"The apartment faces an alley and is entered by a fire escape, a structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth." (426) This represents the "bridge" between the illusory world of the Wingfields and the world of reality. ... Wingfield, the absent father of Tom and Laura and husband to Amanda. ... Williams uses the theme of escape throughout The Glass Menagerie to demonstrate the hopelessness of each character's dreams. ... When Amanda tells Laura to practice typing, Laura instead plays with her glass collection. ... This is symbolic of Laura's acceptance of being differ...

• Word Count: 702
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

In Tom's introductory narration, even though there are only four characters in the play, Tom acknowledges, "There is a fifth character in the play who doesn't appearThis is our father who left a long time ago[he] fell in love with long distances; he gave up his job with the telephone company and skipped the light fantastic out of town" (201). ... Tom continues, telling Laura, " You know it don't take much intelligence to get yourself into a, nailed-up coffin, Laura. ... In the end of the play, Tom is able to escape the Wingfield house in a physical sense, but is u...

• Word Count: 1672
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Tom, also referred to as Shakespeare, is the main character in the play. ... Tom is perhaps the only character in the story that sees his dream through. ... Laura is the most secretly absorbed of any character in the play. ... In the end, no character makes a clean break from the situation at hand. ... Wingfield and Tom's departure prove to be a dead end in many ways. ...

• Word Count: 875
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School