The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie

By Tennessee Williams

The story that I would like to look into in depth is the Glass Menagerie ' by Tennessee Williams . The story revolves around the family of Wingfields , in a small apartment in St . Louis on th 1930 's . The main character is the narrator which is Tom Wingfield , who serves as the family 's breadwinner since their father had left them many years ago Other characters include Amanda , a demanding mother , who often scolds Tom , having fight with him every time he stays out late at night

. The other one is Laura , who is a young , shy and fragile lady , sister of Tom who busied herself by collecting animal figurines that are made of glass . She was nicknamed as Blue Rose ' from which Rose ' is the actual name of Williams younger sister . The last character is Jim O 'Connor , who had played with Laura 's feelings , he was Tom 's co-worker and was actually engaged with someone else , however he did not mentioned his engagement before he had kissed Laura , which had made her heart broken

From this list , one will find the conflict in the story , since Tom is old enough to earn income for the family , he was someone portrayed as a freedom seeker . He felt that nothing else would happen to him if he will stay with his family . In addition to his feeling of being caged in his daily activities , the constant nagging of his mother is something that he cannot tolerate . In the first part of the story , Tom tells us that he compares himself with a magician that s us with truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion . He was often portrayed near or in the fire exit , and along the story , he usually use this exit in able to go out at night to the movie house . Through this the author shows that Tom was someone who would do what he thinks he have or want to do . Thus there is a yearning for freedom showing the conflict that has evolved between his personal liberty and his responsibility for the family

Amanda , on the other hand was once a belle that was loved and adored in her younger years . Now that she was caught up in a situation wherein she was the mother of two children , abandoned by their father and was now living in a small apartment . This situation made her feel more like 'if only I could bring back the past , regretting her life and escaping it through the fantasies that she had or the dreams about the past that she told to her children again and again

Laura , as I have said was very frail and shy she lived in a world of fear of the outside world . She spends her days with the glass animal figurines and she seldom leaves their apartment . The glass menagerie was a significant symbol that represents the fragility and vulnerability of Laura . She also , escape her reality by focusing...