Tom’s closing speech in The Glass Menagerie
Tom’s closing speech in The Glass Menagerie is very emotional and
ironic. However, this monologue is somewhat ambiguous and doesn’t
implicitly state whether Tom found the adventure he sought. It seems
as though he never returned to St. Louis, and spent the remainder of
his life wandering from place to place. This is inferred when he
says,” I didn’t go to the moon, I went much further-for time is the
longest distance between two places…”
Throughout the play, the fire escape has been a symbol of Tom’s
entrance and exit into both his reality and his dream world. He tells
us that his departure marked the last time he “descended the steps of
this fire-escape”, thus permanently embarking on his journey of
solitude into what was once only a part of his dream world. From the
statement, “(I) followed, from then on, in my father’s footsteps..”
the reader can see that Tom acknowledges that he has chosen a path
which is very similar to that of his father’s. In recognising this
fact, Tom also admits that he abandoned his family just like Mr.
Wingfield did.
Tom’s journey does not seem to bring the escape and excitement that he
had always longed for. He says, “The cities swept about me like dead
leaves..” This description does not sound as though it comes from a
traveller who is ecstatic about visiting different parts of the world.
Cities are anything but dead; on the contrary, they are vibrant and
full of life, and persons who are artistically inclined tend to be
attracted to bustling cities. By categorising all the cities as dead
leaves, Tom classifies them as similar entities in which he notices no
individuality, uniqueness or excitement. He cannot relish in the
beau...
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...scape, and she will most likely carry this pain for the rest of her
life. It also symbolises Tom’s final farewell to her.
Essentially, this monologue reveals that Tom’s escape has not been as
complete or as perfect as he had hoped. While he has escaped the
physical limitations of the Wingfield apartment and the restrictions
of his job at the warehouse, memories from his past and feelings of
regret seem to create an intangible prison for Tom. He has been unable
to remove himself from the coffin and leave all the nails untouched,
as was his former desire. His statement of “I am more faithful than I
intended to be!” alludes to the fact that he is fully cognisant that
he has left his family to struggle with the consequences of his
departure. The Glass Menagerie ends with Tom’s life being exactly
opposite to the one he had foreseen when he planned his escape.
Tom's closing speech is a great moment. The descending fourth wall puts a powerful but permeable barrier between Tom and his family. They are behind him, behind him in time and in the physical space of the stage, and they are inaudible. Yet he cannot seem to shake the memory of them, and they are clearly visible to the audience. Although he has never explicitly spoken of one of the play's most important themes‹the conflict between responsibility and the need to live his own life‹it is clear that he has not been able to fully shake the guilt from the decision that he made. The cost of escape has been the burden of memory. For Tom and the audience, it is difficult to forget the final image of frail Laura, illuminated by candlelight on a darkened stage, while the world outside of the apartment faces the beginnings of a great storm.
Tennessee Williams employs the uses of plot, symbolism, and dialogue to portray his theme of impossible true escape, which asserts itself in his play, The Glass Menagerie. Each of his characters fills in the plot by providing emotional tension and a deep, inherent desire to escape. Symbolism entraps meaning into tangible objects that the reader can visualize and attach significance to. Conclusively, Williams develops his characters and plot tensions through rich dialogue. Through brilliant construction and execution of literary techniques, Williams brings to life colorful characters in his precise, poignant on-stage drama.
In the play “The glass menagerie” by author Tennessee Williams, he talks about real life situations. Even though the play was written in 1944, and the life style was different back then, these situations keep happening now in days. Parents provide a balanced family life style for their kids. Fathers are in charge of the safety, educations and provide shelter, while mothers provide the basics like cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids. What about when one of them is missing, if is the father, who will take care of the home, the mother or the oldest child. If, this is the case, is it ok to be forced to be in a home and take care of the responsibilities that belong to someone else?
Liberal humanist and astounding lawyer, Atticus Finch, composed a breathtaking summation speech to address the varying facts and opinions of Tom Robinson’s controversial court case. Atticus’ intentions for comprising such a speech is to persuade the jury and spectators to find Robinson “not guilty.” However, Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, included Atticus’ speech to subliminally alter the reader’s perception on prejudice and racism during the 1930’s. Atticus adopts a dignified tone when delivering his summation speech to convey the misconduct of Southerners to the jury and the people of Maycomb through the usage of relatability and the advocation for natural rights.
