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Use of Symbols, Tensions, and Irony in The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, is a perfect example of how Williams incorporates symbols, tensions, and irony to help express the central theme of the play.
One of the most dominant symbols in the play is the fire escape. It represents something different for each of the characters. Tom uses the fire escape to escape from his cramped apartment and nagging mother. Therefore, the fire escape symbolizes a path to the outside world. For Jim, the gentleman caller, the fire escape represents a means of entering the Wingfield apartment and by doing so, entering the Wingfields' lives. The mother, Amanda, sees the fire escape as a possible entrance for Jim into the apartment and as an answer to the fear she has of her daughter becoming a spinster. Lastly, for Laura, the fire escape represents a place she can go to hide from the real world.
The glass menagerie itself is another symbol. It represents how fragile, sensitive, and unique Laura is. Laura's prize piece is the unicorn, which Jim bumps into and brakes. After the unicorn is broken, it is no longer unique. Just as after Jim kisses Laura and tells her of his engagement to be married, she becomes both heart-broken and a little less unique. In this area, Jim represents the outside world. When the unicorn and Laura are exposed to Jim (or the outside world) they break. By Laura giving Jim the broken unicorn, she is also giving him her broken heart to take with him. She gives him the broken unicorn because it is no longer unique, and to her neither is Jim. Likewise, when Jim leaves, he will also leave behind a little of himself in Laura's broken heart.
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...ls Laura that he's engaged. This confirms that Laura will be unable to fulfill her dream.
It appears that each time a character thinks he or she is moving forward, he or she has the reality of moving backwards. The characters never give up trying, but still no one can move forward from the Wingfields' world. Not even Tom can escape, and he has already left.
The Glass Menagerie is indeed a perfect example of how Williams incorporates symbols, tensions, and irony to help express the central theme of the play.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Kahn, Sy. Modern American Drama: Essays in Criticism. Edited by Willima E. Taylor. Deland, Florida. Everette/Edwards Inc., 1968. 71-88
Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Writing, Thinking. 5th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford, 1999.
...s a distinct society because they had both a differing view of domestic and foreign policies than the rest of Canada and for that reason should become a separate country (www.pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca). Lévesque experimented with several ideas on how to gain support for Québec sovereignty. To try and find support from other countries on Québec's independence, Lévesque started L'Opération-Amérique (www.pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca). In response to Lévesque's attempts to separate from Canada, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau proposed a constitutional reform to renew federalism and promote unity (www.pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca). Despite all of Lévesque's efforts to separate, the results of the referendum on May 20, 1980 did not favour Lévesque's separatist party and the province of Québec has, to this day, remained a part of Canada.
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The Glass Menagerie closely parallels the life of the author. From the very job Tennessee held early in his life to the apartment he and his family lived in. Each of the characters presented, their actions taken and even the setting have been based on the past of Thomas Lanier Williams, better known as Tennessee Williams.
In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams presents us with four characters whose lives seem to consist in avoiding reality more than facing it. Amanda lives her life through her children and clings to her lost youthfulness. Tom retreats into movie theaters and into his dream of joining the merchant seamen and some day becoming a published poet. Laura resorts to her Victrola and collection of glass ornaments to help sustain her world of fantasy. Finally, Jim is only able to find some relief in his glorified old memories. This essay will examine how Amanda, Tom, Laura and Jim attempt to escape from the real world through their dreams.
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