The Glass Menagerie: Symbols "I have a poet's weakness for symbols." So states Tom Wingfield, narrator and major character in Tennessee William's timeless play “The Glass Menagerie”. Through the eyes of Tom, the viewer gets a glance into the life of his family in the pre-war depression era; his mother, a southern belle desperately clinging to the past, his sister, a young woman too fragile to function in society, and himself, a struggling young poet working at a warehouse to pay the bills. Williams, through his remarkable use of symbols, is able to effectively express the theme of “The Glass Menagerie” : That of hopeful aspi