The "Glass menagerie" practice essay

We all have our own ways of forgetting reality, like the characters in this play. Laura is a main character who escapes through playing with her glass menagerie. At the beginning of scene 2, Laura is seen “washing and polishing her collection of glass” (11).  When her mother, Amanda appears on the fire escape, then “Laura catches her breath, thrusts the bowl of ornaments away” (11). Laura cleans/plays with/etc. glass figures instead of practicing her typing skills. She interacts with the collection to escape from her disability and her problems, such as quitting typewriting class because of her nervousness. Her mother is disappointed because Laura’s playing with her glass collection doesn’t help with Laura’s future. Additionally, Laura shows how the glass menagerie helps her. Prior to talking about her glass collection, she is shy and has a barrier when talking with Jim, but when she begins to talk about her collection, Laura seems more open and less awkward, “Little arcticles of it, they’re ornaments mostly! Most of them are little animals made out of glass, the tiniest little animals in the world. Mother calls them a glass menagerie! Here’s an example of one, if you’d like to see it! This one is one of the oldest. It’s nearly thriteen.”(82).