The Glass Menagerie: Symbols
The play The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, Williams uses many symbols which represent many different things. Many of the symbols used in the play try to symbolize some form of escape or difference between reality and illusion.
The first symbol, presented in the first scene, is the fire escape. This represents the "bridge" between the illusory world of the Wingfields and the world of reality. This "bridge" seems to be a one way passage. But the direction varies for each character. For Tom, the fire escape is the way out of the world of Amanda and Laura and an entrance into the world of reality. For Laura, the fire escape is a way into her world. A way to escape from reality. ...
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with Tom than any of the other characters: Tom's habit of going to the movies shows us his longing to leave the apartment and head out into the world of reality. A place where one can find adventure. And Tom, being a poet, can understand the needs of man to long for adventure and romance. But he is kept from entering reality by Amanda, who criticizes him as being a "selfish dreamer." But, Tom has made steps to escape into reality by transferring the payment of a light bill to pay for his dues in the Merchant Seaman's Union.
Another symbol, which deals with both Amanda and Laura, is Jim O'Connor. To Laura, Jim represents the one thing she fears and does not want to face, reality. Jim is a perfect example of "the common man." A person with no real outstanding quality. In fact, Jim is rather awkward, which can be seen when he dances with Laura. To Amanda, Jim represents the days of her youth, when she went frolicking about picking jonquils and supposedly having "seventeen ...
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The Glass Menagerie: Symbols. (2005, November 6). Retrieved March 27, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Glass-Menagerie-Symbols/36060
"The Glass Menagerie: Symbols." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 6 Nov. 2005. Web. 27 Mar. 2025. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Glass-Menagerie-Symbols/36060>
"The Glass Menagerie: Symbols." Essayworld.com. November 6, 2005. Accessed March 27, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Glass-Menagerie-Symbols/36060.
"The Glass Menagerie: Symbols." Essayworld.com. November 6, 2005. Accessed March 27, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Glass-Menagerie-Symbols/36060.
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