Reality Vs Illusion In The Glass Menagerie example essay topic

It is often difficult to decipher between what is real and what is merely an illusion. I'm sure we have all see a movie that has a scene set in the desert where the actor cannot determine whether an oasis in front of him is really there, or is just a mirage. This can be compared to some of the concepts Williams presents to us in The Glass Menagerie. Williams wrote it as a memory play; therefore, it can be viewed as non realistic. The play is filled with illusions, dreams, and fantasies.

Amanda and Laura, two of the characters in the play, have trouble grasping reality in their world. But Tom, another character we are introduced to, lives in the real world and tries to show his mother and sister how things really are, with the help of his workmate Jim. Williams reveals to us that "truth [can often be found] in the pleasant disguise of illusion" (4). Amanda, the mother in the play, has high hopes for both of her children, Laura and Tom. Amanda wishes for Laura to be blessed by the pursuit of numerous gentlemen callers, as she once was in her younger days. However, Amanda neglects to see that her daughter is crippled, which in turn leaves her less desirable than her mother was at her age.

Amanda also had the dream to establish Laura on her own in business school, but Laura did not share in that dream. Laura became very nervous whenever she was required to type in school, and proceeded to hit the wrong keys. When the time came for the first speed test on typing, Laura became sick to her stomach, and never returned to class after the incident. Instead, she would take walks in the park, visit a museum or the zoo, or go to the movies. She deceived her mother into thinking she still attended school everyday. Once Amanda found out Laura had dropped out of business school, her wishes for the gentleman callers were greater than ever.

Amanda didn't have as high of expectations for Tom, but she demanded a lot from him nonetheless. Tom was forced to give up his dreams in order to work at a shoe warehouse so that he could provide for the family. Amanda was very controlling in every aspect of his life, and she became outraged when he brought home a novel by a certain author. She had the audacity to proclaim to him that she wouldn't "allow such filth brought into [her] house" (21). However, Tom was the only one in the house who had a job and was also the one who paid the rent.

She felt that Tom was a very selfish person, when in contrast he was the selfless one of the household: For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever! And you say self - self's all I ever think of. Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I'd be where he is - GONE! (23) Tom had wanted to leave St. Louis and live out his dream of pursuing adventure, but he stuck around as long as he did because he was afraid of what would become of Laura if he left her.

He finds it important to look out for others before looking out for one self. The three characters all looked to different things to find comfort and a way of escape from reality. Both Amanda and Laura find comfort in their past. Amanda repeatedly reminds her children of her seventeen gentlemen callers back in the Blue Mountain days.

As a single mother, whose husband picked alcohol over her, and has no job of her own but depends on her son to provide for the family, she uses this memory of her gentleman callers to strengthen her own ego. I feel that she even tries to relive her youth through Laura's experiences. The reason why Williams portrays so much importance on the idea of the gentlemen callers is because Amanda is trying to find Laura an ideal man so Laura can have the stable life that Amanda never had. Another instance where Amanda tries to relive her youth comes into play when Jim O'Connor, the gentlemen caller, comes over their house for dinner one night.

Amanda feels it necessary to wear the same dress she wore when she entertained her own gentlemen callers. Williams shows us this so we can see that Amanda is unable to escape her past and live in the present where she belongs. Laura finds comfort in the past as well. When asked by her mother if she ever liked a boy, Laura tells her that she liked a boy named Jim back in high school. However, Laura makes it sound like they actually had a relationship in high school, when in fact they were only "speaking acquaintances" (74). They only knew each other because they were in a chorus class together.

Laura continues to cling to the nickname he gave her back then, even though the nickname only came into being because Jim misunderstood what Laura had said in the first place. When she was out of school for a little while and finally came back, he asked her what was wrong, and she told him that she had pleurosis. However, he thought she had said Blue Roses, and continued to call her that. She even went to see the play he was in three times in an attempt to get him to sign her program, but she was too embarrassed to actually approach him for it.

She had a true infatuation with him, and admits that she still dreams about him. Besides finding comfort in the past, Laura also finds comfort in the Victrola and her glass menagerie collection. It seems that whenever Laura gets nervous, she resorts to playing music on the Victrola. Williams shows us this trait in Laura in two significant parts in the play.

She takes refuge by playing the Victrola when her mother finds out that she has dropped out of business school, and once again when Jim comes to the house for dinner. However, Laura finds the most comfort from her glass menagerie collection. Early in the play Amanda finds Laura polishing her collection of glass, and questions Laura as to whether she is truly an adult. The glass animals are obviously a make-believe world, and Laura resorts to them in order to escape reality.

In her make-believe world, she is accepted as an individual. She is unique just as the glass unicorn is unique, and the unicorn is able to " [stay] on a shelf with some horses that don't have horns and all of them seem to get along nicely together" (83). Williams might have used the symbol of the horn to represent Laura's disability. In her make-believe world, she is able to get along nicely with others despite her disability, but finds it difficult to do the same in reality. On the other hand, the horn could also be a symbol of Laura's shyness. While dancing with Jim he accidentally bumps into where the unicorn is sitting and breaks its horn off.

This could be symbolic of Laura's shyness going away. Even though she too is broken by Jim deceiving her, she comes out of the experience as a stronger individual. She refers to it as "a blessing in disguise" (86). She is now just like other girls in the respect of her personality, and can feel more at ease and more comfortable around boys. Tom finds comfort in a multitude of things, all of which his mother disapproves of. He spends most nights going to the movies, and returns home in the wee hours of the morning.

However, he often finds himself doing more than just going to the movies; he comes home many times drunk. Amanda is very disappointed in Tom when he drinks, because her husband was the same way, and ended up leaving her. Tom also smokes, which his mother doesn't like because she thinks it's a waste of money. She would rather him save the money he would normally spend on cigarettes to attend a night-school course at the local university. But Tom doesn't want an education either; instead, he wants adventure. He dreams of being a merchant marine and being on his own for once, but he puts his dreams on hold to help Amanda and Laura realize the hardships of reality.

Besides dreams and ways of escape, there are still other illusions that appear throughout the play. Jim appears to Amanda as the perfect suitor for Laura, and it appears to Laura that he is even hitting on her. But when they find out that Jim is engaged to be married, they see that their hopes were only an illusion. During the scene with Laura and Jim, light plays a key role in the constant battle between truth and illusion.

While eating dinner, there is light, signifying reality and truth. However, when Laura and Jim are seated on the floor talking privately, the electricity has gone out, signifying a world of illusion. Therefore, his actions towards her were an illusion all along. In the end, Amanda and Laura are finally able to face reality. Throughout the story, Tom forces his mother to "face the facts" (47) about Laura's condition. Amanda wouldn't allow Tom to refer to Laura as crippled, but later on in the story Amanda herself calls Laura crippled.

This shows that Amanda is finally capable of accepting the truth. It is ironic that Tom is the one who introduces Amanda to the truth because she accuses Tom of being a dreamer and says he "manufactures illusions" (95). Laura is also able to face reality as she learns to open up to Jim and rid herself of her shyness. It is also symbolic that her glass unicorn is broken because this symbolizes her transition from a make-believe world into that of reality. Jim is able to introduce Laura into this world of reality, as "he is the long-delayed but always expected something that we live for" (5). Throughout all of these dreams, aspirations, fantasies, and the like, Williams reveals to us that "truth [can often be found] in the pleasant disguise of illusion" (4).