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themes of the novel the glass menagerie
themes and symbols in the glass menagerie
the themes of glass menagerie
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The Character of Tom Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie
Tom Wingfield is a determined young man. He has decided against everyone else in his family's wishes that he wants to leave the dismal life of a factory job, to pursue a chance in the Merchant Marines. He realizes that he would be running off like his father and this is probably the only thing that kept him from leaving this long. Amanda, Tom's mother, deep down knows the day is coming that Tom will leave. She says "But not till there's someone to take your place." She wants Laura, if not herself to be taken care of. At that moment in the play Tom is the breadwinner in the family and up to this point Tom is the underpriviledged child that wants to move on. He wants to pursue his dream, a more adventurous life. Tom was a likable character until we find out he didn't pay the electric bill with the intended money. When Jim is over and he says "I paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill". At this point, Tom becomes a more selfish character. There is less sympathy given in his direction. In fact, this is probably where we feel a little more sorry for Amanda.
Amanda has probably not done everything right for her family, but her intentions have always been good. Tom has lost patience and wants to pursue his journey away now. There's no waiting to save the money for the dues. He doesn't stop going to the movies for a week or quit smoking to save money. He takes the money for the light bill. We know this is a painfully big deal and he has intentionally hurt his family at this point. He knows he has put himself in a position of no turning back. Now, he has to go. As if to make it okay in someway, he says, ""I'm like my father. The bastard son of a bastard! See how he grins? And he's been absent going on sixteen years!" Now we know, he doesn't plan to come back. He has justified his not feeling obligated to his family by saying he gets it naturally. He is his father's son. Of course we have to decide if Tom has a choice. Is Tom withering away where he is. His family is full of dysfunction and he wants to help Laura out also.
The Metamorphosis of Tom in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams In Tennessee William's play, The Glass Menagerie, the character of Tom is both a son and a brother. Tom has also been forced into the role of the man of the house because of his father's departure. He is very unique and somewhat unpredictable in his words and actions. Tom is selfish, yet caring, and he has a strong need for adventure.
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 first teacher that Siddhartha had was the Samanas. Siddhartha followed their path for a few years, and learned much from them. He had accomplished the eightfold path and the four noble truths in a short time. Although he had learned much he came to a decision to leave the Samanas. Siddhartha was grateful for they’re teachings, but in the end he believed he could have learned everything that they had taught him on his own.
In Williams, Tennessee’s play The Glass Menagerie, Amanda’s image of the southern lady is a very impressive. Facing the cruel reality, she depends on ever memories of the past as a powerful spiritual to look forward to the future, although her glory and beautiful time had become the past, she was the victim of the social change and the Great Depression, but she was a faithful of wife and a great mother’s image cannot be denied.
Tom's acts in love are childish and immature. At first, Tom's love for Becky Thatcher is just a crush. He tells Becky about his "marriage" to Amy and it starts a fight. After that, they both play a game of "hard to get". After this, Tom is too proud to apologize. Also, Tom makes good decisions. First, when Becky accidentally rips Mr. Dobbins' book a, Tom takes the blame, and this ends their feud. Another mature event takes place in McDougal's cave. When Tom and Becky are in the cave, they become lost. Then Tom takes responsibility for himself and Becky's life. These events are part of becoming a young man.
Tennessee Williams employs the uses of plot, symbolism, and dialogue to portray his theme of impossible true escape, which asserts itself in his play, The Glass Menagerie. Each of his characters fills in the plot by providing emotional tension and a deep, inherent desire to escape. Symbolism entraps meaning into tangible objects that the reader can visualize and attach significance to. Conclusively, Williams develops his characters and plot tensions through rich dialogue. Through brilliant construction and execution of literary techniques, Williams brings to life colorful characters in his precise, poignant on-stage drama.
