Scene Summary: In Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie, the characters and objects symbolize larger themes such as escape, fragility, and illusion. The play is set in St. Louis during the 1930s and revolves around the Wingfield family. Amanda Wingfield, the mother, longs for her past glory years, while her son Tom dreams of adventure beyond his confined life. Laura, the daughter, is delicate and shy, often retreating into her collection of glass animal figurines—her 'glass menagerie'—which symbolizes her fragile emotional state and desire for escape. The glass unicorn, a key symbol, represents Laura’s uniqueness and her sense of displacement. The play’s use of light, shadows, and delicate objects creates a world of illusion and longing. Short phrases like 'fragile beauty' and 'escape through illusion' highlight these themes. Williams employs symbolism to depict the characters’ inner struggles and the tension between reality and illusion. Understanding these symbols helps reveal the deeper themes of the play, such as the difficulty of facing reality and the human desire for illusion as comfort.