The Characters of the Glass MenagerieUsually, when someone writes a play, they are trying to evade a deeper meaning or insight into it -this. Meaning of self or life as a whole. “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams is no exception to the view Williams describes of himself. Since this play establishes itself as a memory play, Williams gives the audience a glimpse into his own life, but since the play is a memory, some things are exaggerated and these exaggerations depict the extreme of what Williams felt during these moments (Kirszner and Mandell). 1807). The play centers on three characters. These three characters are: Amanda Wingfield, the mother and a woman of great and confusing nature; Laura Wingfield, who is slightly paralyzed and lets this make her extremely self-conscious; and Tom Wingfield, one who feels trapped and seeks a way out (Kirszner and Mandell 1805-06). Williams' characters are all lost in a dreamlike state of illusion or escapism wishing for something they don't have. As the play unfolds from beginning to end, as events unfold and the play progresses, each of the characters undergoes a process, a change, or better yet, a transition. At the start of each character's role, they are all in a state of mind that causes them to slightly confuse what is real with what is not, not realizing or refusing to see what is a truth illusory and what is the whole truth. By the end of the play, each character comes out of this dreamlike, not-quite-factual state of reality, and is better able to see and face the facts of how things are. However, not all characters have completely come out of the illusion, but all have moved from the dream world to the truth to some extent or less. Tom Wingfield is making a most interesting transition. It changes twice during the entire piece. A change occurs at the end of the memory portion of the play, and then it is changed again between when the play took place and when he returns from serving in the merchant navy. At first, Tom Wingfield, the main character and narrator of the play, feels trapped like a caged animal in need of release, which sometimes makes him seem without pity or remorse (Kirszner and Mandell). 1806).