The Glass

A detailed Summary of The Glass

The play The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, Williams uses

many symbols which represent many different things. Many of the symbols

used in the play try to symbolize some form of escape or difference between

The first symbol, presented in the first scene, is the fire escape.

This represents the "bridge" between the illusory world of the Wingfields

and the world of reality. This "bridge" seems to be a one way passage.

But the direction varies for each character. For Tom, the fire escape is

the way out of the world of Amanda and Laura and an entrance into the world

of reality. For Laura, the fire escape is a way into her world. A way to

escape from reality. Both examples can readily be seen: Tom will stand

outside on the fire escape to smoke, showing that he does not like to be

inside, to be a part of the illusionary world. Laura, on the other hand,

complain of being different, as she does not complain either. And when Jim

glass. The shattered glass represents Laura's understanding of Tom's

is heard walking up the fire escape, she quickly hides her collection. She

Although Amanda desires to see Laura settled down with a nice young man, it

Approximate Word count = 661
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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