Fantasy and Imagination in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
The Glass Menagerie: Wingfields are alike in terms of their imagination
Every character exists in their own little world in which they indulge themselves in whether it is real or just a fantasy. In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, everyone in the play allows for their imagination to run wild. The contrast is shocking when they withdraw from there because the differences in their appearance, personality and behavior transform drastically. Tom supports his family despite his unhappiness with his lifestyle. He tries to please his mother, Amanda by being the sole supporter of the family, but only gets rewarded by Amanda's constant nagging and distrust. Eventually, Tom finds himself more like his father as he seeks adventure in the movies and hangs out on the fire escape to avoid suffocation of the household. He desperately seeks the life he always desired; the life of adventure.
By hanging out on the fire escape, Tom finds a temporary safe haven from Amanda. With Amanda irritating Tom constantly, he needed to find somewhere to get away. Perhaps, even more, the fire escape shows various things about Tom's personality. Since Amanda and Laura have their illusionary worlds inside, Tom can easily escape these worlds by going out on the fire escape. He does not desire to be part of an imaginary world, which only proves to be the downfall of Amanda and Laura. He realizes that the world is not what Amanda has made it seem inside the house. Also, during his reflections on the fire escape he is not really separating himself from the imaginary world because that metal frame is still anchored to the apartment wall. This shows that no matter how hard ...
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... fact that he actually managed to remain in the house all these years, displays his affections for his beloved sister and mother. The only two people he loves in the whole world.
Throughout the play there are numerous symbols representing different aspects of all the characters. Tom escaped from the fantasy world of Amanda and Laura by hanging out on the fire escape, even though he could never truly flee. Unfortunately for Tom, his life was cramped like the coffin and he was slowly suffocating emotionally and spiritually. Discontented with the lifestyle he followed in the footsteps of his father, he searched for adventure, escaping the nagging of Amanda. Some people have their fantasy worlds, and chose to live in them but that does not necessarily mean it is in the best interests of the surrounding circle of friends and family.
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It’s his window to the outside world, his escape. Often choosing to return back home after his late night movie excursions, the fire escape represents both the exit and entrance into the Wingfield family (25). Tom’s decision to return is shown through the fire escape. In order to fully live, to seek adventure and change, Tom must stop seeing the fire escape as an entrance and only view it as an exit, an escape. When Tom finally chooses to put himself first and leaves for good the fire-escape’s symbolic meaning transforms (67). No longer representative of the decision Tom needs to make, the escape now represents freedom from the chains of his past. The fire escape represents freedom and opportunity to Tom.
The fire escape is mentioned in the first scene which shows its importance to the play. Williams describes the fire escape as a “structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth for all of these huge buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation” (Williams 27). This depiction of the fire escape is exactly what it means to the Wingfield family. The fire escape symbolizes a tendency to escape to illusion when reality is not wanted. Of the Wingfield family members, none like living in the apartment. The only reason that they must live in this cramped apartment is because of their poverty. Their apartment does not even have a door which conveys their desire to escape and the way that they are held captive in their own apartment. The concept of escaping their own lives and retreating into an illusion world has entered each of the character's minds. Escaping from this lifestyle, this apartment, and these relationships is a significant theme throughout...
By hanging out on the fire escape, Tom finds a temporary safe haven from Amanda. With Amanda nagging Tom about every minute action, like mastication, Tom needed to find somewhere to escape. Perhaps, even more, the fire escape shows various things about Tom's personality. Since Amanda and Laura have their illusionary worlds inside, Tom can easily escape these worlds by going out on the firescape. He does not desire to be part of an imaginary world, which only proves to be the downfall of Amanda and Laura. He realizes that the world is not what Amanda has made it seem inside the house. Also, during his reflections on the firescape he is not really separating himself from the imaginary world because that metal frame is still anchored to the apartment wall. This shows that no matter how hard Tom tries to escape he will always be 'bounded' to the apartment. His emotional attachments to Laura would permantly k...