In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
creates a world in which the characters are disillusioned by the present. Amanda, Tom, and Laura achieve this
disillusionment by resorting to separate worlds where they can find
sanctuary. Each character develops their
own world, far away from reality.
Amanda
frees herself from the harsh realities of life by constantly reminding herself
of the past. To begin with, she
continuously repeats the story of the "one Sunday afternoon in Blue
Mountain" when she received seventeen gentlemen callers (1195). Furthermore, she keeps a
"larger-than-life-size" photograph of her husband over the mantel who
left the family when the children were young.
When Jim came over for dinner,
Amanda wears the "girlish frock of yellowed voile with a blue silk
sash" that she wore on the day she met her husband (1222). Amanda obsesses with the past, and at the
same time damaging the children psychologically. Constant allusions to the past have
psychologically affected Tom and Laura, trapping them into Amanda痴
lost world. Tom and Laura fail to
survive in the present because they are always trying to live through the
past. However, the past no longer exists,
causing them distress in their journey through life. Tom is unsuccessful with his job at the
warehouse and Laura cannot seem to fit in with the outside world. These personal downfalls in life drive Tom
into a life of poetry and movies, and Laura into a world of glass figurines.
Tom
is unsatisfied with his work at the warehouse and feels his life lacks
adventure. Therefore, he finds it
through writing poetry and watching movies.
When business is slow at the shoe warehouse, Tom goes to the washroom to
work on his poetry. Tom finds adventure
in poetry because he is able to create and control his own world. Along with poetry, Tom retreats to the movies
every evening to fulfill his adventurous nature. Amanda questions Tom,
"why do you go to the movies so much, Tom?" Tom replies, "I go to the movies because悠 like adventure.
Adventure is something I don稚 have much of at work,
so I go to the movies"(1210). Tom痴 obsessions with
adventure leaves him no time or energy to concentrate on his present responsibilities
at work. Therefore, he leaves Amanda and
Laura for the Merchant Marines, a place where he can live out his dreams for
adventure. However, he cannot forget
Laura, "I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I
intended to be!"(1247).
Laura痴 problem, according to Jim, is her "inferiority
complex" (1237). However, she finds
confidence in the old records she plays on the victrola and in her glass
menagerie. Laura enjoys listening to old
phonograph records that used to be her father痴 and she
retreats to the victrola every time she experiences a problem. For example, she resorts to the victrola when
Amanda finds out she has not been attending business school. In addition, when Jim informs Laura that he
is engaged, she retreats to the victrola again. Having nothing to do at home,
Laura takes care of her glass ornaments.
Taking care of the glass figurines give her a sense of control耀omething she has never experienced in her life. She can manipulate the glass figurines any
way she desires, thereby fulfilling her "inferiority
complex"(1237). However, her
dependency on Tom and Amanda, leave her tragically unfit to survive in this
brutal world.
Being
unaware of the present, Amanda, Tom, and Laura, live in worlds far from
reality. Amanda dwells in her past, a
past filled with popularity and success.
Tom retreats to his poetry and movies to experience adventure he cannot
find in his ordinary life. Laura finds
confidence playing old records on the victrola and controlling her glass collection. All these simulated worlds that the
characters retreat to, leave them unprotected from the reality of the
world. Being unprepared, Amanda, Tom,
and Laura are tragically lost in their own dream worlds, far away from the
present.
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