The Glass Menagerie Symbolism

A person’s path to enlightenment and understanding can be tumultuous and challenging. In the play, The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, each character has difficulty accepting reality. This makes them withdraw into their own little world of illusion to find a sense comfort and peace. In The Glass Menagerie, the author presents The Glass Menagerie as a metaphor for the Wingfield family along with other families during the Great Depression. In the setting of the Wingfield, family homeland might be a literal interpretation of the sufferings that happened in the 1930’s, in which the story shows details of what was ahead of them from recovering from the great depression. It takes place in St. Louis, Missouri in an apartment. The buildings
Laura’s glass menagerie collection is a symbol of her; it exemplifies the battle within her, living in denial and rejection. Throughout the play, Laura is just as emotionally fragile as the glass is. She feels broken and wants to be like everyone else. “Glass breaks so easily, no matter how careful you are” (Williams 1694). “Oh, I can see the handwriting on the wall as plain as I can see the nose in front of my face! It is terrifying! More and more you remind me of your father. He was out all hours without explanation. Then left without saying goodbye and left the entire bag to hold (Williams)”. The people go to the movies instead of moving. Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventure while American sits in the dark room and watches the play or movie. This is like going on an adventure and it is what Tom is seeking in the play. Even though Williams used many different symbols, they all revolve around the idea of the family trying to hide from
Amanda is the mother of Tom and Laura and the wife of Mr. Wingfield. She likes to live in the past and pushes her daughter to be more like her. Laura is the older child in the family that has a bad leg. She is extremely shy and lacks withdraws from the outside world. She finds herself with holding on to the glass collection. It makes her fell as she a caretaker. Laura is emotional unstable and has pleurisies. Tom is an open-minded man who has to provide for his family and take the role of the dad that abended them. He work in a shoe warehouse and strongly dislike his job and want some adventure like his father. He knew he did not have a future working there all his life. Tom liked to seek the mother attention and was very dramatic. He does not really take charge and spend the extra money he saved for escaping the house on smoking or going out to the movies. Tom tries to show his mother that he is a lot different from Laura. He knows that his only way out and to travel is through the merchant marines. Mr. Wingfield was the husband of Amanda. He was a charming man who worked for a telephone company. He escaped the Wingfield family with no goodbye and disappeared in thin air. Mr. Wingfield has no contact with the family the only thing he sent them was a post card for New Mexico. Jim O’Connor was an old high school friend of Amanda and Tom. Jim was successful in high