...The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a vision of lonely human beings who fail to make contact, are isolated from each other and society, and ultimately feel abandoned by the universe. Tom, a writer who has left his mother and sister in order to pursue freedom and adventure, narrates a memory of his abandoned family. The memory is of St. Louis in 1937. Tom, his mother Amanda and his sister Laura are trying to make ends meet in a small tenement apartment. Tom’s father, a telephone repairman who fell in love with long distance, has long since abandoned them leaving nothing behind but his picture. Tom supports the family by working in a shoe warehouse. Since his responsibilities curtail his desire to be a writer, Tom escapes the mundane reality of life at the warehouse through literature, movies and dreams of joining the Merchant Marine. His sister Laura lives in a world of her own and spends all her time polishing her little glass animals and listening to old records. Amanda can’t understand Tom’s resentment or Laura’s lack of interest in her own future. After Amanda discovers that Laura has dropped out of Business College without telling her, she decides that she must find a husband for her daughter. When asked if she ever liked a boy Laura tells her mother she only ever liked one boy in high school, the popular boy who sang the lead in the school operetta and called her by the nickname Blue Roses. Amanda badgers Tom to bring home a nice man from the warehouse for Laura...
Words: 951 - Pages: 4
...Rhetorical Analysis of Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a play about the narrator turned hero named Tom. Tom works at a shoe warehouse and writes poetry in his free time; while also taking on the responsibilities of his family after his father left. The mother Amanda lives in her memories of gentleman callers and parties, while avoiding the reality of her crippled daughter Laura who is in a dream world of little glass animals. Her mother seeing no future for her, she gets Tom to find a bachelor for Laura and invite him to dinner. Instead Tom brings home Jim his employee and also unknown secret idol of Laura’s from high school. Jim gets her from out this dream world, but when he breaks off bad news of him being engaged Laura withdraws for good. Angering the mother and eventually leading to Tom leaving as his father did. In this play Tennessee Williams uses a multitude of symbols. From these symbols, there comes deeper understanding of the relationship between the play’s four characters. The most obvious symbol in this play is Laura’s glass menagerie, representing the world she lives in. Being that this glass menagerie is a representation of Laura’s world. I understood that when Jim bumped into the table and knocked the menagerie over causing it shatter; Laura picking up the pieces then handing it to Jim, showed then that she wanted Jim to be her world/her happiness. Another recurring symbol is that of the fire escape. Each symbol is a concrete...
Words: 875 - Pages: 4
...The Glass Menagerie Dr. C. Hemmye University of Phoenix In the play The Glass Menagerie, many characteristics were shown in different people. There were primarily four main characters in the play: Amanda, Laura, Tom, and Jim. Each character had their own original issue in the story, which makes the play so entirely complex. What makes the play interesting are putting those characters together and creating inside moral and conflict. As a result, everybody still appears to be an outcast in his or her own world. The title The Glass Menagerie was named because of Laura’s glass animal collection. She had many different animals that symbolized your everyday people that she came not to be a part of. One of the animals was a unicorn which was a symbol of Laura by representing the idea of being different. Laura was described to have a shy personality and would never attempt to make a change on her appearance to people. One of the main appearances she was embarrassed about was her crippled leg. Since she is already shy, this adds on to the fact that she can be very sensitive as well. Near the end, when Jim accidentally broke unicorn’s horn, she was hurt from seeing the broken glass and finding out that Jim was engaged after kissing her. To show Jim her pain, she gave him the unicorn showing that she is fragile like the glass unicorn (p.1282-1283). The most emphasis was on the kiss because it was assumed from the audience that it was Laura’s first kiss. Amanda...
Words: 1036 - Pages: 5
...When the father leaves the entire family in The Glass Menagerie, it leaves Tom with an overwhelming feeling to do the same, feeling as if his father has found freedom. Throughout the story, it is evident that Tom feels the need to get away because he is constantly going to the movies to feel the adventure he has never experienced. When the reader is shown the true colors of where Tom’s heart really is, it brings a mild discomfort because it is noticeable how much the family really needs him and how devastating it would be to them if he ever left. His indifference towards his sister leaves his mother with a constant want for him to forget his father and dreams because she wants him to take care of them. Throughout the book, the reader gets a sense of disconnection from Tom. He does not seem to really be interested in what his sister is doing nor what his mom thinks. Him going to the movies is a constant reminder to him on what his father is doing and how much he wants to follow in his footsteps. Deep in his mind, he seems to cling to the notion that he might oneday be able to leave. Tom says to his mother, “Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I’d be where he is—GONE!”(Referring to his father)(Williams 1772). This shows his desire to leave and do what he has always dreamed of which is have an adventure. The Mother seems to carry this arrogance about her as if she is still young and beautiful. She tells a story to Tom and Laura and the reader can tell they have...
