In the play, The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, reality and illusion, present and past have no clarity. The are combined to form an elaborate narration by Tom of his family, the Wingfields, by their mothers past misfortunes and heartaches. Laura, Tom and Amanda Wingfield each escape their reality by living in an illusion, clinging to th ep ...view middle of the document...
As a child, an illness left Laura with a slight defect, causing one of her legs to be slightly shorter than the other. From this point on she began to seperate herself from the rest of the world, the rest of reality, and her family. Her separation continues until she no longer associates with the outer world. Laura confines herself to her own glass collection of animals. Slowly Tom and Amanada realise Laura has become as fragile as the glass she adores. Laura says to Jim, "LIttle articles of it, tey're ornaments mostly! Most of them are little animals made out of glass, the iniest little animals in the world," (Williams 82) this shows how Laura talked about her glass menagerie as through they were alive, as thought they live with her in her own world. Laura is affected by her own life a great deal. She never feels like she's good enough because she has a very low self-esteem. Her mother never gives her uplifting comments to make her feel accepted.
