A Shattered Myth in The Glass Menagerie Essay - 2485 Words

In Tennessee Williamss play The Glass Menagerie, we are introduced to a young lady named Laura. Being shy, to an extreme, Laura lives in a world of her own making. It is a socially limited world where she is safe from all lifes painful embarrassments. Laura has wrapped herself in a blanket of protection within the walls of her familys lower middle-class apartment. There in her protected fortress she cares for her collection of glass animals, a collection her mother calls the glass menagerie. There is a consistent parallel between Laura and her collection. Lauras glass collection is a physical extension of herself, representing her lifeless existence and the absolute fragility within her. The glass unicorn specifically†¦show more content†¦When we gaze through a translucent object, we observe that light passes through that object; however, the light passing through it is diffused such that objects viewed are not clearly visible. Entangled in her glass world Laura is protected, the light in her world so diffused she is unwilling to clearly see the reality existing around her. After crying out Laura turns her face away from the scene of her shattered glass, unable to even glimpse the reality of the situation. In doing this she chooses to remain in her glass world of diffused light. When Nancy M. Tischler speaks of Laura in her book Tennessee Williams: Rebellious Puritan, she says, she never steps into the world for fear it would be impossible to bear. She merely stands at the brink and catches what she can of its beauty without becoming a part of it (99). The scene illustrated above is an example of Lauras inability to cross the boundary line of her illusionary world, a world as delicate as the glass she keeps. Later, in scene five, Tom voices his concern for Laura when he covertly explains to his mother how Laura is different from other girls. Tom goes on to say that Laura simply lives in a world of her own,a world of-little glass ornaments. Let us consider the use of the word ornaments. An ornament is an object or feature that embellishes or decorates. As Tischler explains, Lauras collection of glass absorbs her time. She spends hoursShow MoreRelatedEssay Crushed Dreams in The Glass Menagerie1194 Words   |  5 PagesCrushed Dreams in The Glass Menagerie      Ã‚  Ã‚   Tennessee Williams is known for his use of symbols, tension, and irony. Williams uses all of these components to express the central theme of The Glass Menagerie - hope followed by despair. Each of the characters has dreams that are destroyed by the harsh realities of the world.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the narrator blatantly admits, since I have a poets weakness for symbols, symbols are central to The Glass Menagerie (Williams 30). Symbols areRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie Essay1911 Words   |  8 PagesThe Glass Menagerie is what it states itself to be: â€Å"a memory play†. And, â€Å"being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic† (Williams 5). In the very beginning of the play, it claims an air of foggy illusion- smeared on the windows of time and the narrator’s memory. The mystic undertones of Menagerie is essentially a tension in between the view of moving forward yet the truth of moving backward, suspended in between the realms of dream and destiny, balanced perfectlyRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Warehouse 997 Words   |  4 Pagescontributes to his nocturnal film-going behavior. Finally, when he does leave the Wingfield apartment, he entraps himself with memories o f Laura. He escapes one prison only to fall into another that of his guilty conscience, his nostalgia of home, the glass menagerie and old fashioned melodies. 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For theRead More Dreams of Escape in The Glass Menagerie Essay example2299 Words   |  10 PagesDreams of Escape in The Glass Menagerie    Anyone can handle a crisis, but day-to-day living is the most trying aspect of life (Jackson 19). This is especially true in the drama The Glass Menagerie. None of the characters in this tale is willing to or capable of living in the present. Everyday life becomes so mindless and oppressive that each characters dreams and fantasies become more important than reality itself. Through their dreams, Amanda, Tom, Laura, and Jim attempt to transcend realityRead More Dreams and Escape in The Glass Menagerie Essay2243 Words   |  9 PagesDreams and Escape in The Glass Menagerie    None of the characters in The Glass Menagerie is capable of living in the present. Everyday life is so oppressive that each character, through their dreams, retreats into a fantasy world. This essay will examine the reality faced by Amanda, Tom, Laura and Jim and probe how, through their dreams, each character attempts to transcend reality. Amanda, having lost her husband and having to take care of her two children, namely Tom and Laura