The Glass Menagerie

A detailed Summary of The Glass Menagerie


The Glass Menagerie is a story about a mothers desire, a brothers help, and a gentlemen caller - all who try and help a crippled girl named Laura. Laura has been crippled since childhood and walks with a leg brace. Painfully shy, she is happiest when playing old records and polishing her collection of glass animals (the glass menagerie of the title). Laura's obsession with her "glass menagerie" is the strongest example of escapism in the play.

Tom (Laura's brother) is the main source of financial support for himself, his mother and sister, and so he goes dutifully to work every morning at the Continental Shoemakers warehouse, settling for a proletarian existence while his poetic soul yearns for adventure. Amanda (Laura's mother) tries to make the best of the situation by pointedly ignoring Tom's disappointment while nagging at him to cheer up and chew his food. Her constant carping would be enough to annoy anyone, but it is particularly difficult for Tom to stomach, so he self-medicates with movies and alcohol.

Tom would likely have left long ago had


One night, Tom brings home a friend from the warehouse... in hopes that by finding someone who will love Laura, he will also find someone who will take her away, and leave him free to do what he wants.

This quote has double meaning. One, in the truest sense, that glass does break easily. But the second refers to herself, and the notion that if she doesn't find someone who is very careful with her, she too will break. She is warning Jim - "be careful with my heart and feelings". After her chat with Jim, Laura is very different. She begins to build up more confidence. For example, Jim breaks one of her pieces of glass, and she doesn't mind. If that had happened before, she would have been devastated. Laura has had the weight of the world lifted off of her shoulders. Obviously, the weight shouldn't have been there at all. Laura gained more self- confidence in herself, knowing she could do what she wanted to do. This might not be the totally perfect, unrealistic experience people in books go through, but it's definitely a start. Before Jim came along,

Some common words found in the essay are:
Amanda Laura, Laura Jim, Amanda Laura's, Jim Laura, Laura Laura, Laura's Tom, Glass Menagerie, Tom Laura's, Continental Shoemakers, glass animals, glass menagerie, care glass animals, care glass, jim laura,

Approximate Word count = 714
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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