... , her entire life will be based on these memories, and, therefore, so will Laura's. "The poignancy of The Glass Menagerie derives principally from the characters of Amanda and Laura, whom Williams pictures as trapped in a conflict between reality and illusion- (Ritter 175). Laura's desire to make her mother happy caused her to live in the illusion of her mother's world. She ... of The Sixties. G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York: 1969. Halline, Alan G. Six Modern American Plays. Modern Library. New York: 1951. Kauffmann, Stanley. Persons of the Drama: Theater Criticism and Comment. Harper and R...

• Word Count: 2052
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Symbols of Escape The Characters in Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie are all searching for a way out of their current situation but feel trapped by life itself. The play is set in St. Louis in the mid ... attention to her glass collection. As Tom mentioned to his mother as he described his sister, "She lives in a world of her own - a world of - little glass ornaments, Mother . she plays old phonograph records and - that's about all -"(1932). The glass collection was Laura's life and another form of escape into a world of illusion. Laura's glass collection takes on a special symbol...

• Word Count: 1620
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School