The Glass Menagerie has to be my favorite piece we have read so far. The creative symbolism through the characters was very well crafted and meaningful. Laura has to be my favorite character in the play because she is so thoughtful, caring, and is always trying her best to keep her mom and brother as happy as they can be. If anyone in the house seemed upset with each other she would beg and plead until someone would say “sorry” (1010) so everyone could “start speaking” (1010) to each other again. Laura’s physical disability forces her to believe she’s “crippled” (1004) which seems to be the overall culprit of her low self esteem and shy demeanor. Her shyness is shown through the play by her lack of lines in comparison to the other characters. Also, most of the symbolism in the play is revolved around Laura’s character. For example, Laura’s glass collection represents her personality because it is so fragile and delicate just like her feelings. The glass unicorn, which was Laura’s favorite, symbolized her as a person. Laura and her unicorn glass figurine mirror each other because unicorns are a mystical creatures which are said to be “extinct in the modern world” (1041) while Laura is shy and keeps to herself which causes her to be “surprisingly different from [everyone] else” (1042). However, while Jim and Laura were dancing the unicorn’s horn fell off causing it to become just like “all the other horses” (1042) at the same moment that Laura started gaining her confidence.
