In the Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams uses an extensive pattern of symbolism in his character development of Laura. This symbolism develops Laura into a very fragile, shy, and emotionally crippled girl. The dominant symbols that describe Laura include the fire escape, the glass menagerie, the unicorn, and rainbows. All these symbols serve to reveal deeper aspects of Laura and her relationship with the outside world. One recurrent symbol presented in the story is the fire escape. ""For Laura, the fire ... escape is where the gentleman caller enters and where ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... when Jim arrives. It shows her reluctance to let an emissary from the world of reality, symbolized by Jim, invade the comfortable non-existence of the apartment and her insecurity in dealing with the outside world. Another recurring symbol in the story is that of the "glass menagerie." This represents Laura's hypersensitive nature and fragility. The first time the menagerie is mentioned in any detail in a symbolic manner is when Tom and ... symbol comes at the turning point of the play, when Jim is left alone with Laura. The conversation turns to Laura's glass collection and Laura remar...

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• Grade Level: High School

... I kept on bringing in more jonquils" (Williams 54). Therefore, with the use of symbolism, Williams proves that to avoid facing reality, one will create escapes. Lastly, Williams proves this main idea of how escapes are created to avoid reality with the help of the character Laura. In The Glass Menagerie, Laura too creates many escapes to avoid facing reality. One example of symbolism used by ... Williams to portray how Laura escapes is her glass menagerie. Laura uses her menagerie to escape as she plays with it whenever she is uncomfortable and sad. When she ... plays with the animals, ...

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• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a play abounding with symbolism. Connections that exist are between the fire escape and the way Tom escapes from his problems, the glass figurines and Laura's life, and the unicorn and her self-image. These create a higher level on which the play must be examined. Without comprehension of William's use of symbolism, one could never have a proper understanding of the theme of the play ... to open up and for her not to be so shy around everyone else. These are just a few of the many symbols Tennessee Williams...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... driven to it. Williams uses the theme of escape throughout The Glass Menagerie to demonstrate the hopelessness of each character's dreams. The symbol of the glass menagerie represents a safe place to hide from reality. The events that happen to Laura's glass collection throughout the play affect her emotional state. When Amanda tells Laura to practice typing, Laura instead plays with her glass collection. When Amanda is heard walking up the fire escape, Laura quickly hides her collection. "Seeing ... her mothers expression LAURA touches her lips ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

In The "Glass Menagerie", the main characters are Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim. Each character can be found with symbols that best represent them. Laura 's two symbols are Blue Roses and her glass menagerie, Unicorn. Amanda "s yellow dress and bathrobe can express her love she has of the past event. Tom's symbols are the movies and merchant marine. Jim's symbolize itself as a gentlemen caller for Laura. Laura is a very sensitive young girl. ... to go near her and she does not want to go near anyone. The Glass Menagerie represents Laura's very sensitive nature and fragility. Laura is just as ea...

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• Grade Level: High School

... of The Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie is an extremely well written play. It stars an adventurous dreamer named Tom, who is also the narrator. He is the provider for the rest of his family; his mother Amanda, and his sister Laura. Amanda is a selfish, annoying, mother, that lives in the past. Laura suffers from an inferiority complex. She lives in a world of little glass animals and old records. The play ... raises her self-esteem and ultimately cures her of it. He then tells Laura that he is engaged and has to leave. Amanda blames Tom, compelling him to bolt from the house, never t...

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• Grade Level: High School

... jonquils and supposedly having "seventeen gentlemen callers on one Sunday afternoon." Although Amanda desires to see Laura settled down with a nice young man, it is hard to tell whether she wanted a gentleman caller to be invited for Laura or for herself. The fourth symbol is Laura's glass menagerie. Her collection of glass represents her own private world. Set apart from reality, a place where she can hide and ... be safe. The events that happen to Laura's glass affect Laura's emotional state greatly. When Amanda tells Laura to practice typing, Laura instead plays with her glass. When ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... always some ways that all human use to escape from their problems. In the story The Glass Menagerie which was written by Tennessee William we can truly see the sign of all the above. He has used symbolizing to the best of his ability in this story on order to describe the characters of his story. The story is about a family of three who live in a small town during ... and by doing that he could take his mind off of the world he belonged to. Last but not least the third character of the story was Laura, the daughter of the family." The morbidly shy and overly delicate sister, is as fragi...

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... can be perceived differently, depending on the person, is applicable to many different situations, including the way the symbols used in Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, apply to different characters. Jim and the fire escape are the two major symbols in the play and are viewed in different ways by the three main characters, Laura, Tom, and Amanda. To every character, the fire escape symbolizes the outside world, but each character reacts ... in a different way. On page 29, Laura stumbles after stepping onto ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... when Jim arrives. It shows her reluctance to let a messenger from the world of reality, symbolized by Jim, invade the comfortable non-existence of the apartment, and her insecurity in dealing with the outside world. Another recurring symbol in the story is that of the glass menagerie itself. This represents Laura's fragility. The first time the menagerie is mentioned in any detail in a symbolic manner is when Tom and Amanda have a heated ... positive signs, they all end in disappointment. Tennessee Williams has managed to create a wonderful play using of different symbolism to develop t...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... a symbolic representation of ways that Laura is unique or unusual. The first facet of the unicorn, its horn, refers to ways that Laura is an unusual person, such as in her may escape mechanisms. Laura's escape devices include her glass menagerie, listening to records on the Victrola, and visiting the park and zoo. Laura identifies with her glass menagerie because she has trouble identifying with the real world, the pieces are small and delicate ... , just as she is. The Victrola is a reminder of Mr. Wingfield; Laura often plays records to avoid the present and thinks pleasantly about the...

• Word Count: 531
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School