Words: 753 - Pages: 4
...Satonga Brown How to Escape From Conflicts? Everest University The character that I feel, that escape the most compared to the other characters would most definitely be Tom Wingfield, the son of Amanda Wingfield. Tom and his mother Amanda always seem to butt heads between one another, no matter what. Tom had a job in a warehouse that paid him only sixty-five dollars a month. He had become friends with a guy named Jim, who was a clerk in the same warehouse as he worked. He had a sister named, Laura who was born with a childhood illness that later left her crippled. And, his overbearing mother Amanda is just caught up in her own little world of realization. Tom has always seen himself being more than just working in a warehouse, he actually wanted to become a seaman and explore the many different adventures that a seaman could explore. But, he put his dreams on hold to take care of his mother and his disabled sister. It seems as though Tom haven’t been pleased lately at how his mother treats him and sort of boss him around as if he is a little boy. Tom always wanted to move out his mother apartment and venture out on his own to see what the world had in-store for him, but it seem as if his mother was always his downfall and holding him back from achieving his goals. Every time Tom and his mother would get into an argument, he would say “I’m going to the movies!” (CCi Custom Edition, 2008). The movie was a way for Tom to have peace and quiet from his mother and to...
Words: 478 - Pages: 2
.../Matthew Cason English 112 Thomas Hyder 11/12/2013 A Compare and Contrast of Characters In life when comparing things they either have something in common or not. I'm comparing both the similarities and differences between the characters Walter Lee Younger from “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry and Tom Wingfield from “Glass Menagerie” written by Tennessee Williams. Although these characters personalities are different, they do have many things in common such as they both have their own dreams or wants in life. Each character also as well has their own different set of problems or conflicts to deal with going on in their lives. Family plays a key role in both of these plays, by the end of “Glass Menagerie” Tom leaves his family behind to pursue his own life just like his father did. By the end of “A Raisin in the Sun” Walter Lee finally realizes what he must rightfully do for his family which is moving into the white neighborhood despite the communities efforts and Mr. Lindner's offering of money to keep his family out of the area. Tom Wingfield has dreams of not working in the warehouse anymore and moving on with his life by becoming a poet. His constant hobby of writing poems and reading all the time got him the nickname Shakespeare from one of his fellow co-workers. Tom also wants adventure, excitement, new settings and new experiences. On the other hand, Walter Lee has the aspiring dream of opening up his own liquor store. In doing that, he hopes that it...
Words: 848 - Pages: 4
...Literary Analysis: The Glass Menagerie Many critics believe that “The Glass Menagerie” is one of Tennessee Williams finest literary pieces, and that like most of his work, it was a reflection of his own life story. Born as Thomas Lanier Williams III on March 26, 1911, in Columbus, Mississippi, he lived with his loving but possessive mother and his older sister, Rose, who later suffered a mental breakdown. His father was a hard man who tended to drink too much and who was often away from home due to his job as a traveling salesman. Through most of his childhood, Mr. Williams felt like an outcast due to both his delicate health and the ridicule he received for his southern accent after his father accepted a job in St. Louis. This ongoing theme of lack of self-worth throughout his life was in large part due to his sexual orientation and lifestyle both of which were not easily tolerated in the early part of the last century. Although Mr. Williams self-doubt is evident in much of his work, the rest of the literary world and his readers feel without a doubt that his work is award winning. His impact on the literary world can be seen by the many awards he received including his winning not one but two Pulitzer Prizes for “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1948 and for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in 1955; as well as the longevity of his work which is proven by its contemporary recognition. Therefore, due to his literary genius and personal life experience, Williams was able to use the...
