Tom, Amanda, and Laura: The Main Characters
Tom, an aspiring poet, Amanda, Tom's mother, and Laura, Tom's sister, are the three main characters who frequently appear in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. There are also other individuals, such as Laura's father Mr. Wingfield, who disappeared years ago and has never been heard from again. Amanda is disappointed with Laura since she is incredibly reserved, sports a bracelet on her leg, and is unattractive to guys. Laura enrolls in a business college, but she withdraws owing to her shyness, leading her mother to believe that Laura's problem was solved by getting married. Tom on the other hand engages in liquor, movies and literature. One day when they were arguing with his mother, Tom breaks several glass animal figurines that Laura valued. He discusses with his mother about Laura and Amanda asks Tom to look for suitors for Laura and he suggests Jim who is his casual friend. Over dinner when Jim shows up, Laura realizes he is the same guy she had a crush on since high school. She however fails to take dinner with them and claiming she is sick. The lights go out and Jim as requested by Amanda goes to the living room to entertain Laura. When she finally opens up to him, she shows him a glass unicorn and while dancing, he accidentally breaks its horn. Laura gives it to him as a souvenir (Ehrenhaft 5).
Glass Symbolism
The glass in the story represents Laura, since from the literal meaning on the story, she is the one who greatly valued glass items, which in most occasions seem to break. Looking at it from a critical point of view, Laura, like glass, is fragile and a delicate person to handle. She is physically and emotionally crippled and despite her problems, displays a pure compassion. She is represented to be the rare, unicorn owing to her delicateness. Like a colorless glass that is transparent and only shines when light falls on it, Amanda uses her youthful past to inspire her and bring the glamour in her. Laura is so fragile that she can barely handle the days she spends walking in the streets to avoid going to class. The people around Laura need to be careful around her since she is delicate since apart from being crippled, she would never hurt anyone else and is a compassionate and a caring person.
The Glass Unicorn: Laura's Heart
The unicorn in the glass represents her heart, her peculiar nature, which she values so much. When Jim comes over, much as she had had a crush on him since high school, she tries to avoid him by feigning sickness. She is avoiding getting her heart broken since she was an ordinary school girl yet Jim was a school hero. When she finally gives Jim the unicorn to see, it's horn is broken in the process and makes it an ordinary horse. She is heartbroken by Jim. Jim has an actual girlfriend yet goes ahead and kisses her before apologizing and leaves immediately since he has plans with his fiancé'. This clearly is heartbreaking to Laura who had finally opened up to him only to be disappointed. Amanda takes it upon her to comfort Laura yet blames Tom for not realizing that Jim was engaged.
Tom's Concern for his Family
When Tom decides to leave Amanda and Laura, he is reminded of his unstable mother and sister since he is deeply concerned about them. He cares so much about them although he is indifferent and cruel to them sometimes. He is kind and loving to Laura and the glass continually reminds him of her. He is to some extent attracted to his sister yet too ashamed of the fact. He seems jealous and wants to keep his sister to himself.
The Fire Escape: An Escape from Frustration
The fire escape is a symbol representing an escape from the fires of frustration and the non-functional rage that the Wingfield's have experienced. Tom has stood at the fire escape several times but every time he finds it hard to escape but has a hope of finally escaping the frustrations and has anticipations of getting away finally.
Jim: A World of Illusions
Jim here has been used to represent a world of reality. He has his future held on the public speaking and the televisions and radio industries all of which are a mean of creating illusions and persuading others that the illusions are true. It is the same illusion He uses on Laura that she finally gets to open up to her only to be disappointed.
References
Ehrenhaft, George. Tennessee Williams’s the Glass Menagerie & a Streetcar Named Desire. Woodbury, N.Y: Barron’s Educational Series, 1985. Print.
