Previous
Imagery
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Blind America:
The Glass Menagerie begins as Tom provides narration that directly addresses the audience. As he brings the audience back to his memory of his family in the 1930s, Tom provides context to situate the audience in time. In the following passage from Scene 1, Tom uses a metaphor that establishes his criticism of American society and lays the foundation for key themes of the play:
To begin with, I turn back time. I reverse it to that quaint period, the thirties, when the huge middle class of America was matriculating in a school for the blind. Their eyes had failed them, or they had failed their eyes, and so they were having their fingers pressed forcibly down on the fiery Braille alphabet of a dissolving economy.
Related Themes:
Scene 6
Explanation and Analysis—Pretty Girls:
In preparation for the arrival of Jim in Scene 6, Amanda decorates the home and dresses Laura to impress the gentleman caller. Amanda’s motivation for these tactics are transparent, especially as she explains through the following metaphor:
Unlock with LitCharts A+All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be.
Related Themes:
