It is in the second scene that the author begins to reveal Laura's obsession with her glass collection. Laura is lying back gazing into a crystal and seems to be lost in her own private world when she suddenly hears her mother approaching. It is obvious that her mother, Amanda, has berated Laura many times about her preoccupation with the glass. We know this because Laura panics at the prospect of her mother finding her at it again. Once we have seen Amanda's tirade about Laura dropping out of business school, Laura's state seems licit. The glass in this scene seems to be Laura's hopes and dreams of another life. She hasn't the courage to live a normal sociable life, but her fantasy world of the glass menagerie fulfills her need for more than the confines of the apartment.

Later, in scene three, Amanda's critical remarks toward her son, Tom, provokes an argument. Laura nearly cowers as she watches her brother and mother yell at one another. It is in this scene that Tom acciden

However, Jim is not so cautious. He hears music from across the way and decides abruptly that he and Laura should dance. As he pulls Laura close to dance, she resists and they stumble into the shelves of her glass display. The unicorn falls to the floor and is broken. Jim apologizes profusely for being such a "stumble-john" but Laura remarkably insists that it now doesn't feel so "freakish" and looks more like all the other horses. This symbolizes the beginning of Laura's transformation to a more normal person. Jim's attention has given her hope that she could be more ordinary, maybe even extraordinary.

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a's very real abnormality. No mention of the glass is made in this scene, but in scene 7; we are better able to understand why Laura feels so freakish because of her behavior in scene 6.

tally breaks some of Laura's precious glass collection as he rushes out the door. When Tom turns to pick-up the glass, he is unable to express his remorse for having shattered something so precious to his sister. The symbolism of the glass in this scene seems to represent Laura's emotions. The author directs that she remain in plain view, even though she doesn't speak, so that the audience can see her suffer through the heated argument. As the audience watches her agony, they will begin to feel some of the anguish that Laura undergoes. Laura feels at fault for the tension in the house, knowing that most of her mother's worry comes from Laura's neediness. When the glass shatters, it represents the shattered feelings of Laura as her family is in turmoil.

It is in scene 7 that we hear Laura explain the significance of her glass menagerie. The gentleman caller, Jim O'Conner, is purposefully left to sit with Laura as Amanda and Tom clean-up after dinner. Jim is masterful at getting Laura to sit and talk. Jim explains later in the scene that his confidence and assertiveness was learned from taking a public speaking class. Laura has a little wine and eventually quickly warms up to Jim's charm. Laura reminds Jim of their high school days and describes

Some common words found in the essay are:
Tennessee Williams, Amanda Tom, Laura Amanda, Laura Jim, Tom Laura, Betty Laura, Tennessee William's, glass scene, Jim O'Conner, scene 7, unicorn souvenir, gentlemen caller, laura goes, laura amanda, glass menagerie, jim unicorn, glass collection, play glass, reference glass scene, ,
Approximate Word count = 1430
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)