The Harsh Realities of The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is a play that is very important to modern

literature. Tennessee Williams describes four separate characters, their

dreams, and the harsh realities they faced in the modern world. His

setting is in St. Louis during the Depression-Era. The story is about a

loving family that is constantly in conflict. To convey his central theme,

Williams uses symbols. He also expresses his theme through the characters'

incapability of living in the present.

The apartment that Amanda, Laura, and Tom Wingfield share is in the

middle of the city and is among many dark alleys with fire escapes. Tom

and Laura do not like the dark atmosphere and their mother always tries to

make it as pleasant as possible. The two women do not get out much to

socialize. Amanda sometimes goes to D.A.R. (Daughters of the Revolution)

meetings, but Laura does not like to socialize at all. She has a slight

limp and is extremely shy with people. When she does leave the apartment,

she falls. She is unable to function in the outside world.

As previously stated, symbols play an important role in The Glass

Menagerie. Symbols are substitutions that are used to express a particular

theme, idea, or character. One symbol that is used over and over is the

fire escape. This has different meanings to the characters. For Tom, it

is a place where he can escape to. It is where he goes to escape from his

mother's nagging. He is open to the outside world ...

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struggles of an American family during the Depression-Era. He presented

the problems of being constrained to monotonous work and how one's dreams

may not always come true. He also stressed that not everyone is

comfortable with living in the present day. There were always better times

than the ones that are being lived now. He acknowledged that there are

those who wish not to participate and are not comfortable living in the

outside world. Through Williams' genius use of symbols he was able to

convey his ideas to the reader. He made relationships with the symbols and

the actions of the characters. Along with these symbols he also used the

characters' incapability of living in the present to convey the harsh

realities that they faced in the modern world.