Tennesse Williams examines the main theme of happiness in his play "The Glass Menagerie." The play revolves around the Wingfield family, a family caught in a life just outside the reach of happiness. Each family member strongly acts in different ways to fulfill their interpretation of individual happiness. But the family member's differences will cause them to strongly disagree on choices of lifestyle, somewhat destroying their relationships with each other. Williams shows that a family that cannot face reality and is unable to accept change, will be left feeling trapped and incapable of finding true happiness.
Williams first explores a family that is unable to face reality, using a glass unicorn to represent one family member's uniqueness, Laura. Each Wingfield has a different way to avoid reality. Amanda will constantly refer everything in her life to the past, comparing her youth to the modern world. Amanda thinks that Laura's life should be an exact replica of her life. Amanda tells Laura that she "must be joking," when she tells her that no gentleman callers will be stopping by (1411). She blames their absence on "a flood" or "a tornado," unable to accept the real reasons why callers will not visit Laura (1411). Many people choose not to face reality because they are afraid that the future will be different then what they had planned. Amanda insists to Laura's teacher that she had been going to school "everyday for the past six-weeks," .
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dumbfounded by the actions of her daughter (1413). Amanda stuffs "two powder puffs" into Laura's shirt to make her appear to be something she is not (1432). Laura avoids reality by hiding from everything. She "couldn't go back" to the school because she wanted to avoid the consequences of getting sick in front of everyone (1413). She hides from everything that challenges her to be independent and make her own critical decisions.