"The Glass Menagerie," written by Tennessee Williams, is a play of memory, and because of this it is dimly lighted. This play consisted of four main characters and one character that we only hear of because of his picture. This character is Mr. Wingfield. "He was a telephone man who fell in love with long distance; he skipped the light fantastic out of town"(page 1269). Amanda, Laura, and Tom lived in two worlds. These worlds were illusion and reality. There were many symbols that helped us to see this. The first one we saw, was the fire escape. The Wingfield's "apartment faces an alley and is entered by an fire-escape"(page 1270). Tom used this as somewhere to "get a cigarette"(page 1270), and get away from his mother and sister or in other words the entrance to the world of reality. So Tom used this to get away but Laura used this as a way in and not a way out.
             Tom also shows that he does want to get away from his mother and sister by going to the movies. Tom always goes to the movies and also comes home with alcohol on his breath. "I go to the movies because-I like adventure. Adventure is something I don't have much of at work, so I go to the movies"(page 1282), says Tom. "Well you had been drinking that night," and Amanda also tells him, "you go to the movies entirely to much"(page 1281 & 1282). Tom also shows that he wants to leave them telling Jim, "I paid my dues this month,
             instead of the light bill"(page 1295). This causes the light to go off when Jim comes to see Laura.
             One reason Tom acts in the way he does is because of the fact that he must take on the role of a father to Laura and not a brother. Father which is defined as "a man in relation
             to a child or children born from his fertilization of an ovum or a man who has continuous care of his child"(OED). In Tom's case he must "b...