Words: 1978 - Pages: 8
...Hermione Petioma Professor Larriviere ENC 1102 T R 6:30- 7:45 am 4/23/15 Essay #3 The Glass Menagerie pg. 1134 #1 Freedom Spread your wings and fly. There may come a time in everyone’s life where they choose to change their life and never look back but they need to have some motivation. In the play The Glass Menagerie Tom is a man who wants to change his life. He is an adult living with his mother but she nags him. He feels stuck and wants to leave his home. When he’s fed up he chooses to leave his family spontaneously and he doesn’t look back. Although he left the memory of how Tom left remains with him. He was motivated by the chance to follow his dream when his life became annoying and frustrating. Tom lives with his mother and his older sister in an apartment. He works to support his family because his father left the family when he and his sister were children. Because his sister has a disability she doesn’t work and his mother is old. I believe that Tom was aggravated with having to care for his family. He is the youngest but immediately he is responsible for both his mom and sister once he is old enough to work. It doesn’t help the fact that his mother Amanda nags him to not be his father who was a drinker. Her nagging provides a reason for Tom to not want to stay home which he shows when he claims to be at the movies every night. Tom works at a warehouse because he is the only source of income for his family. He doesn’t like the warehouse job because he is...
Words: 560 - Pages: 3
...In the story of The Glass Menagerie, Mr. Wingfield was one of the main characters. Although he was not physically present, nothing more than a picture in a frame, he still had a deep impact on the family he left behind. Mr. Wingfield had played a key role in the play, that had been displayed through the characters of Tom, Laura, and Amanda throughout the story. The impact Mr. Wingfield had on Tom was one of the most noticeable in all of the characters. Tom had a very hard time providing for Amanda and Laura in the story. He was only a young adult and he was forced to get a job to support his mother and sister. After putting the weight of taking care of them on his shoulders, he became overwhelmed and decided to run off. Although, Tom also did not have a good father figure to grow up with. It made it very hard for him to become the father figure. With no role model for him, it was a difficult challenge for Tom to learn the basics of being at the head of the family. Since no one was there to teach him these aspects in this important role, he made the decision to do exactly what his father had done, because to him it was the only path he knew to take....
Words: 605 - Pages: 3
...Michelle Cybularz January 4, 2010 “The Glass Menagerie” In Tennessee Williams’ ,“The Glass Menagerie,” there are relationships between the three main characters. The relationship between Tom and Laura is a typical brother sister relationship. They both get along and are nice to each other, but at the same time have their fighting moments. When Tom and Laura are bickering back and forth about their mother when she is talking about he seventeen gentlemen callers it really shows their true relationship as brother and sister. Laura says, “Yes. But let her tell it again”(7). When she says this Tom wants to make her mother stop talking but Laura is just telling him to let her go with it and just have her moment. This shows they are close and get along very well even when they are arguing. The next relationship is between Tom and Amanda, his mother. Tom and Amanda’s relationship is very difficult. They do not get along very well. Tom gets annoyed with his mother and the way she acts sometimes. Tom and Amanda get in an argument about his role in the family. Tom finally says, “I don’t want to hear anymore”(22). This shows his frustration from his mother getting to him. He eventually leaves the house and goes to the movies to calm himself and be alone. Tom and his mother’s relationship truly is a struggle that needs to get worked out between the two of them. The relationship between Amanda and her daughter, Laura, is very different. Amanda tries to live through...
Words: 395 - Pages: 2
...The Broken Glass Unicorn: Laura’s New Normalcy The breaking of Laura’s glass unicorn represents Laura’s new normalcy that is thrust upon her by her first gentleman caller, Jim O’Connor. Of the many animals in Laura’s collection the unicorn is her favourite animal of them all. The unicorn represents Laura’s peculiarity. When Laura hands Jim the unicorn she says, “I shouldn’t be partial, but he is my favourite one” (83). Jim points out that unicorns are extinct in the real world. They are also lonesome as a result of being different from other horses. Laura is too unusual, lonely, and ill-adapted to life to live in the world in which she lives. If you look at Laura in the right light she refracts a whole rainbow of different colours, just like glass. The fate of the unicorn is a smaller scale version of Laura’s fate. Jim’s enthusiasm when he is with Laura is selfish. He enjoys her company because, like Tom, she remembers him for his glory days back in high school. He thoughtlessly leads Laura on. Laura and the unicorn are both very fragile and Jim breaks both of them. Laura makes it seem like she doesn’t care: “I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less–freakish!” (86). Jim’s advances endows Laura with a new normalcy, making her just another girl. This new normalcy is violently thrust upon her meaning she cannot become normal without somehow “shattering”. Laura feels that the without the horn the unicorn is not appropriate for her anymore...
