Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Theater Glass Menagerie Glass Menagerie 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. Although it is only referred to a couple of times, the portrait of Tom's father is one of the most important symbols representing Tom. In the play, the portrait is a constant reminder to Amanda of the past she once knew and cherished. A long time ago, Amanda's husband abandoned her and her children because of his unhappy home life. Tom, like his father, felt that his home life was suppressing his true desires for adventure. It became unbearable for Tom to enjoy himself with Amanda's nagging. Tom regularly spoke of his desire for adventure. He felt that instead of wasting his life away inside the house, he could experience something more exciting. Eventually, Tom makes a fanatical choice. Instead of paying for the electric bill, he decides to pay dues to the Union of Merchant Seamen. That organization was his savor from suffocation and a ticket to the life of adventure. Malvoli the Magician was an act that Tom would often see when he went to the movies every night. His coffin trick is a symbol of Tom's suffocating life. Both Malvoli and Tom face life-threatening situations. In the trick, Malvoli faces death by suffocation if he does not successfully escape the coffin. Tom faces death by emotional and spiritual suffocation if he does not find away out of the house. Also, the coffin itself symbolizes the lifestyle Tom is trying to escape. Tom views his life as a very cramped, dark situation. His biggest fear is him spending fifty- five years of his life in the basement of the warehouse, only making sixty-five dollars a month, and never being able to achieve his dreams. Although he loves his family, the thought of being entrapped in a lifestyle he desires no part suffocates Tom. Finally, during the coffin trick, Malvoli not only escapes, but also does it without disturbing any of the nails. Tom claims "You know it don't take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin. But who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing a single nail". Tom knows that Amanda and Laura are like those nails and it will be impossible for him to not disturb the nails. He is suffocating in his own figurative coffin, but knows his escape will upset Amanda and Laura. The fact that he actually managed to remain in the house all these years, displays his affections for his beloved sister and mother. The only two people he loves in the whole world. Throughout the play there are numerous symbols representing different aspects of all the characters. Tom escaped from the fantasy world of Amanda and Laura by hanging out on the fire escape, even though he could never truly flee. Unfortunately for Tom, his life was cramped like the coffin and he was slowly suffocating emotionally and spiritually. Discontented with the lifestyle he followed in the footsteps of his father, he searched for adventure, escaping the nagging of Amanda. Some people have their fantasy worlds, and chose to live in them but that does not necessarily mean it is in the best interests of the surrounding circle of friends and family. Bibliography: Word Count: 856
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