The Glass Menagerie: Wingfields are alike in terms of their imagination Every character exists in their own little world in which they indulge themselves in whether it is real or just a fantasy. In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, everyone in the play allows for their imagination to run wild. The contrast is shocking when they withdraw from there because the differences in their appearance, personality and behavior transform drastically. Tom supports his family despite his unhappiness with his lifestyle. He tries to please his mother, Amanda by being the sole supporter of the family, but only gets rewarded by Amanda's constant nagging and distrust. Eventually, Tom finds himself more like his father as he seeks adventure in the movies and hangs out on the fire escape to avoid suffocation of the household. He desperately seeks the life he always desired; the life of adventure. By hanging out on the fire escape, Tom finds a temporary safe haven from Amanda. With Amanda irritating Tom constantly, he needed to find somewhere to get away. Perhaps, even more, the fire escape shows various things about Tom's personality. Since Amanda and Laura have their illusionary worlds inside, Tom can easily escape these worlds by going out on the fire escape. He does not desire to be part of an imaginary world, which only proves to be the downfall of Amanda and Laura. He realizes that the world is not what Amanda has made it seem inside the house. Also, during his reflections on the fire escape he is not really separating himself from the imaginary world because that metal frame is still anchored to the apartment wall. This shows that no matter how hard Tom tries to escape he will always be 'bounded' to the apartment. His emotional attachments to Laura would permanently keep him there no matter what adventure he had chose to seek out. With such a dull and stressful life, Tom was always looking for adventure like his father. Alth...
