Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie - Essay Example I traveled around a great deal †¦ I would have stopped, but I was pursued by something† (VII, 237). That something turns out to be the images and sounds of the sister he left behind. While Tom is now a member of the merchant marine and an accomplished traveler, living out the internal dreams of his youth in a way he had never thought possible, this outward show of personal dream fulfillment is revealed as little more than an illusion of its own. In truth, Tom’s heart remains trapped within the small apartment he shared with his mother and sister. Amanda attempts to live vicariously through her daughter and the future she envisions for her but is constantly disappointed. She indicates girls in her time â€Å"knew how to entertain their gentleman callers. It wasn’t enough for a girl to be possessed of a pretty face and a graceful figure – although I wasn’t slighted in either respect. She also needed to have a nimble wit and a tongue to meet all occasions† (I, 148). She continues to encourage Laura to hold out hopes for a good marriage. This starts with her own recitation of the quality of her suitors, â€Å"My callers were gentlemen – all! Among my callers were some of the most prominent young planters of the Mississippi Delta – planters and sons of planters† (I, 148). Yet this future based on the past will never happen. Laura is the only character permitted to live almost totally removed from the real world through her glass figures and old records. Laura’s habit of escaping backwards into childhood can be traced as she first dropped out of high school because she â€Å"made bad grades on my final examinations† (VII, 219) and then dropped out of business school: â€Å"I couldn’t go back there. I – threw up – on the floor!† (II, 155). She escapes instead into a romanticized world of early childhood. Her options have become