The Glass Menagerie Essay
In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams uses Laura’s glass menagerie, and more specifically her unicorn, to personify her. He uses the glass unicorn to portray three aspects of Laura, her separation from society, her delve into normalcy, and her rejection of the Jim and his normal life. This paper will analyze these three points, and discuss how they develop Laura’s character. The glass unicorn represents Laura’s uniqueness, or rather, her separation from society. Laura is a very shy, lonely, and detached from the outside world. She had no friends except Jim during high school, and when she entered college, she feigned illness to escape having to interact with people. On top of this, she has a leg limp, and has to wear a brace, further
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Jim’s advances upon her force her change, but the violence and suddenness with which it is thrust upon Laura shows that she cannot become normal without somehow shattering in other places. She understands that they are not meant to be, and presents the broken unicorn to Jim as a souvenir. The figurine becomes a memory of Laura that Jim can bring with him, back to his normal life. Though it symbolizes the happiness with which they shared, it also symbolizes what Jim broke in Laura, and will forever haunt him. At the same time, Laura giving the unicorn to Jim signifies her giving up on her ever becoming a normal woman. This change in Laura progresses her character, but not necessarily in the way she would have preferred. Tennessee Williams presents Laura in The Glass Menagerie as a personified unicorn, misunderstood, and unique, yet left unfinished. She is functioning, but outside of society, completely detached from those around her. For her to attain her only desire, to be normal, she needs help from an outside force, Jim. He turns her into a normal girl, the one thing she wanted. However, Laura realizes that this is not what she wants, and is not possible for her, so she leaves her normalcy, the broken unicorn, with Jim, forever abandoning her average life. Laura wished to be complete, but she became more broken in the
Jim’s advances upon her force her change, but the violence and suddenness with which it is thrust upon Laura shows that she cannot become normal without somehow shattering in other places. She understands that they are not meant to be, and presents the broken unicorn to Jim as a souvenir. The figurine becomes a memory of Laura that Jim can bring with him, back to his normal life. Though it symbolizes the happiness with which they shared, it also symbolizes what Jim broke in Laura, and will forever haunt him. At the same time, Laura giving the unicorn to Jim signifies her giving up on her ever becoming a normal woman. This change in Laura progresses her character, but not necessarily in the way she would have preferred. Tennessee Williams presents Laura in The Glass Menagerie as a personified unicorn, misunderstood, and unique, yet left unfinished. She is functioning, but outside of society, completely detached from those around her. For her to attain her only desire, to be normal, she needs help from an outside force, Jim. He turns her into a normal girl, the one thing she wanted. However, Laura realizes that this is not what she wants, and is not possible for her, so she leaves her normalcy, the broken unicorn, with Jim, forever abandoning her average life. Laura wished to be complete, but she became more broken in the