Amanda's Character In Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie

In ”The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams all the characters in the play live in a certain time period. For example, Amanda lives in the past because she frequently talks about her gentlemen callers she had when she was younger in Blue Mountain. Next, Tom lives in the present because he does not think about the past nor does he think about what he will do in the future. Finally, Jim lives in the future because when he talked to Laura, he constantly talked about what he was going to do and not what he has done. However, Laura lives in a certain timeless space where she just floats along life without any idea about anything with no real needs or wants. Floating along is perhaps the best time to live in because she is so fragile that she …show more content…
To start, Laura had to dropout of college because she broke down down while doing a speed test “‘Her hands shook so that she couldn't hit the right keys! The first time we gave a speed-test, she broke down completely - was sick at the stomach and almost had to be carried into the wash-room!’”(pg 9). When Amanda confronted her, Laura confessed that she just walks to parks or to the art museums and the bird houses for about nine and a half hours because she feels so guilty that she dropped out when Amanda and Tom poured so much money into that college. Then, Jim also hurt Laura badly by breaking her heart. The first and only gentleman caller that Laura received managed to coax her out of her shell and managed to get her talking and even managed to dance with her. However, after all of that, Jim broke her after kissing her by telling her that he goes “‘out all of the time with a girl named Betty.’” (pg 72). After hearing this, Laura practically stops talking for the rest of the play except for a couple of …show more content…
Amanda’s influence on Laura when it come to the future relates to the past because Amanda pressures Laura into getting married for their future since she would not be getting a job in business. She obsessed with the idea of Laura marrying into an easy life, “‘the idea of getting a gentleman caller for Laura began to play a more and more important part in Mother's calculations. It became an obsession.’”(pg. 13). Finally, Jim hurt her by telling her about his plans about the future because he later would get her to talk, dance and believe in him. Jim made her think that the nickname Blue Roses would no longer be applicable to her. Until he told her about Betty and he also hurt Amanda by having her hopes raised high until he shattered them because of his terrible