“Through Glass”
Family unity is achieved through each family member supporting each other and working together in harmony. Although this is not the case in the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. In this play the family is portrayed as dysfunctional, they seem to be together because they feel obligated to be part of the Wingfield family. The father abandoned the family, making Amanda, his wife, responsible for the children, Tom and Laura. As time passed, Tom felt obligated to maintain the family. Tom hated his life, he had a job at a shoe warehouse which he despised, but continued working there because he had to sustain the economic aspect of the household. He felt responsible for his family, which in turn made him feel confined …show more content…
Each individual character has dreams and hopes that they wish they could pursue, but because they have put the needs of others before them, are unable to. Such confinement to the family caused each family member to live a life of their own. Tom has the greatest battle against his obligation to work to support his mother and sister. Amanda worries a lot about her kid’s future which sometimes makes her seem very controlling because she tries to have her past southern-like lifestyle. Laura has a very low self-esteem, escaping reality through her glass figurines. As critic Ramadan said “Each character has a role in his or her own mental play. Each character then tries to drag its co-characters into its own circle of entanglements in vain” (Ramadan). The family’s dysfunctionality causes the family bond to break, blaming the father that abandoned them in such circumstances forcing them to remain with each other for support. The obligation that each character feels could portray that the characters are still stuck in the past since they can’t forget what happened to them. The atmosphere at the Wingfield’s is not inviting at all, and after being unsatisfied with his confinement, Tom decides to pursue his hopes and dreams leaving his mom and sister
Family unity is achieved through each family member supporting each other and working together in harmony. Although this is not the case in the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. In this play the family is portrayed as dysfunctional, they seem to be together because they feel obligated to be part of the Wingfield family. The father abandoned the family, making Amanda, his wife, responsible for the children, Tom and Laura. As time passed, Tom felt obligated to maintain the family. Tom hated his life, he had a job at a shoe warehouse which he despised, but continued working there because he had to sustain the economic aspect of the household. He felt responsible for his family, which in turn made him feel confined …show more content…
Each individual character has dreams and hopes that they wish they could pursue, but because they have put the needs of others before them, are unable to. Such confinement to the family caused each family member to live a life of their own. Tom has the greatest battle against his obligation to work to support his mother and sister. Amanda worries a lot about her kid’s future which sometimes makes her seem very controlling because she tries to have her past southern-like lifestyle. Laura has a very low self-esteem, escaping reality through her glass figurines. As critic Ramadan said “Each character has a role in his or her own mental play. Each character then tries to drag its co-characters into its own circle of entanglements in vain” (Ramadan). The family’s dysfunctionality causes the family bond to break, blaming the father that abandoned them in such circumstances forcing them to remain with each other for support. The obligation that each character feels could portray that the characters are still stuck in the past since they can’t forget what happened to them. The atmosphere at the Wingfield’s is not inviting at all, and after being unsatisfied with his confinement, Tom decides to pursue his hopes and dreams leaving his mom and sister