The Glass Menagerie is an eposidic play written by Tennesse Williams reflecting the economic status and desperation of the American people in the 30s.He portrays three different characters going through these hardships of the real world,and choosing different ways to escape it.Amanada,the mother,escapes to the memories of the youth;Tom watches the movies to provide him with the adventure he lacks in his life;and laura runs to her glass menagerie.
really a place for someone like him and his mind rebelled. Lastly you can see
middle of paper ... ... ght to America" (31). The trip she makes finally helps her to understand just where her mother was coming from, why she was the way she was, and she began to forgive her for all the misunderstandings they had. The rifts between mothers and daughters continue to separate them, but as the daughters get older they become more tolerant of their mothers. They learn they do not know everything about their mothers, and the courage their mothers showed during their lives is astounding.
The lacking of a positive male role model can be very troublesome for any family; especially during the mid-thirties. Prior to the Second World War, women did not have significant roles in the workforce and depended on their husbands or fathers to provide for them financially. There were limited government assistance programs during the era of The Great Depression, and it was up to the families to provide for themselves. The absence of Mr. Wingfield placed enormous strains on the physical as well as mental wellbeing of his family. The effects the abandonment of their father had on the Wingfield family from Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie are undeniable.
The “Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams shows a family facing economic and social hardships due to the father abandoning them. The father’s absence forces the rest of the family to fill roles that they wouldn’t be obliged to face if the father remained. The mother, Amanda, is a strong single mother who pushes her kids to be economically self-sustaining individuals. Amanda tries to impose her desires for her kids in a very direct and controlling manner which causes them to dislike her initiatives. The son, Tom, is the breadwinner for the family, however is dissatisfied with his situation due to his increased responsibilities. The daughter, Laura, is handicapped and dropped out of business school. Each member of the family is limited by their ability to grow out of their negative habits, however, it is likely that these habits or characteristics came from the family situation and the roles that each member was forced to fill.
Families are supposed to be there for each other and what have you. The families of today are more or less normal, but in the book The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams the Wingfield family is very dysfunctional. What makes this family dysfunctional are the members of it, such as Amanda, Tom, and Laura. Amanda was a very talkative mother.
In Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, each member of the Wingfield family has their own fantasy world in which they indulge themselves. Tom escaped temporarily from the fantasy world of Amanda and Laura by hanging out on the fire escape. Suffocating both emotionally and spiritually, Tom eventually sought a more permanent form of escape.
In conclusion, nothing really changes from beginning to end. Laura is still dependent, very shy, and lonely. Tom still has no real future, even though he runs away to fulfill his dreams. Amanda has no job and continues to relive her past. We really don't know what happens to Jim. In an effort to free themselves, these characters become more entangled in their problems. The ending is sad, without hope. However, The Glass Menagerie is timeless. Many of us can relate to these characters in some way. Most of us struggle in some way with fear, insecurity, dysfunction, codependency, and the complexities of life. Yes! The problems of the past continue to be the problems of the present.
For Laura, it represents what she will never be able to do, because of her severe social anxiety and physical disability. Tom sees the escape as a choice, he freely uses it to come in and out of the apartment and it is up to him to choose to escape, his mother, Amanda, will not freely give him the opportunity to. The fire escape plays a major role within the plot of The Glass Menagerie and is symbolic to the characters within the novel.
The Glass Menagerie, a play by Tennessee Williams, is well written with a significant/influential theme, an engaging plot, and a cast of eclectic characters. The play contains four main characters: Amanda, the mother, Tom, the son, Laura, the daughter, and Jim, the gentleman caller. Throughout the play Amanda wishes for Laura to find a husband, even though she is shy and crippled. Tom is the man of the house, meaning that he is obligated to pay the bills. Tom must push his dreams of being a poet in order to do this. Amanda, towards the end of the play, persuades Tom to invite one of his supposedly single coworkers to dinner to meet Laura. In scene seven, several unexpected events transpire that astonishes the audience, such as Jim having a fiancé and Tom leaving Amanda and Laura. The beginning portion of the last scene of The Glass Menagerie contributes to the audiences understanding of Luara, the theme of the play, and the play as a whole.
The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, is a complex work that encompasses many thematic ideas. The play details the life of a dysfunctional family living in St. Louis during the 1930s. The family has many problems and have created their own version of reality to cope with and avoid the truth of their situation. Illusion reigns supreme and prevents the family from moving forward. In The Glass Menagerie, Williams explores how one can create their own warped version of reality based on memories of the past, visions of the future, or a distorted perception of the present and how that can prevent one from moving forward in their life.