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.
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, written by Tennessee Williams in 1944, tells a tale of a young man imprisoned by his family. Following in the footsteps of his father, Tom Wingfield is deeply unhappy and eventually leaves his mother and sister behind so he may pursue his own ambitions. Throughout the play, the reader or audience is shown several reasons why Tom, a brother to Laura and son to Amanda, is unhappy and wishes to leave his family. However, the last scene describes Tom’s breaking point in which he leaves for the last time. Amanda tells Tom to “go to the moon,” because he is a “selfish dreamer.” (7. Amanda and Tom) The reasonings for Tom’s departure are due to his mother’s constant nagging, hatred for
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
really a place for someone like him and his mind rebelled. Lastly you can see
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.
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.
... eventually realizes it can only temporarily satiate his desire for knowledge and friendship, and that eventually, he like all other people, must grow up and move on to new passions and explorations. The entire book in fact returns to this idea many times as Tom has to grapple with the meaning and importance of time. In the same way that Tom must solve the problems he faces, all people must learn to answer the seemingly unanswerable questions of life. At some point or another, we all face situations that seem impossible, but as Tom comes to learn there is always a reason or some explanation for the route life takes. As Tom constantly questions the concept of time and reality versus imagination, we too must ask the same questions for, as Pearce asks many times throughout the novel, “What is time?” (Pearce 168) and how can the seemingly impossible really happen?
Wiliam’s use of symbolism in The Glass Menagerie adds a lot of meaning to the play. The fire escape has important meanings for each of the characters. For Tom, the fire escape is the way out of the world of Amanda and Laura, and an entrance into a world of adventure. For Amanda, the fire escape is perceived as a way for gentlemen callers to enter their lives. She is also trying to escape her own vacant life. And for Laura, the fire escape is a way into her own world where nobody else can invade. The fire escape portrays the escape from reality into a world of illusion for each character.
Tom escaped from the fantasy world of Amanda and Laura by hanging out on the fire escape, even though he could never fully escape. Unfortunately for Tom, his life was cramped like the coffin and he was slowly suffocating emotionally and spiritually. Unhappy with the lifestyle he followed in the footsteps of his father, he searched for adventure, escaping the nagging of Amanda.
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.