Analyzing Fantasies in the Glass Menagerie Essay - 1164 Words

I agree that the `The Glass Menagerie is definitely a play about life that is explored through he fantasies of a crippled girl. However, more than that, it is a play about family and how they interact with each other, causing them to lead such a life. So, yes, although the plot centres on Laura, we also learn a fair amount about Amanda and Toms life. Therefore, Williams actually explores life through the fantasies of an American family who share one main thing in common- they all have big dreams, but they are all flawed. Thus, failure is their only fate. Life is explored in detail through the main characters namely Laura, Amanda and Tom, I will first look at Laura. Lauras defect in her leg has made her a shy and reclusive girl.†¦show more content†¦Yes, Laura is like a child, living in a little girls dream of fascinating glass sculptures and amusing herself with them, but the moment she is pulled away from them, the moment she is dragged out from under her shell, she finds herself vulnerable and na#239;ve. She cannot express herself anymore and therefore lapses into silence and shyness. Her life is full of fear of what others may think of her; it is controlled by a paranoia built up over the years which could have been avoided if only Laura had had more confidence in herself. If only she had been stronger. However, her character will always remain a weak one and despite everyone elses efforts to help her, only she can help herself, but if she never takes the first step to do that, then this is the way her life shall always r emain. In scene seven, we see that Jim, Lauras so-called gentleman-caller, manages to open her up a little and gets her to talk about herself. At this point, we believe that she is finally coming out of her shell by herself and learning to overcome her shyness. Here, Laura is like the unicorn glass piece whereby her horn or the barricade she built around herself is broken and now she becomes just like the other horses. Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that dont have horns... Sadly, Laura only ends up extremely hurt when she finds out Jim is engaged to Betty. After all that talking, dancing, and even kissing,Show MoreRelatedFacing Reality in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Essay1140 Words   |  5 PagesThe Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams was a confusing, astounding, and wonderful play that takes an in depth look at the complex relationships that develop between members of a family and then presents them for the audiences dissection. Ho w did the characters in the play interact? What were the independent and dependent relationships between the characters? Perhaps most important, how did they cope with one another? That seemed to be the key question when looking at The Glass Menagerie. EachRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams2034 Words   |  9 PagesSean Connelly Prof. Chiang-Schultheiss English 102 07 December, 2015 Escape From Reality Every character, with the exception of Jim O’Conner, in the play, The Glass Menagerie written by Tennessee Williams, has their own forms of escape from reality. This reoccurring theme holds the play together and can be considered the main emphasis of the entire play. The most obvious examples are from Tom, Laura and Amanda Wingfield; however, there is one character that is bound to be over looked in the realm