Essay on Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie -- Glass Menagerie essays

Symbolism in The Glass menagerie Symbolism tinkers an integral phonation in Williamss play, The Glass Menagerie. Examples of the use of symbolism include the fire evasion, as an escape from the family, the phonograph, as an escape from reality, the unicorn, as a symbol for Lauras uniqueness and the fathers photograph, representing something different to each character. Through regonition of these symbols, a greater understanding of the plays theme is achieved. Throughout the play, Tom Wingfield was torn by a responsibility he felt for his render and infant and the need to be his own man. He used the fire escape most in the play. He went outside to stand on it when he smoked, to escape the nagging from his mother, and to make his final independence from his family. Tom didnt like being responsible for his mother and sister, working day-in and day-out at a job he hated. He wanted to escape down those stairs and never come back. In scene V Tom speaks to the audience about what h e observes from the fire escape, heaven Dance Hall. The dance hall to him was what he wanted, everyone was living exciting blend ins hot swing medication and liquor, dance halls, bars and movies, and sex that hung in the gloom... Tom longed to live a more exciting life. In the final scene Tom says I descended the steps of this fire escape for a last time and followed, from thusly on, in my fathers footsteps, attempting to find in motion what was lost in space. Tom wanted to be free and to him the fire escape was the exit into freedom. Movies were also an crucial part of Toms life. He went to the movies when he and his mother argued or when he felt he mandatory some excitement. In scene IV Amanda asks Why do you go to the movies so much, Tom? and... ...nger anger that hes abandon them and is doing what he wants. The symbols used in the play are a means of escape. For Tom its the movies and the fire escape, for Laura its the Victrola and her looking glass and for the father, its his picture. Hes escaped from the responsibility of raising and paying for their family. Works Cited and ConsultedBeattie, Elisabeth L. The Glass Menagerie. Masterplots, ed. Frank M. Magill. Revised molybdenum Ed. Vol. 5. Pasadena Salem concentrate, 1996. Bigsby, C. W. E. Entering the Glass Menagerie. The Cambridge Companion to Tennessee Williams, ed. Matthew C. Roudane. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1997. Williams, Tennessee. Conversations with Tennessee Williams, ed. Albert Devlin. Jackson University Press of Mississippi, 1986. Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New York New Directions Publishing, 1995. Essay on Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie -- Glass Menagerie essaysSymbolism in The Glass Menagerie Symbolism plays an integral part in Williamss play, The Glass Menagerie. Examples of the use of symbolism include the fire escape, as an escape from the family, the phonograph, as an escape from reality, the unicorn, as a symbol for Lauras uniq ueness and the fathers photograph, representing something different to each character. Through regonition of these symbols, a greater understanding of the plays theme is achieved. Throughout the play, Tom Wingfield was torn by a responsibility he felt for his mother and sister and the need to be his own man. He used the fire escape most in the play. He went outside to stand on it when he smoked, to escape the nagging from his mother, and to make his final independence from his family. Tom didnt like being responsible for his mother and sister, working day-in and day-out at a job he hated. He wanted to escape down those stairs and never come back. In scene V Tom speaks to the audience about what he observes from the fire escape, Paradise Dance Hall. The dance hall to him was what he wanted, everyone was living exciting lives hot swing music and liquor, dance halls, bars and movies, and sex that hung in the gloom... Tom longed to live a more exciting life. In the final scene Tom says I descended the steps of this fire escape for a last time and followed, from then on, in my fathers footsteps, attempting to find in motion what was lost in space. Tom wanted to be free and to him the fire escape was the exit into freedom. Movies were also an important part of Toms life. He went to the movies when he and his mother argued or when he felt he needed some excitement. In scene IV Amanda asks Why do you go to the movies so much, Tom? and... ...nger anger that hes abandon them and is doing what he wants. The symbols used in the play are a means of escape. For Tom its the movies and the fire escape, for Laura its the Victrola and her glass and for the father, its his picture. Hes escaped from the responsibility of raising and paying for their family. Works Cited and ConsultedBeattie, Elisabeth L. The Glass Menagerie. Masterplots, ed. Frank M. Magill. Revised Second Ed. Vol. 5. Pasadena Salem Press, 1996. Bigsby, C. W. E. Entering the Glass Menagerie. The Cambridge Co mpanion to Tennessee Williams, ed. Matthew C. Roudane. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1997. Williams, Tennessee. Conversations with Tennessee Williams, ed. Albert Devlin. Jackson University Press of Mississippi, 1986. Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New York New Directions Publishing, 1995.