The Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie Essay

Tennessee Williams, born Thomas Lanier Williams, wrote The Glass Menagerie, a play which premiered in Chicago in 1944. This award winning play, autobiographical in nature, represented a time in which Williams felt the obligation of his responsibilities in regards to the care of his family. Robert DiYanni, Adjunct Professor of Humanities at New York University, rated it as, “One of his best-loved plays...a portrayal of loneliness among characters who confuse fantasy and reality” (DiYanni 1156). Alternatively, The Glass Menagerie, a play set in the era of the Great Depression and written from the narrator’s memory, was meant to teach us the how our relationships with one another can alter our futures, for better or worse. Everything about this particular play was a direct and clear symbolization of Williams ' life growing up. Williams uses characterization to depict several people from his real life in this play; his sister, himself, his overbearing mother, absent father, and a childhood best friend. Williams does a splendid job transforming his personal life into a working piece of art. In Tennessee Williams ' play, The Glass Menagerie, his character, Laura, is central to the structure and focus of the story due to her individual ties to all of the supporting characters throughout the seven scene play.

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.

Amanda is obsessed with her past, and uses it to escape reality, as she constantly reminds Tom and Laura of the time she received seventeen gentlemen callers. The reader cannot even be sure that this actually happened. However, it is clear despite its possible falseness, Amanda has come to believe it. She refuses to acknowledge that her daughter is crippled and refers to her handicap as "a little defect - hardly noticeable" (Williams 1648). Only for brief moments does she ever admit that her daughter is "crippled" and then resorts back to denial. Amanda doesn't perceive anything realistically. She believes that this gentleman caller, Jim is going to be the man to rescue Laura and she hasn't even met him yet. When Jim arrives, Amanda is dressed in a "girlish frock" she wore on the day that she met their father and she regresses to the childish, giddy days of entertaining gentleman callers. Amanda uses her past as a means to escape the reality she does not want to face.

Connie’s parents ask if she wants to go to a barbecue at her aunt’s house and “Connie said no, she wasn’t interested, rolling her eyes to let her mother know just what she thought of it” (484).With her being so young and having no way to protect herself, she should not have stayed home or even been allowed to by her parents. Connie hears a car coming up the driveway, “a car she didn’t know” (484). Even though she does not recognize the car, she goes outside anyway. This is a big mistake that shows her immaturity. Instead of calling her parents to tell them an unknown vehicle is at their house, she decides to go find out herself and let the men know she is home. By the time Connie gets to the phone, Arnold Friend is already threatening her family’s lives and it is too

   Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, describes three separate characters, their dreams, and the harsh realities they face in a modern world.  The Glass Menagerie exposes the lost dreams of a southern family and their desperate struggle to escape reality. Williams' use of symbols adds depth to the play. The glass menagerie itself is a symbol Williams uses to represent the broken lives of Amanda, Laura and Tom Wingfield and their inability to live in the present.

Her boldness soon dwindles when she notices that “he wasn’t a kid, he was much older-thirty, maybe more…her heart began to pound faster” and Connie’s character goes through a transformation (165). At this point, she feels fearful, desperate, and helpless. Arnold’s use of threats toward her family and her, invading her home and property, and talking about death contribute to Connie’s nervousness and fear. Connie’s fear is overwhelming as “she turn(s) and bump(s) against a chair…hurting her leg… (and runs) into the back room and pick(s) up the telephone”, only to hear the “roaring” sound, causing her to lose all her emotions like a small child (169). Instead of the selfish, shallow character Connie is at the beginning of the story, she becomes a frantic child.

As the story progresses, it is Sunday morning and her family is getting ready to attend a family bar-b-queue. However, Connie insists on not attending and is left alone at home. As she is washing her hair, she hears an unfamiliar car driving up to her house and her heart begins to pound for she does not want the visitor to see her undone. When Arnold Friend, a man she has seen at the restaurant before, but has never spoken to, shows up on her doorstep, she is someone curious as to why he is visiting her. Throughout the scene, he is attempting to persuade Connie into taking a ride with him and his friend Ellie. The more he speaks to her, he reveals to her that he knows many things about her such as her friends, her name, and family and where they are currently at. As the scene develops, Connie no longer has interest in Arnold for she now is scared and is fearful of what his intentions are.

An escape typically liberates a person from their suffering. However, in the Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, escape is an ironical dream. Instead of being free, the characters are tied down to emotional and physical chains that hamper their desires. This impediment is depicted through details in which each character’s journey consists of trials and tribulation and the attempts to escape from the them.

When Amanda retrieved the mail, she seen the invitation. When she asked Tabitha if she could go to the party, her step-sisters laughed in her face, and threw dirt all over her and the floor around her. Tabby told her to clean up the mess and the rest of the house, and she will consider it. So Amanda started cleaning as fast as she could, she was determined to go to the party. Meanwhile, her step-sisters were getting ready for the party. And they were determined to go without Amanda.

In Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie, all four members of the Wingfield family have chosen to hide from reality. Amanda tries to relive her past through Laura, and denies anything she does not want to accept. Laura is terrified of the real world, and choses to hide behind her limp, her glass menagerie and the victrola. Tom hides from his reality by going to the movies, writing poetry, and getting drunk. Mr Wingfield hides from his reality by leaving his family and not contacting them after he has done so. Each member of the Wingfield family has their own escape mechanism which they use to hide or escape from the real world.

Tom forms a secret plan of escape and Laura drops out of school. Not only did other characters deceive Amanda in the play, but she was also deceptive in her ways. In an effort to deceive Jim, the gentleman caller, Amanda bustled around the apartment putting up fresh curtains, polishing the silver and laying out the monogramed linens. She even bought a new dress for Laura and helped her put in the “Gay Deceivers.” These “Gay Deceivers” were two powder puffs wrapped in handkerchiefs which Amanda stuffs in Laura’s bosom (388).

How she was so popular, so beautiful, and so charming. She tells her not so popular daughter how she had so many gentleman callers. Also, how she had many wealthy gentleman callers that could have been her husband and how she could have a much better life, but instead she chose their not so wealthy father. By always talking about her younger glory days, she starts to live in her fantasy life. Initially it did not seem harsh that Amanda was telling about her glory days, it was like any other mother telling her daughter about her past life.

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams had ordinary people in an ordinary life that closely resembled the influences of Williams’ personal life while having reoccurring themes and motifs throughout the story. The play has been done by many with some variations in the scripts and setting while still clinging to the basic ideas of the original play.

It also showed that her character had the hardest time accepting reality because her shyness sheltered and kept her from exploring the world outside of her home. This was emphasized by Amanda’s lack of concern for her children as she was blinded by her own needs.

Through Amanda’s inability to separate the real from the fantasy, William’s proves that Amanda’s main coping mechanism is to retreat from reality. Amanda’s role as the forgotten southern belle also impacts her relationship with her daughter Laura, who suffers from crippling social anxiety and an inferiority complex as a result of her disability.