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Sympathy For The Family In Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie

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Tennessee Williams’, The Glass Menagerie, is a play that arouses a great sympathy and, in some cases, empathy for the protagonist of the who struggles to overcome two opposing forces; his responsibilities and his desires. On the surface his family seems quaint and simple, however, if the reader is to dig deeper, there are several underlying problems and limitations. For example, Laura, the protagonist’s sister, has crippling shyness. She attempts to attend business school until her shyness overcame her, and she passed out during a speed test. The mother, Amada, has high expectations that she imposes on both of her children. These expectations usually are not met by either of her children, in turn, this causes limitations for the family. Having …show more content…

The Glass Menagerie demonstrates many themes throughout the autobiographical type of play, notably all the character deal with limitation in a different way; Laura is limited through her shyness, Tom is limited by his wishes and responsibilities, and Amanda is limited by her age and her absent husband. Laura is portrayed as a young frail girl who has yet to blossom into a beautiful woman, nor find a husband and a steady job. This in her mother’s eyes is a weakness and thing to be fixed, while completely ignoring Laura’s selflessness. She is the glue of the family, always seeming to get Tom to apologize after a fight with their mother. Despite her already overwhelming problems, she attempts to help her family throughout the play. Going through life for Laura has been limiting for as long as she can …show more content…

She was raised up in a prominent household that at one point she “received – seventeen – gentleman callers” (Williams 680). As she reflects on the past she talks about all the boys that were available to her and how she should have chosen a different gentleman caller than Tom and Laura’s father. At her old age, she still fawns over the “beautiful, brilliant young Fitzhugh boy from Greene Country” (Williams 681) that could have been her key to a comfortable life. After her husband, she was limited to only certain things having to move to the city where jobs were more plentiful, and living was cheaper. Though she may be limited she also limits her children by her constant nagging of Tom and refusal to see Laura for who she really is. Refusing to accept what her family is compared to what she had envisioned before she got married were completely different. All these things make Amada a keystone of the story, she holds the family together even if the children seem to fight against her

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Jeannette Walls’, The Glass Castle, is a nonfiction story about a lower class family that is poor and short on food, solving all their problems by constantly moving around the united states. Written through her voice, Jeannette is able to put humor and objectivity in her memoir despite the very hard life she has lived. She is not judgmental about the constant moving her family did to avoid bill collectors and to find work for father. Jeannette believes that Rex’s fantasies can come true and that the family can overcome their adversity. It is clear that Jeannette is hard working and intelligent, knowing that she wants to be a journalist even when she’s young.

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Mrs. Reed likewise separates Jane from the Reeds’ social circle by confining her to the nursery while her cousins spend their days in the drawing room (22) and calling Mr. Lloyd, the apothecary for “ailing servants,” instead of the family physician for Jane’s illness (15), thus placing her among the servants. However, the servants too reject Jane from their group—Miss Abbot told Jane that she is “less than a servant” because she does “nothing for [her] keep” (9). Jane thus

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Those three concerns—love, money, and above all, unquestionable practicality—seem to be a credo for the Buchanans and their ilk, the kind of people Nick finally denounces as a “rotten crowd” (162). Daisy submits to existence in a rather loveless marriage with an unfaithful husband, failing to challenge Tom for his misconduct towards her. Her situation is far from ideal—that becomes blindingly apparent to her when Gatsby reappears, offering the romantic possibility of escape. But Gatsby trades in dreams, and Daisy is content with just the possibility of escape. Indeed, the scenes in Gatsby’s house have an air of dreamlike unreality, and when confronted with the reality and consequences of her actions, Daisy is frightened and hesitant.

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Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie is a story that follows three characters' lives while living in St. Louis. The characters Amanda Wingfield, Tom Wingfield, and Laura Wingfield, are overlooked and called failures due to their failed attempts at reaching the goals they have set out for themselves. The majority of people set intentional goals for themselves to reach, but setting goals and successfully achieving them is easier said than done. This essay intends to use a persuasive argument against the assumption that Amanda, Tom, and Laura are failures, by showing their personal growth despite the disadvantages caused by their situation.

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However, in The Glass Menagerie, Tom and Laura defy these roles due to their own self image and ambition. Tom and Laura Wingfield live in an apartment building with their mother, Amanda, who tends to be overbearing at times. Amanda sets expectations very high for her children and believes that when they fall short they are not trying. Although she only wishes for her children’s happiness and

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He places her in the nursery of the colonial mansion, despite her requests to be placed otherwise, “I don 't like our room a bit. I wanted one downstairs... but John would not hear of it” (Gilman, 2). The narrator’s husband dictates all aspects of her life to the point where she internalizes her husband 's authority, accepting his dominance over her, “I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus—but John says the very worst thing I can do is think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad,” (Gilman, 2). Even though the narrator knows what she needs is to be active surrounded by people instead of cooped up alone in a house out in the countryside, she abruptly stops her train of thought as she remembers John’s instructions to not think about her condition.

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The Glass Menagerie is a memory play published in 1944 by American playwright, Tennessee Williams. The play carries strong autobiographical elements due to the fact that it is based on Williams himself, his mentally fragile sister rose, and his melodramatic mother. Almost 30 years later, the play went on to premiere in many theaters and on the big screen; The cast included Katherine Hepburn as Amanda Wingfield, Sam Waterston as Jim O 'Connor, Michael Moriarity as Tom Wingfield, and Joanna Miles as Laura Wingfield. Although the transition from script to stage production is a large one, directors were largely successful in developing the major elements and portraying them in a clear and effective manner. In the original script of the The Glass

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Myrtle is accustomed to living an underprivileged life where feminine power engulfs her, but Tom is too egotistical to allow Myrtle to speak with such authority to him. Similarly, Gatsby’s need for assurance from Daisy pressures her into revealing to Tom that she never loved him (Fitzgerald 132). Deep down, Daisy knows that she truly did love Tom once, but Gatsby’s assertiveness and persistence drives her over the edge to telling Tom that what the two of them shared meant nothing to her. Daisy’s attribute of being a pushover is revealed immensely because she refuses to stand up for herself. Daisy is used to enabling Tom to constantly control all aspects of her life, and that leaves her powerless in society.

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Fitzgerald depicts the women of the novel as deceitful, sexual beings that are naturally subordinate to men through Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle. Daisy exemplifies the naturally inferior role of women relying on the wealth of men in their lives to take care of them. When Daisy talks about her daughter she claims, “a fool–that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”(21) establishing women’s subordinate role in which they are ignorant to the affairs of their husbands and expected to rely on their beauty to carry them through life. When Daisy is accused of infidelity with Gatsby in the hotel, Gatsby claims that Daisy is attracted to men of wealth and, “only married [Tom] because [Gatsby] was poor and she was tired of waiting for [him]”(137).

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