The American Dream: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
An astute look into The American Dream through Tennessee Williams’ characters in The Glass Menagerie If, when hearing about the American Dream, you feel as though you are not fulfilling what is meant to be an easily accessible dream you are not alone. Many people go through life without achieving the American Dream, so many that Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie addresses many of the American Dream’s failings. It is made clear that Williams is not upholding the American Dream: the belief that in America, anyone can improve their life no matter who they are. Williams’ use of the Wingfield family to challenge these traditional view of the American Dream made use of a masterful …show more content…
Amanda’s dialogue centres on her past glory days and is filled with imagery, painting a picture of her as a beautiful southern belle, which contrasts with her reality. She tries to help her children aspire to greatness and laments their lack of motivation. The audience is given access to her innermost thoughts through her dialogue as she voices them repeatedly: ‘I wanted to find a hole and hide myself in it forever!’ The American Dream is shown to be a past longing for Amanda, which has begun to bear onto her children, ‘all of our plans – my hopes and ambitions for you,’ but also as a weight on her shoulders, driving her to prioritise their success over everything else. Through Amanda’s dialogue the audience realises her feelings of loss in her children, foreshadowing the defeat of Amanda’s …show more content…
In an extended metaphor, Williams has Jim, a representation of the American Dream, shatter her unicorn’s horn, representing her unique nature. The American Dream advertises itself as open to all but Williams takes a more cynical stance, indicating how people with differences, like a disability, are chewed up and spit out by the system without another glance. Laura is characterised as a delicate, vulnerable person and the dialogue from other characters about her reinforces that characterisation, ‘she’s terribly shy and lives in a world of her own and those things make her seem a little peculiar.’ Through her interactions with Jim, the only character to really get others to open up, it is revealed that Laura is brought down by self-consciousness about her deformity, ‘You know what I judge to be the trouble with you? Inferiority complex!’ Due to this, Laura isn’t able to maintain a dream of her own or aspire to anything more than staying within her mother’s home and there is no place in the American Dream for someone like that. As revealed by Amanda and her interactions with a business teacher, ‘The first time we gave a speed-test, she broke down completely,’ every time Laura attempts to venture into a new opportunity she panics and withdraws back into her own world. Williams describes the urban apartment building in which the Wingfield’s
An astute look into The American Dream through Tennessee Williams’ characters in The Glass Menagerie If, when hearing about the American Dream, you feel as though you are not fulfilling what is meant to be an easily accessible dream you are not alone. Many people go through life without achieving the American Dream, so many that Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie addresses many of the American Dream’s failings. It is made clear that Williams is not upholding the American Dream: the belief that in America, anyone can improve their life no matter who they are. Williams’ use of the Wingfield family to challenge these traditional view of the American Dream made use of a masterful …show more content…
Amanda’s dialogue centres on her past glory days and is filled with imagery, painting a picture of her as a beautiful southern belle, which contrasts with her reality. She tries to help her children aspire to greatness and laments their lack of motivation. The audience is given access to her innermost thoughts through her dialogue as she voices them repeatedly: ‘I wanted to find a hole and hide myself in it forever!’ The American Dream is shown to be a past longing for Amanda, which has begun to bear onto her children, ‘all of our plans – my hopes and ambitions for you,’ but also as a weight on her shoulders, driving her to prioritise their success over everything else. Through Amanda’s dialogue the audience realises her feelings of loss in her children, foreshadowing the defeat of Amanda’s …show more content…
In an extended metaphor, Williams has Jim, a representation of the American Dream, shatter her unicorn’s horn, representing her unique nature. The American Dream advertises itself as open to all but Williams takes a more cynical stance, indicating how people with differences, like a disability, are chewed up and spit out by the system without another glance. Laura is characterised as a delicate, vulnerable person and the dialogue from other characters about her reinforces that characterisation, ‘she’s terribly shy and lives in a world of her own and those things make her seem a little peculiar.’ Through her interactions with Jim, the only character to really get others to open up, it is revealed that Laura is brought down by self-consciousness about her deformity, ‘You know what I judge to be the trouble with you? Inferiority complex!’ Due to this, Laura isn’t able to maintain a dream of her own or aspire to anything more than staying within her mother’s home and there is no place in the American Dream for someone like that. As revealed by Amanda and her interactions with a business teacher, ‘The first time we gave a speed-test, she broke down completely,’ every time Laura attempts to venture into a new opportunity she panics and withdraws back into her own world. Williams describes the urban apartment building in which the Wingfield’s