Introduction:
Relatives are thought to be there for one another and whatever you have. The relations of nowadays are more or less typical but in the novel The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams the Wingfield family is very dysfunctional. The components of this family unit, Amanda (Mother), Tom (Son) and Laura (Daughter), make this family a very dysfunctional one.
All the way through The Glass Menagerie, up-and-coming in each and every scene and throughout the proceedings of all of the characters is the subject matter of Appearances vs. Reality. Characters trust in an opportunity and what went before which are not matter-of-fact, and these viewpoints have an effect on the decisions they make concerning their relations with each other. For example, Amanda often explains the years of her formative years, when she declares she expected “seventeen! — gentlemen callers!” at some point on one Sunday afternoon (Tennessee Williams, i, 26). Even though she explains these men as if they either are prosperous or have died a heartrending/laudable death, the man she married was apparently both unsuccessful and immature. And regardless of all verifications to the opposing, Amanda gave the impression to consider that Laura, too, will one day be visited by similar gentlemen callers
Characters:
Laura: Laura is the possessor and custodian of the glass menagerie. In her personal miniature dream world, having fun with the glass animals is how she breaks out from the factual world in order to get away from the truths and adversities she undergoes. Despite the fact that she is crippled only to an extremely minor extent physically, her mind is very immobilized on an emotional point. Over time, she has turned out to be very delicate, to a great extent like the glass, which smashes to smithereens without difficulty, as one of the animals misplaced its horn; she can lose control of herself. Laura is extremely feeble and open to do violence to, not capable of defending herself from the realities of life. The glass menagerie is an instantly recognizable figure of speech in representing Laura’s physical and psychological conditions (Carrie Sandahl and Philip Auslander, 80)
Amanda: Amanda is also well distinguished by the glass menagerie. The glass meets in a casing, open for exhibition and assessment for all. Amanda try’s to depict herself as an affectionate mother, taking responsibility of everything she can for her offspring, and concerned nothing for herself, when in reality; she is to a certain extent self-centered and serious. Amanda states that she dedicates her existence to her children, and that she would do everything for them, but is very apprehensive of Tom’s behavior, and repeatedly demands Tom, trying to compel him in discovering a gentleman caller for Laura, considering that Laura is feeling alone and wants a accompanying person, possibly to get wedded. Like the glass, her plans are extremely crystal clear, and people can perceive immediately all the way through them to the other side, where the reality about her lies. Her life sits upon a shimmering case, ornamented with attractive glass animals, but the truths are concealed in the drawers down below (Delma Eugene Presley, 35).
Tom: Tom is a lot more complex personality to explore and judge against to the glass gathering. On the exterior, he emerges to be equally fragile and physically powerful at the same time. He does his personal thing for the majority part, but takes note of his mother only for the reason that she will harass him to death if he does not. When he unintentionally shatters one of Laura’s glass animals, and she starts to shed tears, he show no true apparent feeling, but on the inside, he shows to be actually apologetic, but knows that he cannot lend a hand to his poor sister, for the reason that nothing can help her get better from her sickness any longer. Tom dislikes his mother greatly, not only because she at all times gets her way with him, but because she is so mistrustful of his behavior, he states that he goes to the movie theater every night, but his mother doesn’t trust him; and when Tom lastly ruptures in anger and irritation and declares to the factual nature of his actions, his mother still doesn’t trust what he speaks, although it is nearly all likely to be the reality. Tom is like the glass collection in that he is too readily delicate, and in the end, he starts to break and split apart, by the demands and stress that his mother wields upon him (Paul Kuritz, 75).
Jim: Jim O’Connor is the gentleman visitor Tom takes to his residence from the Continental Shoemakers storehouse. He is a transport clerk and takes nighttime lessons in public verbal communication and radio engineering. He has huge plans to go into the television industry since he thinks it will do well. He was the most admired boy in high school, and even though he doesn’t remember right away, he shared a chorus class with Laura. He identified her with the name of ‘Blue Roses’ then because he had got the wrong idea of her when she told him she had pleurisies. She had a crush on Jim then, so when he comes to their apartment house for dinner, she is overcome by fretfulness, but he is capable to draw her out of her shell. He gives her the confidence to be less unsure of herself and more positive and gets so carried away in his support, that he kisses her. Jim, knowing he cannot date Laura for the reason that he’s engaged to a woman he is in love with, tells her the whole thing and that he won’t be stopping over once more and leaves. Before he goes, on the other hand, Laura gives him a souvenir –her much loved glass unicorn. Jim broke the horn when he thumped it from the table, and Laura gives it to him to commit a memory of her. He takes the glass statuette when he leaves and his going away crushes any expectation his visit formed (Milly S. Barranger, 100).
Conclusion:
Even though the glass menagerie is intended as a direct figure of speech for Laura, it furthermore provides as a symbol to the other characters in the play all the way through a variety of techniques. They are all interrelated in a number of methods, depending on each other, and when things don’t go round out correctly, the whole thing begins to collapse into a descending spiral, with small or no expectation for development.
References:
Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. Heinemann Educational Publishers. 1996, Page 26
Kuritz, Paul. Playing: An Introduction to Acting. Publishers: Prentice Hall College Div. 1982 Page 75
Presley, Delma Eugene. The glass menagerie: an American memory. Published by Twayne Publishers. 1990, Page 35
Sandahl, Carrie and Philip Auslander. Bodies in commotion: disability ; performance. Published by University of Michigan Press. 2005, Page 80
Barranger, Milly S. Understanding plays. Published by Allyn and Bacon. 2004, Page 100
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