How Does Williams Explore the Theme of Entrapment in the Glass Menagerie Essay

Tennessee Williams explores the theme of entrapment and escape valve finished emblemisation and motifs that depict a penury for work, relationships that portray entrapment of all(prenominal) other and conventions of a play, such as scenery, stage directions, narrative and dialogue that heighten these radicals as a whole. The opening scene sketches out the scenery and initial emblem of entrapment for all the characters the flat which is al shipway burning with the slow implac adequate to(p) fires of homo drop-off.As Williams describes, the flat is a symbol of depression, formulated by the era the play was set in, the 1930s just after the contend St. Crash, in which America suffered great economic depression. The words burning and fires wed into the main symbol that literally attaches itself to the flat the fire bring out. Williams describes it as unintended poetic truth, sexual relation us that this is non besides an escape from tangible fire, but also an escape fro m the fires of human depression not only the economic depression of society, but in legion(predicate) slipway the depression of the Wingfield family themselves.As it is the only entrance into the Wingfield a bureaument, it is in essence, their only escape. Williams explores this symbol further through his character turkey cock, who frequently goes out to smoke on the fire escape in an attempt to escape the reality of his home. For example, in motion-picture show 5, Tom goes outside to smoke and talks to the audience nearly how the world was waiting for bombardments present Toms desire for find foreshadowing his relief valve in Scene 7.Opposite to this, presentation the passing in character, Laura trips up on the fire escape in Scene 4. This shows how Laura is unable to truly escape the flat and, in more ways, does not strain flight, but is to a greater extent, hurt when attempting to seek flight. This think into the symbolism of the lowly glass unicorn in Scene 7, in which Jim attempts to free Laura from her shyness and crocked suit however, in the end, Jim shatters Laura emotionally, breaking off the horn of the unicorn.Relating back to the era of depression and the idea of escape valve, Tom, as Williams protagonist, explores the concept of escape in discordant forms, such as books, the cinema and his own poetry. For example, in Scene 3, Amanda takes out-of-door Toms book by D. H. Lawrence, who was a contemporary source of the time, that allowed Tom to escape into his stories. When Amanda as wellk this away, it led to an argument between the two, emphasising the importance of escapism to Tom and how, without it, he could not entirely cope with the reality of his situation.The idea of escaping to the cinema links into the want for adventure, this is also highlighted in Scene 3, when Tom talks of dismissal to opium dens and joining the Hogan Gang whilst leading a double- feeling and once in a while cosmos called El Diablo all of thes e ideas are inspired by films and through sarcastically describing how he is all these, outlines the position he feels his lifestyle is boring and without adventure against, showing Tom seeking flight. However, Tom lacking to seek flight conflicts with his awareness that he will disrupt Amanda and Lauras life by abandoning them.This is evident in scene, through Williams use of the magic pose trick as a symbol of how Tom wishes to be. Whilst the magician is able to escape from the coffin without removing the nails, Tom is aware of how he is unable to escape from his family without disrupting Laura or Amandas lives. Here, the coffin in symbolic of Toms family and the warehouse how he finds it to entrap him as though he were in a coffin, giving negative connotations of beness suppressed and without choice. In many ways, however, this scene also explores how Tom is trapped emotionally by his dole out for his family, particularly Laura.Tom confides in her his feelings and though ts of wanting to escape like the magician, showing a degree of closeness and trust whilst, in general, it is his care for his family, the incident that he will disrupt the nails of the coffin, that prevents him from immediately victorious flight. In wrong of Laura herself, the glass menagerie in the central symbol to the play and represents, not only the different aspects of Laura, that is delicate and fragile, but also how Laura is trapped within a cabinet within the fantasy world of glass figures.This links into the phrase left on the shelf, the idea that Laura, being part of the glass collections, has been left away from leading the pattern life of vision which she fantasises about with Jim, showing how she has trapped herself on the shelf by being out of touch with reality, trapped within the cabinet. Linking on from the glass figures being symbolic of Laura, the delicacy could be seen as symbolic of her