The Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams - 2431 Words

â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† Question five: What is the significance to Laura (and to the plays meaning overall) of her collection of glass animals? Why is the unicorn singled out? What are its symbolic implications? Throughout the play, â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† by Tennessee Williams, Laura’s glass collection, especially the tiny unicorn, can be used as a symbol to help us understand each of the characters individual viewpoints. The glass unicorn holds the most significance for Laura, but it, but the glass menagerie is symbolic of each and every one of the characters’ lives and attitudes. All of the characters can be better understood by relating them to the glass menagerie. The people in the Wingfield are all lonely they live in a fantasy world†¦show more content†¦However, because everything isn’t the way it used to be when she was a young woman, she fails to see that a caller is not what Laura needs. Laura needs self-esteem and to get out of her shell, not to have some boy break her heart and push her further into it. Amanda coddles Laura so that she can stay care free forever by making â€Å"plans and provisions† (Williams 1175) for her, but at the same time she degrades her, and attempts to control Tom. She tells Laura, â€Å"Now look at yourself, young lady. This is the prettiest you will ever be† (Williams 1184). She forces Laura into thinking that she can never become better than she is now and that â€Å"she has reached her peak at this moment† (Levy). She also nags Tom about his going to the movies and becoming like his father. She pushes them both further and further until they can’t take it anymore. Tom eventually leaves and Laura is left with no self-worth or prospects for the future. Laura has the most connections to the little horned horse. She shares the glass’ beauty and fragility. She also has something, like the unicorn’s horn, that makes her unique and special, but in her mind it keeps her from being accepted by people other than those in her immediate family. Laura possesses a â€Å"fragile, unearthly prettiness which usually escapes attention† (Williams 1191), because it is translucent, and delicate, just like the unicorn. Perhaps part of this beauty is the delicacy that