In what ways are each of the Wingfields flawed in The Glass Menagerie? How do they "escape" the dreariness of their lives?.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams revolves around the flaws of each of the Wingfields: Amanda Wingfield, a woman of a very confusing nature; Laura Wingfield, one who is partially crippled and lets that make her extremely self conscious; and Tom Wingfield, one who is seen as selfish, and feels trapped and is looking for a way out. Williams" characters are all lost in a dreamy state of illusion or escape wishing for something that they don't have.
The mother, Amanda Wingfield, was at one time the pick of the crop during her grandeur days of the Old South, but now she is weak and struggling to survive. In the beginning of the play Amanda is totally immersed in her own little world of illusion. She is constantly remembering her glory days in the south. When she is not escaping, she is worrying about the survival of the family. Amanda is in a state of illusion but convinced that she is not, and this makes her flawed and responsible for the tragedy that came upon them even though she didn't realize it.
Laura Wingfield is a romantic, who has a physical defect which causes her to limp slightly. Laura is emotionally delicate, which causes her to escape to a world of beauty she created for herself. In reality, she is living in a world of despair. When Jim kisses Laura, she comes to reality and forgets about the broken piece of glass, and becomes a real person for a moment. But she lacks the strength to stay in reality, for when Jim breaks the news that he is engaged, Laura looks in her hand at the broken piece of glass and then escapes back into her created world almost instantly forgetting about what just happened.
In the beginning Tom Wingfield feels trapped and feels the need to escape. As a result of this he is often very frustrated. Tom had merely been dreaming of a future doing what he wanted to do, simply dreaming of putting all of his miseries behind him and being free.
