Escape Mechanisms in The Glass Menagerie In Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, each character attempts to escape from the real world by creating their own "reality". Laura hides from the world, amplifying her illness. Tom becomes convinced that his needs surpass those of his family. Amanda focuses almost exclusively on the past, when she considered herself a desirable Southern belle. Jim also focuses his hopes on recapturing the good old days of high school. Each character transposes their own difficult situations into shadows of the truth. Laura, our fragile daughter figure, finds herself fleeing from life at every turn. It causes nausea during typing class and also while the Gentleman Caller waits for her in the living room. Unable to face these difficulties, Laura goes to the zoo and walks aimlessly around the city to waste time. Scared of interacting with people, she sees her collection of glass animals as a place of safe acceptance. Laura holds on to the fear of being strange and paralyzed even as she herself exacerbates this reality. Magnification ...