The Theme of Escapism in the Play Glass Menagerie

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The Theme of Escapism in the Play Glass Menagerie

The play Glass Menagerie brings out appearances that do not portray the actual events in the real world. Glass Menagerie brings out occurrences that appear to be in contrast with reality. These impressions represent illusions. Glass Menagerie’s title in itself is a symbol used to portray a fragile world of illusions and dreams that characters hide themselves in. Their incapability to deal with the reality that has imprisoned them in dreams, have translated to the breakdown in the social values of life, such as family and responsibility. Glass Menagerie’s central character Amanda, a deserted lonely mother of two Laura and Tom, exist in a non-realistic world of illusion. The Glass Menageriereveals the theme of escapism and relates it to the current world escapism through movie watching and computer gaming trend.

The Theme of Escapism

The theme of escapism in Glass Menagerie is used in two ways. Firstly, the escape from the real world truth and memories as demonstrated by Laura and Amanda hiding in their past and denying the present state of events. Secondly, other characters are featured escaping from their past dreams and memories into the real world. Tom, for instance, desires that he gets away with his past and live in the real world. It is common in today’s world to see people who spend all day watching films or playing computer games just because they do not want to face the reality. This usually happens after an abrupt change…”