The glass menagerie by tenesse williams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The glass menagerie by tenesse williams - Essay Example The play is full of imagery and symbolism. Williams uses the characters in the play as symbols themselves. Amanda Wingfield is a southern woman who got abandoned by her husband and is mother to Tom and Laura. In the most parts of the play, she spends her time reminiscing on her past. She also cuts across to the reader as a control freak who nags Tom and Laura by trying to control their every move in the family’s house. She is entirely dependent on Tom for their house rent but still dictates when it is appropriate to play music in the house, dismiss people from the dining table, and even offers her children advice on how they should chew food properly! The yellow dress and bathrobe get used by Williams to symbolize Amanda’s longing for her long gone past. She struggles to put aside her love for his husband who abandoned her. Tom acts as the play’s protagonist and narrator. As a character, he appears to be full of contradiction. Tom’s participation in the play depicts juvenile emotion. Tom is ambitious throughout the play as he works hard to provide for his family. He constantly expresses his love for writing poetry, reading literature, and even has dreams of abandoning his family just to get an escape and have adventure with life’s allure. He however appears bound to their house hold and the petty, squalid living it has to offer. He appears to care for both his mother and sister but becomes cruel to them at times. Even though his father abandoned the family, he draws influence from his absentee father’s family portrait in the household. He follows in his footsteps by abandoning Laura and Amanda at the play’s end leaving them shattered and devastated. Laura is the emotionally and physically crippled sister in the family. She cuts across as the only character in the play who is compassionate to everyone else by not hurting them. Her character is symbolic as she has the fewest lines in the lay