The Glass Menagerie Literary Analysis

In scene three of the play, Tom and Amanda get into a heated argument that ends in the shattering of a part of Laura's glass menagerie. During their fight, Tom expresses his unhappiness with his life and his desire to start a new one for himself. Nonetheless, Tom can not leave due to his emotional ties to Laura. He does not know how to go and find his happiness without hurting her. As the fight comes to a conclusion, Tom storms out of the room, accidentally smashing Laura's glass collection in the process. Instantly, “Laura cries out as if wounded” (Williams 24). She is noticeably upset, and it seems as if she is the one who has been broken. This is representative of the connection between Laura's fragility to that of the glass menagerie. The shattering of the glass menagerie symbolizes the shattering of Laura's illusion, and ultimately foreshadows her complete destruction. Laura, as a result of the glass menagerie breaking, has essentially been broken herself. Tom’s emotional holding to Laura disallows him to break out of the glass menagerie. Although Tom lives in his own illusionary world, he is able to see the need for him to break free. On the other hand, Laura is so deeply indulged in her illusion that she is essentially blind to the real world. The shattering of the glass menagerie reveals the inability to avoid …show more content…
It functions as Laura's sense of protection from the harsh world of reality and directly characterizes her. The glass menagerie parallels Laura and reveals her fragility. Regardless of how easily glass breaks, not one member of the Winfield family is able to break out of the glass menagerie. It is not until Jim, the only character who lives in reality, enters the wingfield household and reveals their inability to coexist in the real world. The wingfields collision with reality breaks the illusion. Thus, revealing the theme of the inevitability of facing