Symbolism In The Glass Menagerie

1011 Words3 Pages

Sam Boehm
Instructor Brett Roscoe
English 205C
Mailbox #0066
14 February 2014

Shattered Glass
Glass, although beautiful, can break with even the slightness of breath. Behind beauty, there is fragility and Tennessee Williams represents this idea in his play, “The Glass Menagerie”. Williams infuses symbolism into the play by incorporating the glass menagerie, to portray the underlying fragility of the Wingfield family. The glass menagerie symbolizes fantasy and escape for Laura, a distraction from reality for Amanda, and is the object of eventual scorn for Tom. Through the symbolism that the glass menagerie signifies we are able to uncover the fragility, vulnerability, and need for escape that is apparent within the Wingfield family.
The glass menagerie most significantly represents Laura’s fragility; in the way that she has made herself invisible to society, and is locked away in her own fantasy world. Laura has created a life that solely revolves around her glass, and she rarely leaves the security of her family apartment. She fantasizes herself in the menagerie so intensely that when Tom accidently throws his coat against it, shattering some of the pieces, Laura “cries out as if wounded” (Kennedy, X.J. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Page 1186.) Just like glass, Laura breaks easily. This is first evident when Laura hasn’t been attending school because she had worked herself into such a panic over a simple task that she had made herself physically ill and avoided returning. Ironically, when she must wonder the streets, she visits the museum, birdhouses and the zoo; all places where she would not have to come in contact with people. This allowed her to remain wit...

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...en though he has been gone for years, she keeps a “larger than life-size photograph” of him over the mantle. According to The Glass Menagerie: Production Notes the “academic landscape” (Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie: Production Notes. 1945. Page 2.) is significantly important to the play and the characters in it. The portrait is a central part of the family household, yet the man in the photo has caused devastation and heartbreak for all members of the family. Amanda also tries to relive her past by wearing her old yellow dress when Jim comes over, a subtle symbol with so much meaning. She wears the dress to transform herself back into the girl she used to be, and even though Jim is there for Laura, she treats him as if he was her own gentleman caller. Amanda’s unwillingness to face reality, and using her children as a distraction, is her true fragility.

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