The Glass Menagerie is like a life revolved around glass figures in another world.
This story is told from one of the main characters Tom view. Tom is the narrator and also the son/brother. Amanda is the mother. Laura is the daughter/sister. Jim is the gentleman caller.
This story is about a middle-class single parent home. Amanda husband ran off to explore the world, leaving Amanda there to raise their two children. Tom is the man of the house now, he works at a warehouse and takes care of his mother and sister. Laura was diagnosed with pleurosis at a young age had to wear a brace.
Amanda does her best trying to find a gentleman caller for Laura. She tells her gentlemen caller stories repeatedly to her children. She forces for Laura to have gentlemen callers. She gets so desperate that Laura has them, that she even ask Tom to invite one of his coworkers from the warehouse. She expresses throughout the entire play that she wants better for her children.
Tom has to work and provide for his mother and sister throughout the entire play, well that’s how it starts. Throughout the plot, Tom always tells his mother he is going to movies every night. But he was going to the same spot his dad had been going. He was going to gamble every night. Tom stop paying the bills to save up before he left. Tom has other plans to do the same as his dad and move on his own. He wants to go and tour the world as well. At the end of the story, Tom did just that and ran away. Leaving his mother and sister to take care of themselves.
Laura was diagnosed with pleurosis as a child. She always felt like she was different from other people because of her disease. However, Laura is always making glass figures. She calls them The Glass Menagerie. She seemed to have a special one that was a unicorn.
Jim was Tom coworker, who was also Laura gentleman caller. Jim had no idea that he was really there for Laura until after the fact. He and Laura talked about old high school memories. Then, he convinced Laura to dance with him in the living room. He accidentally knocked over Laura’s favorite glass figure, the unicorn. After apologizing, Laura and Jim kissed. This was Laura first kiss. Then, Jim tells her he is engaged to Betty.
I feel as this book was a very great play and a must read. Laura is probably heartbroken, hoping Jim comes back to her. Amanda is most likely hurt and feels like Tom running off is her fault because he wasn’t truly happy there. Tom is my favorite because he didn’t let anybody including his mother and sister get in the way of him chasing his dream!
Chase your dreams no matter what!!!
By Elisa Miller
