The Glass Menagerie Group

Question:

onetwoonetwothreefour
onetwoonetwo...
Student
College - Freshman

How did each of the characters escape from reality?

Each of the characters feels trapped in some way within a world that ignores reality. Each one finds the need to escape reality. How did they escape?

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Posted by onetwoonetwothreefour on Monday February 9, 2009 at 9:51 AM and tagged with characters, escape, the glass menagerie.

Answers:


  1. troutmiller Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Amanda (their mother) often fantasizes about her past.  This is her way to escape.  She even most likely exaggerates her stories to make it seem even better (she was so popular?) Perhaps the way she always criticizes Tom is a way for her to escape.  If she can blame him, it takes some of the pressure of herself.

    Tom is always trying to avoid his situations, too. He often dreams of abandoning his family.  This is his escape away from his criticizing mother and his boring job.  In fact, he does actually leave the family physically, but he cannot seem to leave them emotionally, since he is the narrator.  (This is done years after the fact)

    Laura isn't able to do much.  Her nervousness doesn't allow her to function normally in either school or with other men.  Her escape is her glass collection.  And she uses her condition (her braced leg) to continue her lifestyle.  This is her own doing, so she escapes reality by using her problem as "a crutch."

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/glass-menagerie/characters

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    Posted by troutmiller on Monday February 9, 2009 at 12:01 PM