Glass Menagerie Screen Symbols
One of the main themes in The Glass Menagerie is the pursuit of happiness. Throughout the book/playwright, the characters are constantly trying to make their life more enjoyable. The Screen images and phrases I have chosen reveal the theme of “pursuit of happiness”. When the screen legend displays the phrase “Ou sont les neiges d’antan” a sense of pursuit is created. Meaning “Where does the snow fall?”, the characters are looking for this hope, where snow resembles rebirth and a new hope. This search expresses the pursuit of happiness. As this screen legend is more symbolic, the screen image “A swarm of typewrites” is slightly more literal. This “swarm of typewriters” acts as a evil swarm of bees raining down on Laura just like Amanda. Amanda’s expectations act as if they were a “swarm”, chasing and forcing Laura to achieve success.(pursuit of happiness). The screen image of “The cover of a glamour magazine” also symbolizes this pursuit of happiness. It’s kind of ironic that the name of the magazine is Glamour, however Amanda is desperately selling the magazine to achieve her own “Glamour”. I also chose the screen legend of “You think I’m in love with Continental Shoemakers?”. This screen legend expresses the fact that Tom is going against his desires to achieve a greater happiness. He does not like his job, but it brings in the money which in Amanda’s eyes is a form of happiness. Tom however dreams of doing his own thing, so therefore I chose the screen image of “A sailing vessel with Jolly Roger”. In Tom’s perspective he sees adventure and freedom as a his form of happiness. One day, Tom wants to be this adventurous and this screen image is what Tom desires or pursuits to be. In many cases, Amanda is using Laura to pursuit her own happiness. Therefore I chose the screen legend of “Plans and Provisions”. This legend explains how Amanda is making plans to kick off or help Laura’s pursuit to happiness( actually Amanda’s happiness). Also as another way showing