The Glass Menagerie Symbolism Essay
Title
The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, is a play about a damaged family lost in its own hopelessness. Throughout the play, Williams uses a plethora of symbolism to illustrate the lives and personalities of his characters. The mother, Amanda, is stuck in her vivacious past that is symbolized by the picture of her ex husband on her wall. Her daughter, Laura, is painfully shy and all she cares about is her glass menagerie, which symbolizes how she is fragile and lives in her own world away from reality. Finally Laura’s brother, Tom, feels trapped with his family and wants nothing more than to escape and find freedom away from his responsibilities. His escape is symbolized by the fire escape next to his mother’s apartment. The …show more content…
In the Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams used his own imagination to write about the fire escape. This symbol represents Tom’s want to escape from his family. Williams describes it in a way that includes a scene description and character description,“The apartment faces an alley and is entered by a fire escape, a structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth, for all of these large buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation,” This is distinct to Williams’ way of thinking and is unlike any other piece of writing. No one would want to take the time out of their day to read a piece of literature that is the same as every other piece they have ever read. Its creativity is what makes this play unique and worthwhile to …show more content…
Laura is symbolized by the unicorn in her glass menagerie. The unicorn feels like a freak compared to the other horses because of its horn. This explains that Laura feels freakish compared to other people because of her differences, “The horn was removed to feel less—freakish! Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don’t have horns,” ( unicorn quote). Readers understand that Laura is shy and insecure because her characteristics are directly stated in the dialogue. However, through the symbolism of the unicorn in her glass menagerie, her inner characteristics and feelings are revealed. People could not have the same deep and personal understanding of the characters without the symbolism that is
The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, is a play about a damaged family lost in its own hopelessness. Throughout the play, Williams uses a plethora of symbolism to illustrate the lives and personalities of his characters. The mother, Amanda, is stuck in her vivacious past that is symbolized by the picture of her ex husband on her wall. Her daughter, Laura, is painfully shy and all she cares about is her glass menagerie, which symbolizes how she is fragile and lives in her own world away from reality. Finally Laura’s brother, Tom, feels trapped with his family and wants nothing more than to escape and find freedom away from his responsibilities. His escape is symbolized by the fire escape next to his mother’s apartment. The …show more content…
In the Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams used his own imagination to write about the fire escape. This symbol represents Tom’s want to escape from his family. Williams describes it in a way that includes a scene description and character description,“The apartment faces an alley and is entered by a fire escape, a structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth, for all of these large buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation,” This is distinct to Williams’ way of thinking and is unlike any other piece of writing. No one would want to take the time out of their day to read a piece of literature that is the same as every other piece they have ever read. Its creativity is what makes this play unique and worthwhile to …show more content…
Laura is symbolized by the unicorn in her glass menagerie. The unicorn feels like a freak compared to the other horses because of its horn. This explains that Laura feels freakish compared to other people because of her differences, “The horn was removed to feel less—freakish! Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don’t have horns,” ( unicorn quote). Readers understand that Laura is shy and insecure because her characteristics are directly stated in the dialogue. However, through the symbolism of the unicorn in her glass menagerie, her inner characteristics and feelings are revealed. People could not have the same deep and personal understanding of the characters without the symbolism that is