The Glass Menagerie Research Paper

Movies, music, commercials, politicians, and celebrities. All of these things share a commonality, a commonality of providing illusions to people about reality, life, expectations, beauty, and government. These illusions exist in real life, as well as imaginary life, in books, plays, and television. Across literary works, one example stands out with powerful illusions for the characters and deceptions of reality. Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie, provides this peak example of illusions, specificallys in the mother of the play. The play consists of Tom, her sister Laura, their mother Amanda, and a gentleman caller, Jim. The story is told from Tom’s point of view as he reflects on his past and primarily consists of him and Amanda arguing in the apartment, while Laura tries to make peace

The paper lantern on the ceiling that covers the broken light presents the strongest example of Amanda's illusion of happy times because, although the broken light appears fine, in reality, it still fails to work, just like how this gentleman caller deceives Amanda into believing Laura might marry one day. Another instance of Amanda's deception appears in the form of her jonquils when she dresses for the gentleman, as Amanda explains, "I had the craze for jonquils. Jonquils became an absolute obsession...it was a joke, Amanda and her jonquils," (54). Amanda cannot let go of her past and accept the reality that her chance expires and continues to focus on when she found happiness with her Jonquils. She deceives herself into believing she may entrap the gentleman caller and brings the flowers of her youth to the event, demonstrating her reminiscence of the past. Finding a gentleman caller for Laura sends Amanda into her own illusion of reality, bringing out her jonquils in