ANALYSIS ON THE GLASS MENAGERIE 4
Glass Menagerie is a play that is based on memory. It is told byTom, who is the narrator and he is the one who introduces the play infront of the family house. The play was set in St. Louis in the 1930sand has represented varied themes and the influence parents have ontheir children’s choices. The play has four main characters and anabsent character. Tom, his mother Amanda and his sister Laura are themain characters (Williams, 2011). However, Jim, who is a gentlemancaller and the supposedly Laura’s suitor, appears towards the endof the play. Wingfield, who is the husband to Amanda and the fatherto Tom and Laura does not appear anywhere in the play. He left thefamily many years back and they have not heard from him or receivedany communication in the recent past.
Thesis: The parenting style by Amanda is ineffective and when theTom and Laura might be considered as being disobedient, it is clearthat some of their actions could be justified.
Tom is the provider of the family in the absence of the father. Heis an aspiring poet and writer and he pursues dreams earnestly.However, it is evident from the play that the relationship betweenAmanda and Tom is unbearable to him. The mother is extremelycontrolling and demanding of her children. She reprimands Tom andLaura as if they are young children (Williams, 2011). At some point,she tells Tom how he should chew his food. The Glass Menagerie is aplay that depicts characters living in illusions and denying thereality. Clearly, Amanda’s family is in tatters with the absenthusband, uneducated daughter, and a jobless son whose dream ofbecoming a poet and a writer is yet to be realized.
The major topics in the play are family life, parenting, romance andrelationships. The parenting style that Amanda has adopted isineffective. There are instances she is telling her children of herlove escapades as a young girl. Surprisingly, she tells of how shehad over 10 gentlemen callers in one afternoon and settled onWingfield as her husband. Notably, her belief in choosing men fromgentlemen callers resulted in her failed marriage. Interestingly,this is the same procedure that she wants her daughter to follow.After Laura failing to attend her classes due to her shyness, herother recommends that she should be married. She insists that Tombring a suitor for Laura and Jim is brought. Despite him kissingLaura, it is clear that he was engaged to another woman and thisdepicted once again the shortcomings of gentlemen callers’tradition (Williams, 2011). The only instance where romance isevident in the play is when Jim Kisses Laura. The relationshipbetween a mother and her children is wanting. Amanda does not relatewell with her son and daughter. Ultimately, Tom decides to leave andfind a life of his own after his relationship with the mother becameunbearable.
While concluding, the play has demonstrated how traditions such asgentlemen callers for girls can be retrogressive and ineffective.However, such traditions are hard to let go. Family life is the coreof the play. Through using a narration by one of the characters, theplay has managed to connect well with the audience. Laura’s shynessin the play has denied her numerous opportunities in life such as theopportunity to study. Conversely, her mother believes that she lackssuitors because of her shyness.
References
Williams, T. (2011). The glass menagerie. New York: NewDirections.
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