Glass Menagerie Scene Study

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The play “The Glass Menagerie”, written by Tennessee Williams uses symbols to establish and develop crucial themes and in general, to further the audience’s perspective of the play. The last scene of the play follows two pivotal events, the heartbreak for Laura when she discovers Jim is engaged to be married; her high school crush, and the departure of Tom. Both reflect great misfortune for the Wingfield family. I found throughout the play Williams did an excellent job drawing out emotional responses from his readers. I believe he was able to achieve this by use of the following themes, the difficult acceptance of reality, and the possibility of a true escape. These main ideas are conveyed through the entire piece, by use of symbols and the most influential aspect, the main characters; Tom, Laura and Amanda, all three are members of the Wingfield family. The characters of the play give a deeper and more consequential aspect to the themes and symbols. In turn, allow the audience the opportunity to know the characters personalities and identify with the intangible ideas and or concepts of the play. In drama, the symbols play the most imperative role. Tom acts as the narrator of the play and also a character within the play. He underlines the play’s hostility between objectively presented reality and the memory’s alteration of reality. He sometimes speaks to the audience directly, to give a more direct explanation of what’s been occurring between the characters on stage. I felt remorse for Tom as I was reading the play, and it was as if I knew exactly what he was feeling; the sense of being trapped in a life in which he wanted no part of; what kind of life is that for a person? It’s not fair. I can’t imagine how miserable one would be as a result of this, and how much responsibility was thrust onto Toms shoulders; it’s not his job to be the glue that
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