Glass menagerie essay

Submitted By graceannej2012

Words: 455

Pages: 2

Open Document

October 15, 2014
Grace Jackson
Ms. Wally
World Literature
The Menagerie’s Symbolism
“The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams is a play that exposes the very definition of symbolism. Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. Williams used the dance hall, movies, and cigarettes to symbolize Tom’s (a main character in “The Glass Menagerie”) wish for a life of adventure. These places and things symbolize very different things about Tom that all lead to the conclusion of him dreaming for an eventful life.
The Dance Hall near their house is described by Tom as “compensation for lives that passed like mine, without any change or adventure.”This is his way of expressing his longing for a life of happenings. He wants and wishes for the very life he has sacrificed to stay home and care for his crippled sister and overly-hospitable mother.
Movies and the theater symbolize Tom’s wish for adventure in quite different way. He uses the movies as his escape from the world, life, and his circumstances. To his friend, Jim, from the ware house where he works, Tom says, “All of those glamorous people-having adventures-hogging it all, gobbling the whole thing up…Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America…until there’s a war.
That’s when adventure becomes available to the masses…But I’m not patient. I don’t want to wait till then. I’m tired of the movies and I am about to move!” This incontestably demonstrates how much Tom Wigfeild desires a life of adventure and excitement.
Tom also smokes cigarettes. This is indeed a nasty dependence but, not in a symbolic view. The way Williams has

Essay on The glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie In Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie, symbolism plays an important role. He uses symbolism to represent many different things. Symbolism can be used as characters, objects and scenery. Symbolism is great in that it can be interpreted in many different ways; each reader can draw their own conclusions about what they read. In this play, Tennessee Williams uses characters, the unicorn in the glass menagerie, the glass menagerie itself, the fire escape, as well as the…

Words 610 - Pages 3

The Glass Menagerie Essays

The Glass Menagerie Rebecca L. Vasquez South University Online ENG 1300 – Composition III/Literature Week 3, Assignment 2 David Layton March 9, 2015 The Glass Menagerie In the play “The Glass Menagerie”, written by Tennesse Williams, there are several characters that make this play uniqiue. There are several limitations that certain characters have that do not allow them to obtain their dreams and goals. Limitaions prevent goals from being achieved and this causes not only stress…

Words 405 - Pages 2

Glass Menagerie Essay

Glass Menagerie Written Responses Topic: Discuss how a theme is developed in the play through two characters. Provide 3 pieces of evidence to support the theme as it applies to each character. “ The Glass Menagerie ”, a memory play by Tennessee Williams, not only depicts the depressing and…

Words 1413 - Pages 6

Glass Menagerie Essay

In Tennessee Williams’ ,“The Glass Menagerie,” there are relationships between the three main characters. The relationship between Tom and Laura is a typical brother sister relationship. They both get along and are nice to each other, but at the same time have their fighting moments. When Tom and Laura are bickering back and forth about their mother when she is talking about he seventeen gentlemen callers it really shows their true relationship as brother and sister. Laura says, “Yes. But…

Words 336 - Pages 2

Essay about The Glass Menagerie

Recent scholarly criticism has remained convinced that The Glass Menagerie is “Tennessee Williams’s most autobiographical play, accurate to the imaginative reality of his experience even when it departs from facts in detail” (Parker 3) and that “No one who has reviewed even the bare details of his biography can overlook the obvious similarities between the record of his early life and the events described in The Glass Menagerie” (Presley 86); the playwright’s official biographer…

Words 5311 - Pages 22

The Glass Menagerie Essay

In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Laura Wingfield, daughter of Amanda Wingfield, left business college and doesn’t have any gentleman callers calling for her. She is dealing with a gloomy atmosphere, a shattered confidence and a little world of her own. As mentioned previously, Laura is faced with different obstacles, preventing her from leading a normal life. The environment around Laura is tense and depressing, challenging her unstableness. She tries to keep the family together,…

Words 384 - Pages 2

The Glass Menagerie Essay

William’s 1994 play, “The Glass Menagerie.” The play is centered around Tom- an aspiring poet- retelling the memories of life supporting his mother and sister. Laura, Tom’s sister, contributes significantly to the play by means of her disability and personality. Laura’s role in “The Glass Menagerie” was important because her character cared for others, represented the play’s symbols, was the center of the plot, and displayed her own desire. Most of the storyline of “The Glass Menagerie” revolved around…

Words 681 - Pages 3

Essay on Glass Menagerie Symbolism

In his drama, The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams uses symbolism in order to develop multi-faceted characters and to display the recurring themes of the play. These various symbols appear throughout the entire piece, and they are usually disguised as objects or imagery. They allow the reader to know the characters’ personalities, and their true inside characteristics. These symbols also add to the major themes, which develop as the play gains momentum. In the drama, symbols play the…

Words 2477 - Pages 10

The Glass Menagerie Symbolism Essay

very key in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie (rpt. In Greg Johnson and Thomas R. Arp, Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 12th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2015] 1136-1185) in helping the reader better understand the character of Laura Wingfield and her place in reality. One of the symbols used for Laura is her glass menagerie that she loves to collect. At one point in the story, as Laura’s brother, Tom, and mother, Amanda, are arguing, the menagerie is knocked into and the pieces go…

Words 535 - Pages 3

Essay on The Glass Menagerie And Symbolism

The Glass Menagerie and Symbolism Tammy Maxwell Bethel University Writing about Literature Bill Shelton October 29, 2012 The Glass Menagerie and Symbolism In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, there are certain objects in the play that symbolize the desires of the characters. Such symbols are seen throughout the play and affect every character. From the beginning of this play, we immediately start to see symbolism. Tom is standing outside in his pea coat, which is often worn…

Words 1581 - Pages 7