Illusions in the Glass Menagerie

A detailed Summary of Illusions in the Glass Menagerie

We all have illusions. We can hardly live without them. Most of the time they are harmless thoughts about things that are usually unattainable. An example would be when a person sees something that they want and then dreams of having it. Whenever someone holds an opinion based on what they think is true, or in some cases what should be true, rather than what actually is true, then that is an illusion. Illusions sometimes help people cope with painful situations, but in the end, illusions are only a false escape from reality. The characters in the book The Glass Menagerie are each affected by their own different illusions. Tom, Laura, and Amanda all survive because their illusions protect them from the painful facts of their lives. However, illusions can prove to be self-destructive as well as helpful. Do the characters' illusions hurt them, or are they merely harmless aspects of their personalities?

Tom, who is the main character and narrator, suffers from his illusions. Tom's illusion helps him to escape from his own reality. He sees his job at the shoe warehouse as boring and insignificant. He would rather experience the endless possibilities that life holds. But Tom cannot escape his job, so he tries to escape by going to the

"(L)-Most of them are little animals made out of glass, the tiniest little animals in the world. Mother calls them a glass menagerie! Here's an example of one, if you'd like to see it! I shouldn't be partial, but he's my favorite one. Haven't you noticed the single horn on his forehead? (J)- A unicorn huh?/ I hope it wasn't the little glass horse with the horn! (L)-Yes. (J)-Aw, aw, aw. Is it broken? (L)-Now it is just like all the other horses. (J)-It's lost its. (L)-Horn! It doesn't matter. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. (J)-You'll never forgive me. I bet that that was your favorite piece of glass. (L)-Glass breaks so easily. I'll just imagine it had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less-freakish! Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don't have horns..."(p.121-125)

But since he has to come out of the dark theater and face life again, escape to the movies solves no problems in his life. The vicarious way of life that Tom creates by attending the movies is an illusion because it can never be a true substitute for his own life. Tom realizes in the paragraph above that he is only watching adventures rather than living them. He realizes, also, that movies are only momentary physiological escapes. He uses the movies as a kind of adventure to make up for his own dull life. Tom learns that running away from problems never clears them from your mind. Even when he runs away from St. Louis, he takes along his memories as some sort of mental baggage. He can't escape the past, however hard he tries. Escape, he finds in the end, is an illusion, too.

Amanda Wingfield presides over a world that changes between her illusions and rea

Some common words found in the essay are:
St Louis, Laura Amanda, Jim Laura's, L-Yes J-Aw, America America, , Amanda Wingfield, Glass Menagerie, life tom, real world, glass menagerie, escape movies, world illusions, lives wingfield, world illusion, illusions amanda, tries escape, lives wingfield family, little animals,

Approximate Word count = 1137
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English