Analyzing Fantasies in the Glass Menagerie

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I agree that the `The Glass Menagerie' is definitely a play about life that is explored "through he fantasies of a crippled girl." However, more than that, it is a play about family and how they interact with each other, causing them to lead such a life. So, yes, although the plot centres on Laura, we also learn a fair amount about Amanda and Tom's life. Therefore, Williams actually explores life through the fantasies of an American family who share one main thing in common- they all have big dreams, but they are all flawed. Thus, failure is their only fate.

Life is explored in detail through the main characters namely Laura, Amanda and Tom, I will first look at Laura. Laura's "defect" in her leg has made her a shy and reclusive girl. She "started out badly." In high school, she grew extremely self-conscious of herself as she had a brace on her leg which, according to her, "clumped so loud..like thunder!" "You (Laura) dropped out of school, you gave up an education because of a clump, which...was practically non-existent! A little defect is what you have. Hardly noticeable even! Magnified thousands of times by imagination!" Then even now, after how many years, when Amanda puts her "in business college - a dismal failure! Frightened her so it made her sick to the stomach!...took her to the Young People's League at the church. Another fiasco. She spoke to nobody, nobody spoke to her. Now all she does is fool with those pieces of glass and play those worn-out records." Laura cherishes and indulges herself in her glass menagerie because it comforts her and shields her from the harsh reality of life. Laura therefore lives in a world of her own. Laura's intentions and what she wants in life is very vague because she does not plan to ...

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...nd only happy for a while, but then the colour of his life eventually fades and he his soul becomes dead and empty. "Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!"

`The Glass Menagerie' shows us the sad but undeniably true side of life. This is the harsh reality of people's lives and what happens when they choose to avoid it rather than solve it. Then again, some problems in life are impossible to solve. However, this does not mean that there is no hope at all. We have to realise that what matters in life is how we approach our problems and how we deal with them. Life is a journey, not a destination. Failure only results from choosing the wrong path in life as what the Wingfields have done. Tennessee Williams not only explores life in the play, but also helps raise our understanding of it to a much higher level.

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