The Glass Menagerie Research Paper

The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, is a complex work that encompasses many thematic ideas. The play details the life of a dysfunctional family living in St. Louis during the 1930s. The family has many problems and have created their own version of reality to cope with and avoid the truth of their situation. Illusion reigns supreme and prevents the family from moving forward. In The Glass Menagerie, Williams explores how one can create their own warped version of reality based on memories of the past, visions of the future, or a distorted perception of the present and how that can prevent one from moving forward in their life.

Amanda Wingfield is the character with the most distorted view of reality. She can clearly see the

She can look the present squarely in the face, but her perception of the present is warped by her anxiety over her disability (Bluefarb 516). Laura Wingfield is a terribly shy young lady with a physical defect that has caused her leg to be "held in a brace"(Williams 677). This defect, which is merely "suggested on the stage," has caused her to develop terrible anxiety and leaves her unable to function in society (Williams 677). She was miserable throughout high school because of her inability to socialize and her anxiety over her disability. When she would walk through the stairwell to her classes, she imagined her brace clumping so loud it "sounded like thunder," but her former classmate "never even noticed" the clumping (Williams). She dropped out of business school because "her hands shook so that she couldn't hit the right keys" (Williams 683). Single, the author of "Flying the Jolly Roger: Images of Selfhood and Escape" also suggests that her mother has contributed to this anxiety and low self-image by making Laura's disability an "unmentionable in their house" (77). She has also told many stories of her skill at collecting suitors and becoming a "pretty trap," yet she failed to keep her romance alive, which kills any hope Laura may have about one day obtaining love (Single 78). Amanda has tried to push the idea into Laura's head that she will become popular and one day marry, but Laura refuses to give herself what she perceives as false hope. She has never been able to function outside the world she has built for herself, so she has made the decision to stay consumed by her illusions. Laura's only comfort that is based in reality is her memories of a boy named Jim O'Connor with a beautiful voice who used to call her "Blue Roses"(Williams 684). She was infatuated with him and cherishes the memories of their constant but brief interactions in high school. When he turns out to be her gentlemen