Tom is Human: an Analysis of the Character Tom from Williams '
The Glass Menagerie The character of Tom in The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, polarizes opinions among readers of the play. Some readers sympathize with Tom, seeing him as a victim of circumstance who is justified in pursuing his own happiness, even at the possible expense of his family 's well being. On the other hand, some readers see Tom as worthy of scorn for his selfishness and disregard for his responsibilities. These two ways of viewing Tom are not mutually exclusive. In the real world, moral ambiguity is very common and Williams does an excellent job of presenting Tom as both a pitiable character justifiably pursuing happiness and as a selfish man who puts his …show more content…
“Tom: I go to the movies because- I like adventure. Adventure is something I don 't have much of at work, so I go to the movies. Amanda: But, you go to the movies entirely too much! Tom: I like a lot of adventure” (Williams 1738). “He knew of my secret practice of retiring to a cabinet of the washroom to work on poems when business was slack in the warehouse” (Williams 1747) Tom is a poet who longs to see the world through adventure. He is prevented from pursuing his goals in earnest, however, by the demands on his time from his work in the warehouse, work that is made critical in part by his sister Laura 's failure to learn a marketable skill from the Rubicam 's Business College as well as his mother, Amanda 's lackluster performance as a telemarketing salesperson. Amanda 's controlling nature also puts demands on his time away from work, further complicating his situation and making it more difficult to pursue his goals. These circumstances are the primary factors considered by those who sympathize with Tom, and see his actions as …show more content…
The tone of the play is mournful. Tom as the narrator remembers these events as the ones that made him ashamed of himself and sent him into the state of depression that he now finds himself in. “Amanda: you are the only young man that I know of who ignores the fact that the future becomes the present, the present the past, and past turns into everlasting regret if you don 't plan for it!” (Williams 1744). His mother 's haunting words ring true. Ironically, Tom 's pursuit of happiness brought him farther from it. For Tom, happiness can now only be found by forgetting the past. This is shown dramatically by the imagery at the very end of the play, which describes Laura blowing out the candles and being concealed in the shadows. These shadows represent the concealing nature of time past in the face of current distraction. The image of Tom as the brooding narrator is what defines the character for those who choose to pity
The Glass Menagerie The character of Tom in The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, polarizes opinions among readers of the play. Some readers sympathize with Tom, seeing him as a victim of circumstance who is justified in pursuing his own happiness, even at the possible expense of his family 's well being. On the other hand, some readers see Tom as worthy of scorn for his selfishness and disregard for his responsibilities. These two ways of viewing Tom are not mutually exclusive. In the real world, moral ambiguity is very common and Williams does an excellent job of presenting Tom as both a pitiable character justifiably pursuing happiness and as a selfish man who puts his …show more content…
“Tom: I go to the movies because- I like adventure. Adventure is something I don 't have much of at work, so I go to the movies. Amanda: But, you go to the movies entirely too much! Tom: I like a lot of adventure” (Williams 1738). “He knew of my secret practice of retiring to a cabinet of the washroom to work on poems when business was slack in the warehouse” (Williams 1747) Tom is a poet who longs to see the world through adventure. He is prevented from pursuing his goals in earnest, however, by the demands on his time from his work in the warehouse, work that is made critical in part by his sister Laura 's failure to learn a marketable skill from the Rubicam 's Business College as well as his mother, Amanda 's lackluster performance as a telemarketing salesperson. Amanda 's controlling nature also puts demands on his time away from work, further complicating his situation and making it more difficult to pursue his goals. These circumstances are the primary factors considered by those who sympathize with Tom, and see his actions as …show more content…
The tone of the play is mournful. Tom as the narrator remembers these events as the ones that made him ashamed of himself and sent him into the state of depression that he now finds himself in. “Amanda: you are the only young man that I know of who ignores the fact that the future becomes the present, the present the past, and past turns into everlasting regret if you don 't plan for it!” (Williams 1744). His mother 's haunting words ring true. Ironically, Tom 's pursuit of happiness brought him farther from it. For Tom, happiness can now only be found by forgetting the past. This is shown dramatically by the imagery at the very end of the play, which describes Laura blowing out the candles and being concealed in the shadows. These shadows represent the concealing nature of time past in the face of current distraction. The image of Tom as the brooding narrator is what defines the character for those who choose to pity