none of them enjoys the life they lead. Similarly, in "Rose-Colored Glasses", the narrator of the poem is inclined to dream rather than to face reality because she has not overcome the transition from one big happy family to getting kicked out of her old home and having divorced parents. These two families are reflections of each other because in both families, the characters rely on dreaming to overcome not only the father's abandoning the family, but also to escape the financial and emotional despair in their lives--both of which are direct impacts from the father's absence. Faced with disappointment because the fathers desert the family, the characters In Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie and Elizabeth Alexander's "Rose-Colored Glasses", withdraw into their distinct worlds to escape the expectations that reality demands.

Disappointment is a theme in both the story and the play and with similar impacts on the family. The first time the characters face disappointment is when the fathers leave the family--one through divorce, the other "fell in love with long distances". The first impact is emotional despair for both families. In the Wingfield family, Amanda openly expresses her remorse and regret for marrying the absent father. Tom is emotionally distraught because he has to fill his father's shoes in providing for the family when all he wants to do is to leave and become a sailor. The narrator in "Rose-Colored Glasses" experiences sadness because her family is broken apart. Besides emotional despair, both families are faced with financial problems. The narrator is kicked out of her apartment which "is even more beautiful then it was then, and perfect". This shows how much she wants it back and how sad she must have been when she moved. As for the Wingfield's, Tom makes so