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Symbolism and the role it plays in the glass menagerie
Symbolism and the role it plays in the glass menagerie
Symbolism and the role it plays in the glass menagerie
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The ability to dream may be uniquely human. These dreams exist with no purpose other than achievement. In many cases, a dream, not an instinct, drives human action. Certainly, dreams are central to the human life. Since one of the main purposes of literature is to reflect on that life, some dream must be included. The achievement of the dream is completely up to the author, and what his/her thoughts are on the achievement of dreams. Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston all use certain literary elements to craft their theme of the achievement of dreams, which is viewed and portrayed differently by each: grievously, by Williams; pessimistically, by Faulkner; and with a modicum of optimism by Hurston.
Hardly a better adjective exists than “grievous” to describe Williams’ attitude toward dreams and their achievement in his play “The Glass Menagerie.” Williams does not treat dreams violently and harshly, but sadly and poignantly, using symbolism and stage lighting. Amanda’s jonquil dress, a momentum from days long past, is one important symbol. The revival of the dress, a remnant of Amanda’s courting days, shows the extent to which her dream of living through Laura pervades her life. The use of the “girlish” dress makes it seem as though Jim is visiting Amanda, rather than Laura, returning Amanda to her happiest days (Williams 53). The clearest and most important symbol is Laura’s glass unicorn. It represents her; its changes mirror hers. She only places the unicorn out in the open when Jim arrives, and, not completely intentionally, opens herself to him. As Laura shares her first dance with Jim, the unicorn falls, and its horn, the only thing distinguishing and separating it from the other horses, breaks off...
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...shback, Hurston notes that one can help others with their dreams, and still accomplish one’s own, so long as the dreams of others do not become permanent priorities.
People’s thoughts on dreams vary, and so dreams are shown in differing ways throughout literature. All three authors agree that the attainment of a dream is not guaranteed; it requires some work. From there, they use different techniques to refine their opinions. In their respective novels, Hurston offers some hope for the dreamer in humanity, while Faulkner scoffs and tells them what to do, and Williams urges them to give up while there’s still time to avoid heartache. Differing opinions such as these are found through a span of literature, and they offer comprehensive readers food for thought, and a chance to think about and form their own opinions, in this case, about the attainability of dreams.
Stephen King’s perception in “The Symbolic Language of Dreams” gave me a new, profound insight on dreams. On the other hand, his interpretations also made me realize how little is known about them and their significance to our lives.
Various people have different beliefs on the importance of having dreams The speaker in “Kitchenette Building,” by Gwendolyn Brooks and Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry both have contrasting views on the significance of dreams. In the poem “Kitchenette Building,” the speaker discusses how arduous it is for a dream to survive the hardships and harsh realities of life in a cramped kitchenette
Thomas Moore, the irish poet, once wrote, “True conversation is an interpenetration of worlds, a genuine intercourse of souls, which doesn't have to be self-consciously profound but does have to touch matters of concern to the soul.” This quote relates to a theme of dreams, because communication is a key part of making dreams come true. Setting goals, whether they are to be achieved or not, are the first steps to success. Without goals, one will have no sense of direction, and would just wander around mindlessly. Also if there is nothing to work towards in life, then what is the point? In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie, George, and Crooks all had dreams in their lives, but due to social and economic obstacles, the probability of their dreams coming true was lower.
Throughout the book the author implies that through persevering through adversity, following omens, and overcoming one's fears, everyone has a chance to achieve their dreams.
The American Dream addressed in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God through the character Janie Crawford, the dream of finding true love. In her search for love she experienced different aspects of love through her three different marriages. Her biggest influence was her old grandmother. She lived life based off of her grandmother’s perceptions of how a black women should live. Janie’s grandmother dream was the dream of many women in their town which was to be married, have a home, and land as stated in the novel, "Heah you is wid de onliest organ in town, amongst colored folks, in yo' parlor. Got a house bought and paid for and sixty acres uh land right on de big road and...Lawd have mussy! Dat's de very prong all us black
What we hope for is not always what we need. This is prevalent in the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston where the characters have his or her dream crushed for the sake of fate. This is especially true for Janie who strives throughout the novel to have her dream of “the pear tree” realized, and Hurston shows this using a variation of metaphor, imagery, and personification.
In Of Mice and Men, it seems an incontrovertible law of nature that dreams should go unfulfilled. From George and Lennie’s ranch to Curley’s wife’s stardom, the characters’ most cherished aspirations repeatedly fail to materialize. However, the fact that they do dream—often long after the possibility of realizing those dreams has vanished—suggests that dreaming serves a purpose in their lives. What the characters ultimately fail to see is that, in Steinbeck’s harsh world, dreams are not only a source of happiness but a source of misery as well.
