Symbolism In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Essay

He decides that there is nothing long enough in the apartment. As has been established, the apartment here symbolizes Tom’s enjoyable elements of life, so this decision represents Finney’s idea that one cannot focus on ambition and work without leaving behind the nice things in life. Tom’s reflection shortly thereafter on all of the time spent on his project emphasizes the colossal waste of his life that his ambitions are. Finney says about these side projects, “They were the way to change from a name on a payroll to a name in the minds of the company officials. They were the beginning of the long, long climb to where he was determined to be, at the very top,” and goes on to say, “And he knew he was going out there in the darkness, after the yellow sheet fifteen feet beyond his reach.” These statements establish the connection between the darkness and his project (representing ambition as a whole) for the first time. Tom Benecke decides to go out and chase his ambitions by walking along the ledge on the building. Jack Finney proceeds to set up his satirical scramble for power.

| Tom wants his old life back prior to the accident and he sees the accident as the end of his life as he knew it. He loses his sense of identity and sense of family in particular.Feels guilty and ashamed about the irrevocable consequences his brother’s irresponsibility had for other people and their familiesRetreats into a depressed state which feels empty and black.

Tom’s journey towards resolution of the mental trauma associated with the anxiety of his inevitable death requires a change in scene in order for him to understand and accept certain decease. At the beginning of “Away” Tom is well aware of his Fate and illustrates confusion and feeling of forfeit. In Scene 2 Act 4 Tom is desperate as he knows his pending death, he personally confronts Meg about having a “happy ending” before he dies. This is a focal point for Tom as it is the first time he openly expresses his grief about his diminishing time this scene also creates contrast in justifying Tom’s anxiousness as his death draws closer from the beginning of the play when he saw meg for much more than a sexual item, Tom begins to recognise what he has become and hastily changes subject and humours Meg. The play then closes with Gow creating Shakespearian allusion with Tom reading the lines from “King Lear”, “While we unburdened crawl towards death”. Which is used symbolically with Tom’s state, the pillar in

Tom’s initial perspective of on his transition he and his family must undertake is on of despair and reluctance. This despair is emphasised through the emotive language that is used throughout the prologue such as ‘groan,’ ‘dump,’ and ‘shuffling.’ Tom’s despair also creates a sense of tension throughout the family as for the line, ‘no one spoke,’ the line reinforces the tension and their reluctance to face the new change in their life. The line ‘down, down we glided in silence,’ could be interpreted metaphorically.

Tom’s sympathy with Laura and Amanda prevents him from deserting his family, keeping him in his monotonous warehouse job. However, the photograph of Tom’s father compels him to leave, sparking his desperation to quit his job to explore the world. This hesitation to stay or leave is the direct cause of his trips to the movies. When Tom goes to the movies, he can escape reality while also staying and supporting his family. When Tom gets bored of the movies, he no longer has an escape from his dreadful reality, which forces him to leave. The photograph of Tom’s father mocked him for his entire life, and brought out Tom’s true desire which he had hidden for such a long time.

Another means of Tom’s escape are his outings to the movie, which are aided by the fire escape. Tom goes to the movies for several reasons; to satisfy his need for alcohol, to escape his home life, and to experience some adventure. Walter is a black man in the 1950’s supporting himself, his wife, son, sister and mother in a small apartment in Chicago. He and Tom are both treated less than what a human is worth.

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller are two of the twentieth century’s best-known plays. The differences and similarities between both of the plays are hidden in their historical and social contexts. The characters of The Glass Menagerie and the Death of a Salesman are trapped by the constraints of their everyday lives, unable to communicate with their loved ones and being fearful for their future. There are a lot of comparisons that exist, especially between the settings, symbolism and characterization drawn between the two plays. The contrast comes form the ways that the characters choose to deal or not with the harsh circumstances of life.

