The Glass Menagerie
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1. The Unicorn
The unicorn is a representation of Laura after Tom carelessly breaks the glass when he is in a rush to get to the movies. The unicorn is an important piece to Laura and she shows it Jim explaining how it is different just as she is different. But when the horn breaks off unicorn, Laura points out that now the unicorn isn’t different anymore but the same, a normal horse. The unicorn being broken also shows how Laura had to be broken in order to open up to others and escape some of her shyness though she was not able to completely let go. The horse now being normal has no comparison to Laura who eventually gives the figurine up to Jim as a present; The horse better suites him and his normality because he is like everyone else just as the unicorn is like every other horse without its horn.
2. The fire escape
The fire escape represents a way for the characters to escape either reality or their their own worlds that they have created for themselves. For Laura the fire escape represents her way into her own world and an escape from the realities that she is living in, the fire escape takes Laura away from her mother and the gentleman callers. In the fourth scene of the play Laura slips on the fire escape, this shows that she cannot escape her situation only hide from it. Tom on the other hand uses the fire escape as a way to
escape the world that he is living in and go to reality, it is a way for him to get away from Laura and Amanda. Throughout the play It is shown that Tom does not like to be in the world of Laura and Amanda, he is often found outside smoking.
3. Malvolio’s “coffin trick”
Tom feels that his life represents the nailed coffin that the magician escapes without removing a nail, only Tom cannot escape his coffin. He is bound down in his coffin by his mother Amanda and his sister Laura. His emotional ties to his family have him bound in a place he cannot escape. If Tom leaves he will upset Amanda and Laura, the nails in the coffin that he is trying to escape. When Tom does leave the house he still is not totally free, every time he passes a window filled with things made of glass he thinks of Laura. Tom was not truly able to escape his world, he is still bound to his family.
4. Mr. Wingfield’s always present portrait
The portrait of Mr. Wingfield is a constant reminder the family of his successful escape from their world and into reality. His face holds a smile as though saying “ I will be smiling forever.”(965) shows the three family members that he was successful from his escape into reality and is forever happy. Tom wants to escape as his father did but doesn’t want to hurt his mother and sister the way the Mr. Wingfield had hurt them when he decided to up and leave the family. Tom is jealous of his fathers escape. To Amanda The portrait of the father portrays the happiness that she use to have before he had left.
Amanda see’s a lot of her husband in her son Tom.
5. The Movies
Tom goes to the movies because it is his way of escaping his world without really escaping it. When he goes to the movies Tom gets to be in the adventures that he is otherwise missing out on when he is at home. For the few hours that Tom is at the movies
he is able to escape and go into his own dream world, it makes him envious of the characters in the show, Tom wants to escape into reality and live in his own world.