Escapism in the glass menageri
Escapism in the glass menageriIn The Glass Menagerie, the usage of props are important parts of the play. The fire escape, Victrola phonograph, Laura's unicorn, and Tom's movie going, affects the characters' lives everyday in one way or another. In the play, the character, Tom was disturbed by responsibility for his mother and sister. He used the fire escape a lot in the play. He went outside to stand on it when he smoked, to escape the nagging from his mother, or to make his final departure from his family. Tom didn't like being responsible for his mother and sister, working at a job he hated. He wanted to escape down those stairs and never come back. In scene five, Tom speaks to the audience about what he sees from the fire escape, Paradise Dance Hall. The dance hall, to him was what he wanted. Everyone there was living exciting lives: " . . . hot swing music and liquor, dance halls, bars and movies, and sex that hung in the gloom�K" Tom wanted to live a more exciting life. In the final scene Tom says "I descended the steps of this fire escape for a last time and followed, from then on, in my father's footsteps, attempting to find in motion what was lost in space." Tom wanted to be free, and to him, the fire escape was the exit into freedom. Movies were also an important part of Tom's life. He went to the movies when he and his mother argued or when he felt he needed some excitement. In scene four, Amanda asks, "Why do you go to the movies so much, Tom?" and Tom replies "I go to the movies because - I like adventure. Adventure is something I don't have much of a work, so I go to the movies." Tom doesn't have adventure at work or at home. The movies to him, represented what he wanted, adventure. The Victrola phonograph was Laura's means of escape and comfort. Laura is very shy, very fragile, and has a very big "inferiority complex". She uses the Victrola so much to comfort her, that it has become an instinct. In scene three, Laura's mother finds out that she has dropped out of Business College. When Amanda is lecturing her, "Laura draws a long breath and gets awkwardly to her feet. She crosses to the Victrola, and winds it...
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