The Glass Menagerie Essay Example

to be dependent upon and puts all efforts into finding someone for Laura, insisting the word "crippled" not be used. She sees Jim O'Connor as the dream man who will solve all their problems.

By referring to the moon as 'a little silver slipper,' Amanda reveals her fragile perception of reality. This comparison relates to Jim as a prince charming and represents Amanda's last glimmer of hope for Laura. However, this illusion shatters as easily as the horn on the glass unicorn when they learn Jim is engaged. Amanda's harsh words, "an unmarried sister who's crippled and has no job!" reflect her inability to accept the truth she has tried so hard to avoid.

It is possible that Amanda has returned to reality and shattered the illusion permanently. Alternatively, it may be an attempt to make Tom feel guilty for giving false hopes. Compared to Amanda, Tom has fewer illusions and is more at peace with reality. He understands that Laura is both physically crippled and emotionally unstable, making it impossible for her to find love and live in the real world. Despite this understanding, Tom is unhappy with life and seeks refuge in movies and drinking. The coffin trick represents his desire to leave and escape life, as evidenced by the line "We nailed him into a coffin and he got out of the coffin without moving one nail."

Tom is experiencing a suffocating sensation from his work and family, leading him to feel desperate for an escape. Despite his desire to leave, he does not want to cause harm and remove a crucial component. This showcases his deep unhappiness, which he attempts to counter through

writing poetry to preserve an illusion of adventure. In pursuit of his dream, Tom neglects the light bill, which eventually leads to a sudden darkness for all involved.

This signifies that the departure of Tom would intensify the personal gloominess of Amanda and Laura. In an attempt to brighten the darkness, they light candles that are short-lived and can be easily put out. Although Tom has managed to escape from his oppressive situation, he leaves behind a trail of hurt and agony, leaving behind broken pieces like a shattered rainbow.

The shattered rainbow at the end of the play symbolizes the shattered hope of all the characters. Tom's illusions of freedom, symbolized by the coffin trick, have been shattered and he has not successfully escaped. Likewise, Laura's interaction with Jim reveals the frailty of her illusions, as her meeting with him represents the pinnacle of her fantasy life and all her hopes are vested in it.

Combining her personal ambitions with her mother's, the evening is wrought with nervous anticipation of desires and disappointment. Jim's purpose is to actualize the facade of Laura being content with a companion, a resolution to all their troubles. Nevertheless, Jim inadvertantly destroys this facade both literally and figuratively by breaking Laura's unicorn, serving as a metaphor for shattered illusions.

If the unicorn's horn is broken, it becomes an ordinary horse, just like all the others. Similarly, Laura feels normal when she's with Jim, if only for a brief moment. When he kisses her, her fantasies seem to come true. However, he's already engaged, so he shouldn't be kissing her.

Despite his confident and popular appearance, he reveals a thoughtless and self-centred

side of his personality. He relies on Tom and Laura to uphold his former heroic persona from high school as he is merely a shadow of that now. Jim, who has known the Wingfields since high school, expresses his desire to become someone big in the future and shares Mr. Wingfield's fascination with technology.

Despite the illusion of striving towards success, the truth is that Jim, a shoe factory clerk, is not making any moves to move up in the world. His pursuit of the American dream is merely a facade. His evening spent with the Wingfields did not shatter any personal illusions because he did not have any. Rather, to Jim, it was a lovely dinner with an old high school acquaintance and his family. He remarks on the southern hospitality displayed by Mrs. Wingfield.

While Jim had a harmless evening, it had a profound effect on Laura, bringing her momentarily to life and out of her private world. Her dreams were awakened but destroyed at the end of scene seven. The candles that lit their world were extinguished, leaving them in the darkness of shattered illusions and loneliness. The final words of the scene, "'Blow out your candles, Laura - and so goodbye," signify the end.

'Laura blows out the candles and extinguishes all light in her small, secluded world' - this quote from the play highlights the powerful imagery of delicate illusions constantly on the brink of collapse. Every character has constructed a fantasy world to avoid facing reality, but their fragile illusions are easily shattered due to their inherent weakness.

It is common for illusions to be shattered, which was the case with

Jim's situation. Even though high expectations were placed on Jim, the resulting negative consequences were not unexpected. However, the dramatic impact of the play is not only found in these fragile illusions, but also in how the devastation affects all those involved. It can be argued that Laura experiences the most significant suffering from these shattered illusions.

While Amanda has already experienced a lot in life due to her age, Tom has pursued his dream and left. Meanwhile, Laura remains trapped in her own world of darkness, unable to face reality, despite having her whole life ahead of her. The uncertainty of whether there can be any hope for such a situation leaves us questioning.