The Glass Menagerie Essay -- Essays Papers

The sugarcoat menagerieSymbolism is a major aspect in Tennessee Williams famous play, The Glass Menagerie. On the surface, the short slice of life story seems to be simple. However, if the lecturer digs deeper they will find that there atomic number 18 several symbols that give back the play a deeper meaning. Each display case defines from each one symbol in a different way. There are some very broad symbols that can be analyzed when studying The Glass Menagerie. The first is the literal glass menagerie that represents the fragility of the Wingfields dreamlike existence. The second is the fire escape, which reflects each characters tendency to escape from reality in their own ways. The third is the chickenhearted dress, which represents youth and the past. The actual animal parade, or glass menagerie, symbolizes each character in the story. Like the glass animals, the characters realities are very fragile and in danger of being shattered. It is also as though the characters are stuck in glass, unable to move or change, also like the glass animals. They are inanimate, as the characters have learned to be to hide and escape from the hassle that life has given them. Laura loves the glass animals because her family is like them. It will not start out much, like Tom leaving, to shatter their whole world.Laura is symbolized by her fragile collection of glass animals, the glass menagerie. Her favorite animal is the unique unicorn. The unicorn is different because it has a horn. When Lau...