In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams uses the theme of escape to help drive the play forward. None of the characters are capable of living in the real world. Laura, Amanda, Tom and Jim use various methods to escape the brutalities of life. Laura retreats into a world of glass animals and old records. Amanda is obsessed with living in her past. Tom escapes into his world of poetry writing and movies. Jim also reverts to his past and remembers the days when he was a high school hero. Mr. Wingfield is referred to often throughout the play. He is the ultimate symbol of escape. This is because he has managed to remove himself from the desperate situation that the rest of the family is still

She soon realizes that her son betrays her breaking the trust and relationship of a mother and child. Tom should feel inclination to uphold his part of the deal as Roxy is his true mother. Just as Tom loses everything but Chambers is then given everything he never thought he would have. Chambers is then released from slavery and given the inheritance. The horrors of slavery though have scared him from beyond repair.

He justifies it by expressing his emotions towards his sister and his memorable times with his family, even though he leaves them. Tom says, “Oh, Laura Laura I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be! I reach for a cigarette, I cross a street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to the nearest stranger- anything that can blow your candles out” (scene VII). In this quote, Tom tries to justify abandoning his family to himself by expressing that he never forgets about them. He says that he is more faithful than intended, which in a way also brings him comfort for leaving them. Tom also justifies his abandonments towards his family because of his dreams. He says, “Movies, look at me them! All of those glamorous people- having adventures- hogging it all, gobbling the whole thing up! You know what happens? People go to movies instead of moving” (scene VII). He is implying that at the movies, a person can sit in one chair and fly across the world without getting on an actual plane. Likewise, Tom dreams of having adventures and when his mother pressures him into staying and taking care of the family, he, of course, gets frustrated and proceeds to the movies. This shows that abandoning his family is viable to Tom when it comes to his

Tom, a main character, is married to another slave named Chloe. Tom and his wife lived in a small cabin on their master’s property in Kentucky before he was sold south. This small cabin becomes the centerpiece of this story. The cabin not only served as a home to Tom and his wife, but also a place of freedom in the mist of servitude. Tom’s master’s son often visited and spent endless hours reading his Bible aloud to Tom. This lifestyle seemed heavenly despite the fact that he was still a slave, but this was soon to change. After being sold south, Tom loses all that he had been privileged to have as a slave. He loses his wife, children, and even the glimpse of freedom that his previous master had allowed for him to have.

Tom chooses to work on his project rather than go out with his wife to the cinema. Although to his surprise, he sees that his very important piece of yellow paper is blown out of his window, and onto the ledge outside of his wall. Since he didn’t want to lose all of his hard work. He climbs out of his window and goes to get the piece of paper. He manages to succeed, and re-enters his apartment window by breaking it. After he’s back inside, he puts the piece of paper on his desk, and gets ready to go out and catch up with his wife. His previous near-death experience has made him realize that he needs to spend more time with his wife. When he opens his door to leave the same piece of paper flies off

1041). Throughout the memory, the thought of the father and what he had done to them appears to haunt the family. Being a blown up picture is the only thing that brings significance of the father that left them behind. This points out one of the main factors in the lifestyle that they currently live in, and seems as if it is a reminder to the audience that Tom does not want to follow in his father’s

Tom had a double role in the play as both the narrator and a main character that lived through a recollection of what life was like living with his mother and sister before he abandoned them to seek adventure. Tom’s behavior in the play could lead to question if his memory is truly accurate. SparkNotes comments, “…But at the same time, he demonstrates real and sometimes juvenile emotions as he takes part in the play’s action. This duality can frustrate our understanding of Tom, as it is hard to decide whether he is a character whose assessments should be trusted or one who allows his emotions to affect his judgment” (SparkNotes.com). Through his behavior a person is reminded that memory can be flawed by emotions or time elapsing, this would need to be taken into account when analysis of such a character is done. Tom is full of contradictions as he reads literature, writes poetry, and dreams of an escape; however he also felt bound by duty to his sister and mother. Another contradiction was that while he professed to care about his sister as seen in his ending comments in the play, “…I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!...” (Williams), Tom never went back to reconnect with his sister. This could be because of the great shame he felt for abandoning his sister or because of another reason. He stated that he had been in several cities over the years but never speaks of going back to St. Louis, making it unclear if he

Tennessee Williams gives us no indication that Tom's escape from his father, Amanda, Laura, and Jim ever happens - what is most compelling about the play is that Tom passes to the reader and the audience the responsibility of making meaning out of his life.