The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

The quote written by british novelist Laurence Sterne, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” ties to the life of Laura Wingfield. Within the play, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Laura feels her mind being pulled in two directions, both by her family, and herself. Surrounded by a broken family, Laura shapes the play as a symbol of her family's relationship as she begins the play “crippled”- symbolizing a broken home- and heals over the course of the play due to conflicts and self realizations; showing the families final healing, even in an unconventional manner.

This can be interrupted as playful fun, but also can be seen as Amanda’s way to avoid reality and acknowledge Laura’s disability. Amanda continues her rants about being a proper lady and how back in the day she was a true southern belle. However, she remains unaware that her daughter is impaired and not as in-touched with reality as she is. Laura lives an anonymous life and has no social skills and escapes the world around her. Throughout the play Amanda harps on her past mistakes, especially when it came to a gentleman, called Fitzhugh.

Nora was not happy in her life with Torvald, and yet she and her husband are afraid of the embarrassment that would come if they two were to split apart. When Nora decided to leave Helmer he begins telling her, “I have it in me to become a different man.” She ends up creating a change in her life so she can start living how a human being is suppose to with the freedom to assert herself as she please without having to answer to anyone. Ibsen’s point to made in this play is to show how a couple got trapped by society, pushed into a doll house for which they don’t belong; he expressed his feelings on women rights, family and male dominance in this ear by writing this play, A Doll House.

To the point where she forces her to see a "Gentleman Caller" it is then that Tom reminds his mother not to "expect to much of Laura" she is unlike other girls. But Laura's mother has not allowed herself nor the rest of the family to see Laura as different from other girls. Amanda continually lives in the past when she was young a pretty and lived on the plantation. Laura must feel she can never live up to her mothers expectations. Her mother continually reminds her of her differences throughout the play.

In addition, she points out what if the Famous Shakespeare have a sister with the same talent as he did she may have a hard time trying to get readers to read her literary works. Another theme in “A Doll 's house is Parenthood. In where Helmer states “lies infect and poisons the whole life of home” meaning that if you lie and you are parent the children will follow they same thing as their parent did. For that reason before end of act 1 Nora told the nurse that children couldn 't come inside where she was since she may infected them with her

Tennessee Williams’s character Amanda Wingfield, in The Glass Menagerie, is a bold and persuasive personality devoted to the past. Amanda was forsaken by her husband, and faced with raising two children alone during the great depression. Haunted by the rejection of her husband, she is determined to keep her children close. Even if keeping her children close means using guilt and criticism to manipulate every aspect of their lives. Amanda’s domineering behavior drove Mr. Wingfield away, and is now steering her son toward a similar escape.

An inability to accept one’s reality and the idea of telling a story through the memory and emotions of someone involve come into play in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. The Glass Menagerie is narrated by Tom Wingfield and tells the story of how he came to leave his mother, Amanda, and his sister, Laura. Amanda is an overbearing Southern women, stuck in the ways of the past and obsessed with finding her daughter the perfect “gentleman caller.” However, Laura is entirely anti-social and unable to cope with societal pressures, making her a tough candidate for a husband. Amanda’s overbearing and controlling nature creates tension between herself and Tom, who seeks adventure and freedom, but most provide for his family. Eventually, when a man from Laura’s past, Jim O'Connor, shows up for dinner, he turns out to not be the “gentleman caller” they all expected and ends up acting as the tipping point for Tom, who leaves the family behind.

“Go to the movies, go! Don’t think about us, a mother deserted, an unmarried sister who’s crippled and has no job! Don’t let anything interfere with your selfish pleasure! Just go, go, go-to the movies!”(p.136) By reliving her life, Amanda failed to realize that the personalities of her children were completely different from her own. As a result of her illusions, Amanda drove her son away and hurt herself and the others around her.

. .” (VI.55,56,59). The loneliness Laura has is carried out through the play, especially when she comes to find out that Jim is engaged to another woman and cannot be with her. She goes back to her own little world so that no one can hurt her and she can protect her glass menagerie. Laura’s physical and emotional sensitivity can be seen throughout the play of The Glass Menagerie.

The Glass Menagerie Thesis statement In this paper I have attempted to give a detailed view of what the young girl Laura (depiction of Williams’s sister) has gone through in her mother’s (Williams’s mother) quest to find a husband for her, the agony she has experienced, and Tom’s (Williams) rebellious attitude towards life. While Tom wants to live and cherish his own life, he finds it difficult to fulfill this desire. In my hypotheses Laura, the crippled girl remains the fragile piece of glass. The Glass Menagerie was an autobiographical play by Tennessee Williams about him, his mother, and sister (Falk). Launched in 1944, the play was a start of a brilliant and controversial career of this unconventional American playwright.