“You know it didn’t take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, Laura. But who in the hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail?” Asks Tom Wingfield in the play “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee William. Tom is already making excuses for his weak decision to abandon his family and run away to the Merchant Marines. In Tom’s eyes he cannot escape his “2 by 4” situation without removing a few nails, like his elderly mother and his disabled sister. Tom’s decision to abruptly leave his family, literally in the dark, comes from a place of weakness. A strong person would have made worked hard, made sacrifices, and made arrangements for the loved ones he was going to leave behind.
When Tom sees Malvolio the Magician escape from the nailed coffin without disrupting a single nail he interprets …show more content…
Jim tells him before dinner “Mr. Mendoza was speaking to me about you… You’re going to be out of a job if you don’t wake up.” If Tom wanted to prepare financially before moving on he could have tried to excel at his job. Jim and Tom have likely worked at the warehouse a similar amount of time. However, Jim is making $20 more a month than Tom. What could Tom have achieved with an extra 30% in his salary? In addition to not putting the effort to earn extra money at work Tom was also frivolously spent money. He spends money on going to the movies most nights, drinking and smoking. Tom’s mother tries to explain the benefits of saving through sacrifice, telling him if he quit smoking a pack a day he could pay for a night school class. But, Tom does not want to sacrifice his vices. He wants everything he wants with no more than minimal effort. He is so tragically selfish that to have what he wants, his dues for the Merchant Marines paid, he skips paying the power bill. Tom literally leaves his elderly mother and handicapped sister in the dark to pursue his
When Tom sees Malvolio the Magician escape from the nailed coffin without disrupting a single nail he interprets …show more content…
Jim tells him before dinner “Mr. Mendoza was speaking to me about you… You’re going to be out of a job if you don’t wake up.” If Tom wanted to prepare financially before moving on he could have tried to excel at his job. Jim and Tom have likely worked at the warehouse a similar amount of time. However, Jim is making $20 more a month than Tom. What could Tom have achieved with an extra 30% in his salary? In addition to not putting the effort to earn extra money at work Tom was also frivolously spent money. He spends money on going to the movies most nights, drinking and smoking. Tom’s mother tries to explain the benefits of saving through sacrifice, telling him if he quit smoking a pack a day he could pay for a night school class. But, Tom does not want to sacrifice his vices. He wants everything he wants with no more than minimal effort. He is so tragically selfish that to have what he wants, his dues for the Merchant Marines paid, he skips paying the power bill. Tom literally leaves his elderly mother and handicapped sister in the dark to pursue his