1st DRAFT Heinz Rachut 10/30/01 All of the characters in The Glass Menagerie have specific symbols in the play representing Some of the symbols for Tom are the Merchant Marine and the magicians nailed coffin, while Amandas are the yellow dress and her membership to the Daughters of the American Revolution and some of Lauras are the unicorn and blue roses. Tennessee Williams play has a simple face but the meanings behind the countless and increasingly complex symbols make the play enjoyable the tenth time read. Through the narrator, Tom, we are giving a glimpse into Tennessee Williams life as his autobiographical character survives the depression era in St. Louis. I shall explain some of the more obvious symbols and deeper meanings to the key points of this play.Survival is a great word does use when describing both Tom and Laura. As critic Eric P. Levy puts it, he [Tom] inhibits a world of his own ...Lauras escape is the glass menagerie...both [persons] are prisoners of the mirror. These two have made a world of loneliness to themselves. The mirror Levy speaks of is a mirror of judgment that love creates. This dysfunctional love is the product of the manipulative Amanda, their mother. In this way he is strongly linked to his sister. Jim and her mother abuse her inferiority complex. They use her as a mirror to see their won self-defined worth. Jim uses her when he starts chatting about Lauras confidence. Instead of speaking strictly of her, he uses the opportunity to glance at himself in the mirror and say everybody excels at something. Some in many! He then continues try straighten his tie and comment I guess you think I think a lot of myself. His actions are purely self-motivated. Lauras mother uses her as a link to the past and her own current narcissism. She uses her daughter in the same way. She makes her self-the standard with such remarks as "seve...