Siddhartha, written by Herman Hesse, is a novel about a man's progression towards his goal to center his life with a combination of peace and balance. Many of the displayed philosophies can be applied to today's world. Through my reading, I noticed many similarities between my life and Siddhartha's. First, Siddhartha felt a need for independence, that to truly be happy with his success, he must attain his achievements in his own way, and not others. Even though, he feels he must acquire this by himself, he tries to be as removed from his human side as possible. Only later does he learn that individuality and freedom from necessity must be united to procure his objectives and free him from his imperfections. Second, Siddhartha discovers that things and riches do not bring happiness. They are only temporary. No matter the extent of wealth a person has this never satisfies the insatiable need for possessions. Lastly, Siddhartha found that balance is the key to peace and happiness. Although a simplistic teaching, it is very complex to learn and apply. In my life, I can relate to his path and lessons, because I feel the same struggles and battles with attaining serenity.
At the beginning, Tom is very self-centered and preoccupied with his work. He finds what he wants to do more important than what his wife wants to do that night. Once faced with the reality of death, he realizes how important his wife is to him. This forces him to be strong and stay alive, for her sake. The only reason he made it back into his house was because of how much he cared for her. Tom then decides to go find her at the movies, which shows that he has become less self-centered and more aware of his wife’s feelings.
Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha describes the journey and maturation of Siddhartha. Siddhartha is a young Indian, whose journey to find internal peace takes him to many different places. One of these is the city, where he soon accumulates a large fortune. Wealth and material possession haunt Siddhartha and hinder him from attaining internal peace. This is also demonstrated Brahmin village where he is unhappy with the rituals, and sees wealth and material goods destroying him Herman Hesse uses Siddhartha demonstrate that success is not derived from material wealth, but from personal successes that may have nothing to do with wealth.
Although Siddhartha felt dissatisfied with his stay with the Samanas, in reflection there were a lot of things that he took from his experience with them. He mastered the art of self-denial and many ways of losing the Self, which was very important. He became patient enough to wait for anything and learned to live without food or any other necessities. Siddhartha makes his first significant step towards attaining Nirvana when he leaves the Brahmins to live with the Samanas. Although he could never truly attain Nirvana with the Samanas, the major step is that he began to question his method to attain enlightenment.
Because of him working in the warehouse and having to put his dreams on hold, it seems to make him bitter and rude to his mother. His mother puts a lot of pressure on him with working and making the money to pay the bills. Also his mother is always getting mad when he goes out. In the play Tom snaps at his mother one night after she’s nags him about going out, some of the stuff he said wasn’t necessary, but we all say things we don’t mean when we are upset. His mother does work by trying to sell magazines, but during this time period the Great Depression was going on so it was hard on everyone with money.
...from the liability that his father had left for him. The constant bickering between Tom and Amanda that is driving Laura into the nervous state she is in, could be mitigated if Mr. Wingfield were there to alleviate some of the stress off of Tom and Amanda. Mr. Wingfield leaving the way he did has impacted every member of his family, and has potentially ruined the lives of his wife and children.
The third and final reason Tom is unhappy and wants to leave, is due to his dreams being put on hold to support his family. Tom envisions a life of adventure, something of which he feels his life is meaningless without. After his father leaves, though not his obligation, Tom takes over the role as the man of the house. Tom feels that he is now responsible for taking care of his mother and sister. Even though Amanda and Laura need him, Tom decides anyway to leave them in search of his own adventures. Tom does not necessarily want to be unlike his father, he thinks of his wanting leave as a gene of sorts, a destiny, something he is supposed to do. When Tom’s coworker, Jim, is invited to dinner, Tom even confides in Jim that Tom is “like my [his] father” and that he is “the
Tom is a character many people in this generation can relate to. Although the play was written many years ago Tom is just like any other millennial from this day and age. He basically hates his job because it’s not fun. He can’t cope with the fact that he has to pick up all the slack his father left behind. He even seems to think that running away will fix everything. All of these things are very common in society today.
In summary, the three literary elements theme, symbolism, and characterization play a big part in giving life to the play. Starting with the characters having difficulty accepting reality, symbols that represent each of them, and the attitude of their character.