The Glass Menagerie

A detailed Summary of The Glass Menagerie


The Characters' Escape From Reality in The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams centers around a dream of escape. Although everyone wants to escape from a different reality, they all feel that need to get away. The father is the most successful in his escape because he never has to deal with anything at home. He actually leaves and doesn't look back. As for the other four: Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim, they seem to be stuck throughout the play. Jim seems to be the only one with a real chance at breaking away from his reality. When Tom breaks free, his memory brings him back to that place. Each person escapes their reality in some way and is somewhat successful at it. Whether through dreams or actually walking away, everyone manages to break free.

Tom is, by far, the biggest dreamer. Tom dreams of leaving the "...over crowded urban centers of lower middle-class population" (1267). Tom envies his father who actually had the guts to walk out. Tom expresses this when he tells Amanda, "...Mother, I'd be where [the father] is!" (1277). Tom wants to leave so desperately that he "...paid [his Merchant Marine] dues this month, instead of the light bill" (1295). Tom would rather think of himself and let his mother


and sister sit in the dark, alone, than take responsibility for his family. Tom says he is "...tired of the movies" (1294) meaning that he is ready for his own adventures. He "...[retires] to a cabinet of the washroom to work on poems when business [is] slack in the warehouse" (1289) By doing this, Tom is looking for yet another escape from the reality of working at a job he hates. Tom also loathes his mother in some way. This is most evident when Tom calls Amanda an "...ugly -babbling old- witch..." (1278). When Tom does finally escape his realities they continue to haunt him. Every time Tom sees "...a piece of transparent glass..." (1310), or hears "...a familiar bit of music" (1310) he is reminded of Laura. So in the end, Tom isn't successful at escaping his realities. It is in the actual escape that he fails the most because he can't forget Laura.

Each character from Williams' The Glass Menagerie is looking for some unseen escape route. Amanda and Laura use their minds to take them their. Tom uses his dreams and actions to get him to his destination. Jim and the father use their brains and gumption to succeed in finding the path. They all struggle with the hopes and dreams of a people destined to remain in their poverty stricken lives forever. In the end, the only people who succeed or even have a chance are the people least

Some common words found in the essay are:
Amanda Laura, Merchant Marine, Tom Jim, Laura Amanda, Tennessee Williams, Laura Tom, Glass Menagerie, Mother I'd, amanda laura, laura amanda, escape reality, glass menagerie, jim father, glass collection, jim actually, succeed jim, tom dreams,

Approximate Word count = 903
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Glass Menagerie 3 CHARACTERamp39S ILLUSIONS THROUGHOUT THE GLASS MENAGERIE Tennessee Williamsamp39 The Glass Menagerie is about the struggle with the hardships reality throws at the ... 1254 words
  • Glass menagerie The Glass Menagerie First of all, I liked the way that The Glass Menagerie was not specifically dated. What I mean by this, is even ... 514 words
  • The Glass Menagerie The role of the imagination and fantasy is critical in understanding each of the characters in Tennessee Williamsamp39 play, The Glass Menagerie. ... 880 words
  • The Glass Menagerie 2 In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams uses various types of symbolism. He ... The glass menagerie is Lauraamp39s means of escape. She ... 688 words
  • Glass Menagerie In the play The Glass Menagerie, author Tennessee Williams expresses his feelings about life during The Great Depression and how it had an effect on some people ... 741 words
  • Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie In most cases, appearance is not as it seems. ... She conceals herself in the world of the glass menagerie, the playamp39s namesake. ... 680 words

Professional Essays

  • The Glass Menagerie ... The thesis to be addressed herein is that in Tennessee Williamsamp39 The Glass Menagerie there are many different personalities living in the same household ... 718 words
  • The Glass Menagerie . The theme of Tennessee Williamsamp39 play The Glass Menagerie is that the world is a cruel place for the most sensitive of human beings. ... The Glass Menagerie. ... 2273 words
  • The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williamsamp39 The Glass Menagerie is a play about an incomplete family in which each character is expected in some way to take the place of the missing ... 1357 words
  • Glass Menagerie Symbolism The Glass Menagerie Symbolism INTRODUCTION When we enter the realm of Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie it is as if we are entering into an illusory ... 1833 words
  • The setting of The Glass Menagerie The setting of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, like many elements in the play, has symbolic value, and the setting is in the memory of the character ... 1758 words
  • Symbolism ampamp Imagery in The Glass Menagerie The purpose of this research is to examine the use of symbolism and imagery in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. The plan ... 2657 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.