The Glass Menagerie - Research Paper Example

?The Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie is a play written by Tennessee Williams and premiered in Chicago in the year 1944. The plot is set in St. Louis and is based on the memories of Tom Wingfield, the narrator and main character of the story (Dudley 21). Tom is shown as an individual who aspired to become a poet, but who instead has to work in a warehouse in order to support his family consisting of his mother, Laura Wingfield, and his sister, Laura. The play also involved the character of Tom’s father, Mr. Wingfield, who had abandoned the family long time ago. This paper discusses the character of Tom Wingfield and elaborates on some of the reasons for considering him as the main character in the play. In doing so, Waldman says that the analysis considers his personal struggles between pursuing his dreams and bowing to the pressures of family responsibilities (56). Tom’s character gains significance not just because he happens to be the narrator, but also because the entire play revolves around him as the provider for the family. Apart from being the sole earning member, he is also expected to search a suitable match for his sister, Laura, who is physically challenged. Lack of opportunities and the constant yearning towards his aspirations seem to have relegated him into a dreamer and he shows a lack of interest in pursuing any academic or professional goals (Bray 126). Thus, the story is a discussion of the feelings of entrapment, regret and search for self from the narrator’s viewpoint. Howard believes that Tom’s character in the Glass Menagerie demonstrates him as someone struggling between reality and illusion (106). Tom experiences many recollections and acts upon them. In doing so, the narration clearly depicts the constant friction between reality and the distorted illusions generated from his memory. On many instances, Tom seems to communicate directly with the audience and thereby seek their understanding and approval of his feelings. At other times, he demonstrates real emotions and becomes an integral part of the story (Rathbun 84). This constant flux between reality and illusion complicates Tom’s character and makes it difficult to perceive whether Tom is influenced by his emotions or is capable of being in control of his self. The following quote highlights this discrepancy: “Yes, I have tricks in my pocket; I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” (Schroeder 165) According to Presley, re-construction of past events based on memories were difficult and distorted at best in Tom’s case since such acts involve delving into a past which is more chaotic than the present (42). In fact, Leverich says that the Glass Menagerie is a semi-autobiography of the author, Tennessee Williams, whose family background and upbringing were very similar to Tom’s depiction in the play (54). Thus, the actions and beliefs of Tom are widely considered to be a direct reflection of the author’s own youth. According to Schroeder, besides coping with the distortions in his life, Tom’s character seeks aggressively for a new identity and renewal (73). He yearns to live and work towards his ambitions and looks for ways to get out of town in search for his self. He wants to travel, see the world, embark on new experiences and seek new adventure. Thus, he seeks an identity that is in total contrast to his present life spent working at the warehouse and fending for his family. Hermann notes that his love for reading met with constant disapproval from his family, especially his mother (46). The hostile and constraining environment around him has made him feel imprisoned, and he desperately seeks some sort of renewal. In fact, Parker says that Tom spends much of his free time in cheap cinemas simply to live out this new identity to the extent that his current position can allow him to do so (95). The following quote by Tom from scene 3 depicts these frustrations: “Every time you come in yelling that Goddamn "Rise and Shine! Rise and Shine!" I say to myself, "How lucky dead people are!" But I get up. I go! For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever! And you say self - self's all I ever think of. Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I'd be where he is GONE!” (Siebold 97) Bigsby believes that Tom’s role also assumed significance during the latter part of the play when he feels a deep regret for having left his family (164). He expresses his inability at being able to forget Laura or the fact that he could not provide for her. In contrast, Tom’s actions suggest no such feelings towards his mother, probably because she was a constant obstacle in the pursuit of his dreams, however small or muted they may be been. Thus, Tom’s feeling of regret appears restricted to his sister (Kolin 153). Tom also displays a lack of understanding of his sister unlike the character of Jim O’Connor, who was already engaged to another woman. Tom also cares deeply for his sister and is filled with guilt and remorse for having broken her glass possessions. Bloom argues that Amanda was the sole reason for driving Tom out and had even been called a witch by her son (78). She felt that her son had a responsibility to earn for the family and never spent any effort to understand her son’s aspirations, let alone support them. Instead, Abbott says she expected her son to find a suitable match for his sister and was aghast on finding out that Jim, who had been brought home by Tom as a prospective suitor, was already engaged to someone else (63). Her constant disapproval of Tom going to the movies is also another factor for driving him away and suggests that Tom felt constrained in every way by living with his mother: “No? Well you're right, Mother. I'm going to opium dens. Yes, mother. Opium dens. Dens of vice and criminal's hangouts, mother, I am a hired assassin, I joined the Hogan gang, I carry a tommy gun in a violin case, and I run a stream of cat houses in the valley, they call me Killer, Killer Wingfield, see I'm leading a double life, really, a simple honest warehouse worker by day, but by night a dynamic czar of the underworld, mother, I just go to gambling casinos, spin away fortune on the roulette tables, mother, I wear a patch over one eye, and a false moustache and sometimes I put on green whiskers, on, on those occasions, they call me "El Diablo," I can tell you many things to make you sleepless, mother, my enemies plan to dynamite this place, they're gonna blow us sky high! And I will be glad? I will be very happy, and so will you be. You will go up, up, up, over Blue Mountain, on a broomstick with seventeen gentleman callers! You ugly, babbling old witch!” (Kolin 186) Siebold says that the importance of parenthood on children is also reflected from Tom’s characters and the void he felt in his life due to the lack of a father (38). Tom often expresses that he was just like his father, wanting to abandon the family and never look back. In fact, this expression becomes synonymous to an excuse he uses during his discussion with fellow workers including Jim. In the end, his patience gives in and he ends up abandoning his family (Bainbridge 92). Whether or not he was right in leaving his family and moving out is however a question for the audience to decide upon. References 1. Abbott, Dorothy. Mississippi Writers: Drama. University of Mississippi, 1991. 2. Bainbridge, Beryl. Front row: evenings at the theatre : pieces from The oldie. Chicago: Continuum International Publishing, 2005. 3. Bigsby, C. A critical introduction to twentieth-century American drama: Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee. Cambridge University Press, 2006. 4. Bloom, Harold. Tennessee Williams's The glass menagerie. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. 5. Bray, William. Hollywood's Tennessee: the Williams films and postwar America. University of Texas, 2009. 6. Dudley, Bronson. The glass menagerie: a scene by scene analysis with critical commentary. Chicago: American R.D.M., 1995. 7. Hermann, Spring. A Student's Guide to Tennessee Williams. London: Enslow Publishers, 2007. 8. Howard, Alycia. Critical companion to Tennessee Williams. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2005. 9. Kolin, Philip. Tennessee Williams: a guide to research and performance. New York: Greenwood Publishing, 1998. 10. Leverich, Lyle. Tom: the unknown Tennessee Williams. University of Michigan, 1995. 11. Parker, R. The Glass menagerie: a collection of critical essays. University of Michigan, 2003. 12. Presley, Delma. The glass menagerie: an American memory. University of California, 1990. 13. Rathbun, Gilbert. Tennessee Williams' The glass menagerie: a critical commentary. London: Monarch Press, 1990. 14. Schroeder, Particia. Modern American Literature. Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1992. 15. Siebold, Thomas. Readings on The glass menagerie. London: Greenhaven Press, 1998. 16. Waldman, Mel. A view through the Glass Menagerie. Boston: World Audience Inc., 2007. Read More