The Glass Menagerie: Isolation And The Search For Freedom

Paper #4
Decker
Isolation and the Search for Freedom
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves” once said by the late Abraham Lincoln. This quote goes hand in hand with the play “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams. Many of the character feel trapped and isolated throughout this play and in search of a way out. Williams uses the theme of escape throughout the play to show his characters desire to leave the situation they are in and not face reality. Each character finds their own escape and lives vicariously through other objects. Starting with Tom he feels confinement from being stuck in an uninspiring job, cramped into a small apartment with his family, and unable to see the world or have adventures and he
Wingfield, the absent father of Tom and Laura and husband to the shrewish Amanda, is referred to often throughout the story. Mr. Wingfield is the ultimate symbol of escape; this is because he has managed to remove himself from the desperate situation that the rest of his family is still living in. His picture is featured prominently on the wall as a constant reminder of better times and days gone by. Amanda always makes disparaging remarks about her missing husband, yet lets his picture remain. Tom always makes jokes about his dad, and how he "fell in love with long distances (1051)." This is his attempt to ease the pain of abandonment by turning it into something humorous. It is inevitable that the thing which Tom resents most in his father is exactly what Tom himself will carry out in the end, an escape. Through his father, Tom has seen that escape is possible, and though he is hesitant to leave his sister and even his mother behind, he is being driven to it. Tom escapes reality in many different ways. The first and most obvious is the fire escape that leads him away from his desolate home. Another would be the movies’ he attends; Amanda is always nagging him about going and being out late she thinks he spends too much time watching movies and that he should work harder and find a suitable companion for Laura. The more Amanda nags, the more Tom needs his movie escapes. They take him to another world for a while, where mothers and sisters and runaway fathers do not exist. As the strain gets worse, the movie watching becomes more frequent, as does Tom's drinking. It is getting harder and harder for Tom to avoid real life. The time for a real departure is fast approaching toward Tom and his plan to leave the isolated apartment. Amanda eventually pushes him over the edge, almost forcing him out, but not without laying overpowering guilt trips on him. Tom leaves, but his going away is not the escape that he craved for so long. The guilt of abandoning Laura is