Dreams have long been a topic of intrigue for artists of all forms. In the literary sense, authors have explored the world of dreams in a plethora of manners, ranging from depicting nonsensical, imaginary worlds to crafting scenes that depict the inner workings of the subconscious mind. In both Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Artist of the Beautiful, the world of dreams is explored through the eyes and thoughts of two curious characters. While Carroll exposes the illogical, absurd elements present in dreams, Hawthorne focuses on the personal, meaningful aspects existing in subconscious thoughts.
Tennessee Williams’ play, “The Glass Menagerie”, depicts the life of an odd yet intriguing character: Laura. Because she is affected by a slight disability in her leg, she lacks the confidence as well as the desire to socialize with people outside her family. Refusing to be constrained to reality, she often escapes to her own world, which consists of her records and collection of glass animals. This glass menagerie holds a great deal of significance throughout the play (as the title implies) and is representative of several different aspects of Laura’s personality. Because the glass menagerie symbolizes more than one feature, its imagery can be considered both consistent and fluctuating.
Generally when some one writes a play they try to elude some deeper meaning or insight in it. Meaning about one's self or about life as a whole. Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" is no exception the insight Williams portrays is about himself. Being that this play establishes itself as a memory play Williams is giving the audience a look at his own life, but being that the play is memory some things are exaggerated and these exaggerations describe the extremity of how Williams felt during these moments (Kirszner and Mandell 1807). The play centers itself on three characters. These three characters are: Amanda Wingfield, the mother and a women of a great confusing nature; Laura Wingfield, one who is slightly crippled and lets that make her extremely self conscious; and Tom Wingfield, one who feels trapped and is looking for a way out (Kirszner and Mandell 1805-06). Williams' characters are all lost in a dreamy state of illusion or escape wishing for something that they don't have. As the play goes from start to finish, as the events take place and the play progresses each of the characters undergoes a process, a change, or better yet a transition. At the beginning of each characters role they are all in a state of mind which causes them to slightly confuse what is real with what is not, by failing to realize or refusing to see what is illusioned truth and what is whole truth. By the end of the play each character moves out of this state of dreamy not quite factual reality, and is better able to see and face facts as to the way things are, however not all the characters have completely emerged from illusion, but all have moved from the world of dreams to truth by a whole or lesser degree.
In Williams, Tennessee’s play The Glass Menagerie, Amanda’s image of the southern lady is a very impressive. Facing the cruel reality, she depends on ever memories of the past as a powerful spiritual to look forward to the future, although her glory and beautiful time had become the past, she was the victim of the social change and the Great Depression, but she was a faithful of wife and a great mother’s image cannot be denied.
Tennessee Williams's brilliant use of symbols adds life to the play. The title itself, The Glass Menagerie, reveals one of the most important symbols. Laura's collection of glass animals represents her fragile state. When Jim, the gentleman caller, breaks the horn off her favorite unicorn, this represents Laura's break from her unique innocence.
We all have a dream, but the difference is how we realise our dream, how we obtain our dream, and how our dream changes us. This is evident in our learning of dreams and aspirations through the texts Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? by Lasse Hallström, and through my own studies of Million Dollar Baby by Clint Eastwood. These three highly acclaimed texts represent the same ideas on dreams and aspirations, which can be defined as hope, desire or the longing for a condition or achievement, but these texts express the same ideas differently, shaping our understanding of dreams and aspirations.
In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, the glass figurine of the unicorn plays an inherently important role as a representation of Laura's self esteem. The collection of glass figurines is used by Laura to escape from the dangers of the outside world. The unicorn is the central piece to her collection and is important because it directly symbolizes Laura. The unicorn represents Laura's obsession with her handicap and also represents the uniqueness in her character. As the play develops, the fracture of the unicorn's horn represents a change in Laura's perspective of self and also gives a reason to why she parts with the figurine in the end.
Since the beginning of time, dreams have been a source of mysterious wonder amongst people. Everyone dreams, and those who claim they do not, do dream, however, they are unable to recall their dreams. Prior to psychological research, dreams were interpreted and explained as an unconscious desire, predictions, or subliminal messages. These outdated beliefs existed throughout time until new psychological research came into being. The new psychological research by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung gave rise to new dream theories that helped gain a greater understanding on dream interpretations.