The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie

Christine Wilson

Everest Online University

In the play, “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams the theme of escape is shown in various ways from the beginning to the end. The Wingfield family wants to escape from the depressing reality of their everyday lives. They are trapped in poverty and use their imagination as a means of escape. Amanda, Tom, and Laura find their own way of escaping.

Amanda uses the past as her means of escaping her drab life. She reminisces of Blue Mountain when she was a southern belle as her way of escaping. One of her lines states “One Sunday afternoon in Blue Mountain – your mother received – seventeen! – gentlemen callers!” (p. 700). Amanda expresses how she wants her to children to have better than what they currently have. She even tries to give Laura an escape plan by having her take typing classes so she can do something with her life; unfortunately Laura stops taking classes so he has to find another way of making her life better.

Tom uses his imagination as a way of escaping his mother’s overbearing ways. He spends a lot of time at the movie theater. He states in one of his lines “I’m going to the movies!”(p.709). His mother doesn’t believe him so he uses his imagination to go on saying to her that he’s joined a gang and has become an assassin. He hates his job at the warehouse; and his life but he doesn’t want to abandon his family like his father did years ago.

Laura lives in her own little dream world throughout the play. She spends most of her time listening to records that her father left her. She doesn’t like going outside of their apartment; she’d rather be with her collection of glass animals. Laura is a very shy person and Tom tries to hook her up with Jim; but she doesn’t want any part of it. Laura feels just like the glass unicorn that Jim broke; unique and hurt at the same time (p.746).

In this play they all have their own way of escaping so that they can get away from the dull...