Words: 424 - Pages: 2
...Jorge Mantilla Professor Shimkin English 102 27 June 2012 Paper #2 The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost talks about a traveler in the woods who comes across a road which forks into two separate roads. He realizes that he can’t take both roads. He notices that both roads are equally worn and decides to take the second road leaving the other road for another day even though it’s unlikely he’ll have the opportunity to do so. Then he admits that he will tell the story sometime in the future but with twists in the story saying he took the less traveled road. One of the themes that “The Road Not Taken” portrays is decision making, which relates to the decision Tom had to make in The Glass Menagerie. He had to choose between his dreams of pursuing adventure or keeping his job to support his family. Tom takes Laura to a magic show where a magician manages to escape from a nailed up coffin. As the show proceeds Tom relates his life with his family and his job at the warehouse as a kind of coffin in which he is trapped. The fire escape outside his apartment and the Merchant Marine service he wanted to join tempts him through the entirety of the play. In the end he decides to liberate himself from the imprisonment of his life. With Tom abandoning his family, it would put Amanda and Laura in a tough situation. They would have to fend for themselves to survive now. In order from him to convince himself to leave him family he would have to cut the emotional...
Words: 443 - Pages: 2
...The Symbolic Views of a Glass Menagerie Symbols play a vital role in everyone’s day-to-day life, now when you think of glass as a symbol, what’s the first thought that comes to mind? As you might have suspected, “The Glass Menagerie” is full of hidden symbols which are utilized throughout the play and are unique while playing a vital role in telling the story. The most obvious symbol in this play would be Laura's glass sculptures, also known as her glass menagerie. Besides the menagerie, there are various symbols throughout the play such as movies and a magician, the fire escape, a Unicorn, and leg braces. Each of these symbols adds to the negativity this household endures as a whole while also adding inspiration when needed. Symbols come in many forms; Tennessee Williams once said “When the sounds are harsh they suggest external realities; when they are soft they identify a thought or gently echo an idea identified before, binding the play together.". These various symbols scattered around the play all have different meaning, but in the end, pull the entire play together with strong meaning, deep influence, and harsh reality. Laura's glass sculpture collection also known as the glass menagerie utilizes powerful meaning with a harsh reality of being easily broken. The glass menagerie is an accurate representation of Laura's life and personality. Having a glass figurine collection is difficult to maintain while being one of the most fragile materials such as Laura, and tends...
Words: 1611 - Pages: 7
...The Dreamer Page 1970 question # 2- Analyze the complexities and contradictions to be found in a well-rounded character from a play of your choice. Tom Wingfield introduces himself as an ambitious man who wishes to escape his own reality in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie (1945). He is the breadwinner of his family, providing for his mother, Amanda, and his sister, Laura, by working at a “shoe factory where his father worked” (1612). Tom narrates the play from his dreamer perspective. He constantly goes to see movies in an attempt to provide adventure to his lackluster life. At first Tom struck me as sympathetic, but as the play progresses he reveals himself to be a very selfish individual. Tom narrates each scene from “memory and [they are] therefore unrealistic” (1614). He remembers his life as an imprisonment, where he is stuck doing undesirable work to provide for his family. His father’s abandonment left him as the sole provider for his family. His family displays “a blown up photograph of the father [that] hangs on the wall of [their] living room” (1614) in their disheveled apartment “flanked on both sides by dark, narrow alleys” (1614). We are continuously exposed to Tom’s viewpoint and the difficulty he has with separating his life from his vision. Amanda’s son emphasizes the smothering nature of his mother throughout the play. Amanda habitually badgers Tom telling him, “Honey, don’t push with your fingers. If you have to push with something, the thing...
Words: 1346 - Pages: 6
...5 Point Essay In “The Glass Menagerie” Toms monologue in the start of the play talks about how he can apparently turn back time and talks about the the economy in the thirties and informing us on where the play will take place. “The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic”(1166). Knowing the lighting of the play really helps set the tone of the play. The mood that he sets at the start of the play is cheery, and sort of leaving us guessing what is going to happen. “I think the rest of the play will explain itself”(1166). He is hooking us to start reading. He then says he is the narrator of the play and also a character in the play along with a few others that are closely related to him. He sounded very sure of himself and what he would be doing throughout the play. He is rather informative about his position in the play and informing us of the characters that take place as well. At the end of the play Tom says “I didn’t go to the moon, I went much further--for time is the longest distance between two places”(1210). He then explains that he was fired from his job and leaves Saint Louis and travels around for a while. At the end of his monologue he runs into his sister after seeing all of the transparent glass in the windows of the shops along the street, reminding him of his sister. The mood that he sets for the audience at the end is a happy closure. Wrapping up his life story with seeing his sister and saying goodbye...
Words: 353 - Pages: 2
