Archibald MacLeish has said, “... the freedom of man and mind is nothing but a dream… It is the American Dream.” (D3) Tennessee Williams’ characters in his play “The Glass Menagerie” are unable to pursue their dreams because they lack the ability to properly communicate. Although, as some might argue, one’s ambitions are personal and do not need to be widely known, some goals are better reached with the help of others. Communication is the beginning of all success, and success is the American Dream. The play opens with a monologue from one of the main characters, Tom Wingfield. Tom begins his monologue by stating “Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. … I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” (Williams 277) As the play progresses his statement becomes a proven fact. Tom is a young working man who is burdened with taking care of his family in place of his father. In scene three Tom angrily expresses his hatred for his warehouse job to his mother, but because of his yelling she ignores his words in favor of how he is saying them. For the duration of the play Tom yearns to be a traveling poet, but he doesn’t want to leave his family like his father did. Although he tells his mother and sister he wants to leave he …show more content…
Laura is so shy and quiet that her dreams and aspirations are never spoken of in the play. Though Laura is somewhat of a mystery, one can infer that she longs for confidence. Laura expresses her unwillingness to interact with others, but she fails to address the reason why. When Laura speaks with Jim, the gentleman caller, she begins to open up about her insecurities. In the end she is left feeling more fragile than when the play began due to the fact that even she doesn’t know what her dreams are. “Laura’s separation increases till she is like a piece of her own glass collection too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf.” (Williams