disability, something Laura also believes traps her from being norma l.However, this links onto the next aspect of exploring relationships, and in many ways Amanda is responsible for Lauras belief that her disability entraps her. In Scene 2, Amandas entrapment of Laura becomes evident in three different lights, Lauras fear of frustrate Amanda, Amandas pridefulness as a parent and the idea deep-rooted in Lauras head by Amanda that her disability my hinder her in life. This becomes more apparent when Laura states to her mothers I couldnt face it, referring to the fact the dismay that would received if Laura had told Amanda that she ad quite the typewriting course.This shows how Laura feels there is a strong expectation from Amanda that she has to fulfill and this prevents her from performing her best. This expectation from Amanda links into her being overbearing rather than empathetic with Laura. The clear example in Scene 2 is that Amanda tried to send Laura to the typewriting course, and when that failed, pushed even further for Laura to find a h usband. This lack of empathy is demonstrated when Amanda refers to Laura throwing up at the typewriting course as nervous upset stomach.Referring to throwing up due to nerves as indigestion underplays how Laura would have felt, suggesting it to be ridiculous. This also shows how Amandas lack of empathy would lead to her mortification in Laura that Laura couldnt face, showing how Amanda traps Laura through expectation. This idea that Laura is too embarrassed to even tell her mother is emphasised when the legend The incrustation of Humility appears on the screen adding a dramatic effect showing Lauras humility she feels in confessing to her mother that she threw up.The last idea relates to Laura having a stultify and how Laura feels this might hinder here in finding a husband Laura in a tone of frightened apology Im cripple . The frightened apology suggests that being crippled is something Laura is ashamed of and damages her, not just in the physical sense of being crippled, b ut in the emotional sense. Being emotionally crippled links back to throwing up at the typewriting course due to nervesLaura is under the intuitive feeling that her cripple leads her to be at a disadvantage and not normal, evoking a shyness in groups and nervous indigestion showing how Laura is, in many ways, trapped by her own disability in more than one sense. However, this idea that Laura is crippled is overplayed by Amanda, who ironically highlights Lauras cripple whilst essay to desperately avoid it, youre not crippled ( ) only noticeable, even . Through turning this into an exclamatory phrase does the opposite of what Amanda is trying to achieve by pointing out Laura does have a cripple she highlights the fact it exists.For Laura, this would highlight the fact that she crippled and furthermore, add to her shyness which prevents her from truly taking flight. Overall, despite Laura partly trapping herself by her own emotional disabilities, it is Amanda that enhances this and , in essence, traps Laura. Amanda being overbearing plays out in scene 3, when Tom confronts her with the defeat he has felt from Amandas lack of empathy for him that leads to her overbearingness. For example, Amanda refuses to let Tom go to the movies Youre going to listen No more insolence from youIm at the end of my patience showing how not only Amanda tries to restrain Tom, but also talks down to him like a child, with the use of constant exclamatory phrases that give the impression of shouting. Tom wanting to go to the cinema, as previously stated, is a symbol of his escapism, therefore, Amanda wanting him to checkout is her attempt to entrap him talking to him like a child shows the want and need to control him from seeking flight. This could be due to the fact Amanda sees Mr. Wingfield in Tom and suspects that Tom will soon take his own flight as well.Amanda further traps top by placing upon him the burden of the family, Jeopardize the credentials of us all? , which is w hat Tom was possibly trying to escape from in the first place. Although being the man of the family creates a natural role of province that in many ways traps Tom from leaving, Amanda emphasises this more by telling Tom that he will end their security if he leaves. By highlighting this point, although it is intended to keep Tom at home, in many ways, may push him further away as it increases the burden put on him to look after the family.Furthermore, by stopping Tom from going to the cinemas, Amanda is denying Tom of escapism in movies and this could be what also led to his eventual(prenominal) flight, along with the want to escape the dwelling of the Wingfields all together. Overall, Tennessee Williams explores the idea of flight and entrapment through not only symbols, but the relationships between each character, showing how they are entrapped, not only by society, but by each other and themselves.