The Glass Menagerie
Jim the long awaited "gentleman caller" brings the reality of the outside world into Laura's life [page # 448]. Jim is very different from Amanda and Tom: In one brief evening he introduces hope, warmth, companionship, sympathy, and finally disillusionment into Laura's life, which her own mother and brother cannot achieve in years. In Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie some of the characters (Amanda and Laura Wingfield) seem to be living in their own imaginary world and refuses to step into reality. In a different character (Tom Wingfield) the theme of escapism plays a major role. "The most realistic character", Jim O'Connor appears in the final scenes and changes Laura's life for good [page # 450]. Laura Wingfield, like a "blue rose", is unique, special, and also cut off from the real world [page # 456]. Crippled from childhood Laura walks with the aid of a leg brace. Her shyness is paralyzing. Laura has her own imaginary world and resists every attempt to enter the real one. The main focus of Laura's life is her glass collection, which Amanda calls "the glass menagerie" [page # 486]. The glass menagerie symbolizes Laura's private world by its fragility and delicate beauty. She does not want to do anything drasti
The theme of escapism plays a major role in Tom Wingfield's character. He wants to live his own life but his actions have a great affect on the well-being and security of his mother and sister. Tom feels trapped at an atmosphere, which he calls a "2 by 4 situation" where his family is totally dependant on him and his wages [page # 460]. I think his father, Mr. Wingfield, felt the same way and found an easy solution by deserting the family. Tom is always dreaming of fantastic places and for now he escapes the harsh reality of the Wingfield apartment through the illusions offered by the movies and the stage magician. The most impressive trick by the magician becomes a symbol for his desire to escape. But unlike the magician, Tom has to pay a great price or metaphorically "remove nails" by jeopardizing his mother's and sister's well being, in order to flee [page # 460]. It is clear to see that he thinks of his sister Laura like a burden, which he always tries to get rid of and eventually does so by escaping. c with her life. In fact, it seems that all she wants is to keep inside her own world, without having to deal with the decisions and demands of the real world. This can be seen through her attempt to attend Business College, in which she fails quite dramatically when her skills are to be tested. She quits, without telling her mother. From this we can see that Laura is extremely afraid of confrontations and situations where somebo
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Approximate Word count = 978
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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