Escape Mechanics in the Glass Menagerie In Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, all four members of the Wingfield family chose to hide from reality. Amanda tries to relive her past through Laura and denies everything she doesn't want to accept. Laura is terrified of the real world and chooses to hide behind her limp, her glass menagerie and victrola. Tom hides from his reality by going to the movies, writing poetry, and getting drunk. Mr. Wingfield hides from his reality by leaving his family and not contacting them after doing so. Each member of the Wingfield family has their own escape mechanism that they use to hide or escape from the real world. Amanda chose to hide from reality by trying to relive her past. He lives in the unreality of his youthful memories and still sees himself as young as Laura when he tells her: "No, sister, no, sister, you will be the lady this time and I will be the dark-haired one" (page 237). He remembers "one Sunday afternoon at Blue Mountain" (p 237) when he was visited by seventeen gentlemen, and then tries to relive it all through Laura. He gets Tom to bring home a nice young man... middle of paper... 1987. 85-94.Levy, Eric P. "'Through Soundproof Glass': The Prison of Self-Awareness in the Glass Menagerie." Modern Drama, December 36, 1993. 529-537.Rasky, Harry. Tennessee Williams: A Portrait of Laughter and Lament. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1986.Thompson, Works of Judith J. Tennessee Williams: Memory, Myth, and Symbol. New York: Peter Lang, 1989. Williams, Tennessee. The glass menagerie. In Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. 1519-1568.