... Blanche- (Lant 2). But whatever viewpoint is taken, it is her casual flirting, as well as her interference in Stanley's marriage, that comes back to haunt her. It is this violent, animal-like rape that brings about Blanche's downfall (Lant 2). After at first trying, unsuccessfully, to stand up to Stanley's efforts to rape her, she sinks to her knees "silent crumpled, immobile ... same way that Blanche showed her disgust for Allen, she tells Stella of her disgust for Stanley. After the night that Stanley beats Stella, Blanche thinks of Stanley as an animal and a brute. She tells Stella s...

• Word Count: 2509
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... he longs to quit his mundane job at the shoe factory. Yet Tom's love for his 'crippled' sister means that he cannot follow his dreams guilt free. The fantasy Amanda lives in gives us a greater insight into how delusion revolves around the Wingfield family and how it is a central ... causes her mental distress; she is crippled both physically and mentally. In search of companionship, she builds her own fantasy world with her glass-animal friends. Williams creation of this world for Laura, which she interacts physically to in front of the audience is very powerful. Laura is lost ... delu...

• Word Count: 1567
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... the family's bills. Williams uses symbols to effectively express the theme of The Glass Menagerie. The theme seems to be that of hopeful aspirations followed by inevitable disappointment and having dreams, which are destroyed by harsh realities of the world. Symbols are a major part of this play. Symbols used in this classic play are the fire escape, Laura's "glass menagerie," and ... security of the apartment. This fall symbolizes Laura's inability to function in society and the outside world. For Amanda, the fire escape is symbolic of her hopes and dreams. The hopes and dreams she has...

• Word Count: 991
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... facing reality will destroy them. Their creation of illusions makes them feel safe away from the real world they cannot cope with, and the harsh realities that destroy both their dreams and hopes. In the Wingfields, Laura is the lost child. Because of being crippled, she cannot face the outside world. She is always afraid of relationships and is terribly shy ... and the magic she hopes to create. She tries to cover her aging face from the "truth" represented by bright lights. At the end, Stanley who "acts like an animal" and "has animal habits" tries to rape Blanche, an action which des...

• Word Count: 1268
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the play in that she has had great influences on the personality of her children. Some critics consider the role of a destructive mother for Amanda. She somehow imposes her unfulfilled dreams on Tom and Laura and ignores the needs and desires which they have for themselves. Amanda is greatly responsible for the sorrows and the flaws of her children drawing them ... symbol in the play is, as the title suggests, the glass menagerie. It is specifically Laura's symbol, the objective correlative of her fragile, other-worldly beauty. Its stylized animal forms image her own immobilized animal ...

• Word Count: 3081
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . Her pride also shows in her contempt for her sister's husband, Stanley. She sees him as uneducated, and, therefore, less of a human being. On multiple occasions, she calls him and animal and asks Stella why she continues to put up with someone of such brutish nature. Blanche's personality is another contributing factor her unsympathetic portrayal. From the moment she arrives; she ... break his heart. At the end of the play, she sums up her personality nicely, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." The loss of perception between dreams and reality is another reason Blanc...

• Word Count: 618
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... , Laura's mother, suffocating in her own affections, places her desires indirectly towards Laura. Additionally, there is Tom Wingfield, Laura's brother, who is immersed within a world of movies. Laura resembles a wounded animal, mirroring her own fears of failure. The "Glass Menagerie" is deceptively simple on its surface-no more, it seems, than a single incident in the life of a small family. Laura's self ... her at it again. Once we have seen Amanda's tirade about Laura dropping out of business school, Laura's state seems licit. The glass now seems to be Laura's hopes and dreams of ano...

• Word Count: 1214
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... . Crippled with one leg shorter than the other from a childhood illness, she lives her life through her collection of glass animals. They provide Laura's refuge from reality. One particular glass animal the "fragile and rare" unicorn symbolizes the character's sufferings. The brilliant use of the imagery of the glass unicorn helps express the emotional anguish of Laura. Only when the unicorn ... bad it made her sick in the stomach". Because Laura does not have the courage to live a normal sociable life, the glass animals in this scene represent her hopes and dreams of another life. This ...

• Word Count: 1170
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School