Yet, the playwright, aware of the inevitability of the conflict between illusion and reality, also leaves the audience with no doubt about his cynical and bitter attitude in dramatizing the sometimes self-deceptive but always debilitating nature of his characters’ illusory world. When her mother discovers Laura hasn't been going to school, her hope for their future is destroyed, and she becomes obsessed with the idea of Laura marrying some nice man to take care of the family. In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams wrote about the struggles of an American family during the Depression-Era. Actually, this search was a search for reality. Tom's mother and sister also represent the struggles of the South to adapt to cultural shifts. Neither of them are comfortable. Laura tries to play it off as if being a horse will make him feel 'less freakish', and Jim comments on how she is special and that someone should kiss her. She enrolls Laura in a business college, When it is convenient to her, she simply closes her eyes to the brutal, realistic world. What Williams calls “personal lyricism” is employed in the play not so much to challenge the accountability of Tom’s narrative as to display, from a character’s point of view, the impact that illusion has on individuals. bookmarked pages associated with this title. the unicorn, breaking off its horn. Does the glass menagerie represent the same thing throughout the play, or does the meaning change? As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 79,000 Jim is an easygoing, upbeat sort of character who was a star athlete in high school and who is hopeful about his prospects at the shoe factory. He is open to the outside world when he is on the fire escape. The Glass Menagerie is a memory play narrated by the main character and son, Tom Wingfield. Sciences, Culinary Arts and Personal Flashbacks are used effectively to underscore the struggle that characters must undergo when they do not know how to disentangle themselves from the past. Tom¹s use of cigarette smoking is a symbol of his constant strive for individualism. wearing an ostentatious dress from her glamorous youth, talks vivaciously These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Glass Menagerie. The The Glass Menagerie quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Wingfield or refer to Tom Wingfield. the last minute, Laura learns the name of her caller; as it turns She is unable to function in the outside world. The problem is that Jim, the caller, has not even met either of the two women yet. She tells Laura, "You be the lady this time and I'll be the darky." She does possess a great determination and strength. Select a subject to preview related courses: After dinner, Jim and Laura talk on the couch. The title The Glass Menagerie brings to prominence the collection of figurines composed of delicate glass and shaped like animals that the equally delicate Laura owns. She refuses to accept the fact that Tom is quite different from her and that he, like his father, will someday leave in search of adventures. © copyright 2003-2020 Study.com.