The Glass Menagerie-A Song Of Escapists

Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie is one of the most studied and recognized works of American literary cannon. Most criticism focuses on two issues. Firstly, as a "memory play", it demonstrates how much the past can impact the present. Secondly, set during the Great Depression when America was on the brink of war, the play examines various ways in which family members cope with social and personal changes. All of critical observations foreground the complexity of the play. However, most critics don't pay much attention to the theme of escapism reflected in The Glass Menagerie. In fact, Tennessee Williams masterfully weaves the theme of escapism throughout the play. Based on an analysis of the image of escapism in The Glass Menagerie, this thesis argues that escapism is a central trope in the play.The primary emphasis of the study of this thesis is placed on the ways that each character in the play adopts to escape from the real life. The significance of their respective ways is explored because they form the subtext and add layers of meaning to my central argument, escapism. The thesis contends that the escapism in the play can be caused by loss of physical and psychological space, the conflicts between reality and ego-ideal, and physical and emotional fragility.This thesis consists of six parts. Apart from the introduction and conclusion, four chapters constitute the main body of the thesis. They examine specific themes related to the theme of escapism. Chapter One applies Jean Baudrillard's theory to analyze the image of escapism caused by the loss of space, which permeates the life of Amanda Wingfield. In Chapter Two, Freudian conception is adopted to study the image of escapism in Tom Wingfield and Jim O'Connor, which is caused by the conflict between the reality and the ego-ideal. Chapter Three is devoted to the analysis of the physical and emotional fragility of Laura Wingfield's by using Karen Horney's Neo-Freudian theory. Chapter Four is a discussion of the characters' struggle for the connection between individuals and their society. Unfortunately, once they establish that connection, most of them are unable to sustain it because of their escapist attitude in life. At last, the thesis draws the conclusion that the theme of escapism infiltrates the world of characters in The Glass Menagerie, and that Tennessee Williams uses this theme not only to come to terms with a painful part of his own life, but to distill a larger truth of the human condition, that is, although life is fragile, as are the attempts made by human beings to establish a genuine connection with the outside world, the real strength lies in the resiliency of the human spirit in its quest to survive.The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how the image of escapism is modified and transformed in playwright's work, which these images reveal an emotional truth that transcend the plight of particular individuals or families and cast a universal appeal to a diverse audience.