Tom's Struggles

Similarly, the significance of Tom’s occupation and success as a black proprietor in this tale substantiates the presence of material determinism, as his service provisions as a barber tie in with how the needs of the white elite controls and regulates his livelihood: “Many an envious eye had been cast upon [his shop]. The lease had only a year to run. Strong pressure, he knew, had been exerted by a white rival to secure the reversion” (Chesnutt 251). Although Tom maintains a sense of pride in his achievements, it is an irrefutable fact that his success depended upon the white elite. Whether as customers or as part of his competitive rivals, Tom’s success was in jeopardy regardless of which party he succumbed to. Should he have chosen to

The world is crafted through humanity’s perceptions, shaped by their shared experiences of the world, yet differentiated by each individual experience. Within The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, the ideas of overwhelming truth, individual perceptions, and the flaws of humanity are all explored. Through the various characters, with a specific focus on Tom’s narration, Williams argues that the truth is only a subjective idea that is created through the perceptions of humankind, molded through humanity’s flaws.

In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams beautifully encapsulates man’s desire to escape from uncomfortable emotional and physical situations. Whether he’s showing a young man trapped in a factory job he hates, an aging single mother who mourns for her life as Southern belle, or a young lady who fears that she’ll spend her life alone, he clearly demonstrates these desires and fears for his audience. Williams shows us through the actions of his characters how humans handle a wide variety of uncomfortable situations, and how these situations dramatically influence one’s ability to thrive. The playwright doesn’t seem to believe in the idea of “bloom where you’re planted”, and the desire to escape becomes a major theme of the play, demonstrated across multiple characters in a wide variety of ways. Creative individuals often do not thrive in noncreative, industrial environments. Williams demonstrates this clearly in this “memory play”, which carries many autobiographical element. Tom Wingfield represents his own character, Williams himself, and also serves as a narrator, making him quite the complex character. Williams’s uses Tom to show how an emotionally complex, creative individual can quickly feel trapped and tied down in a factory job, longing to get out, see the world, and pursue a job with more creative elements. Tom’s escapism, drinking, and evening theatrical adventures all reflect the life of the playwright himself, as Williams was known to struggle with alcoholism

Tom’s ordeal greatly influenced the prioritization of his values. He faces a conflict where he has to choose between his work and his life. This conflict leads him to make a tremendous change in his values.

Tom Wingfield is a free spirit, in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, always wanting to fly away: “I descended the steps of the fire-escape for a last time” (7. Tom). Tom wishes for adventure, and excitement, for experience new places and new situations. However, he is haunted by the memory of his beloved sister, Laura. Stricken with guilt for leaving Laura, he tries to chase the memory of his fragile sister away with alcohol, cigarettes, and movies. Many things can drive a man to leave his family behind. Perhaps he hates how his mother treats him, or where he works and how much he works for, or that he just wants adventure.

The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, is a play narrated by Tom Wingfield, one of the three main characters in the play. The story is based on Tom’s memories of his past life while living with his mother Amanda and sister, Laura, during 1937 in St. Louis. These memories are skewed because of his inability to escape from his feelings of entrapment and the abandonment from his sister. The title suggest that the characters are a hodgepodge of fragile, sensitive, opposite people striving to survive life in the unrealistic fantasy world they each have created for themselves during the great depression. This paper will argue the symbolism between the characters themselves and Laura’s actual glass menagerie. The characters in the play are symbolic of a glass menagerie in the following ways: the characters exist in an unrealistic fantasy world, they glimmer in certain lights but not in others, and they are extremely fragile.

In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee William’s exemplifies how it is impossible to escape reality through diversions and other distractions. Tom Wingfield is constantly trying to get away from his real life by going to the movies constantly, smoking, and drinking. Tom states, “Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I’d be where he is, gone. As far as the system of transportation reaches”. Tom is saying that he feels a sense of imprisonment when he is focusing on his real life. If he was to only worry about himself, he would’ve already left to pursue his dreams, but because he still needs to take care of his family he doesn’t leave. He smokes and drinks to forget and always goes to the movies to divert himself from the outside world.

Tom’s Struggles Have you ever had something you struggled with in life? The play “The Glass Menagerie” focuses on a family and their many problems. In the play, Tom is a character who is an aspiring poet who works in a shoe warehouse to support his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. Mr.Wingfield, Tom and Laura’s father, ran off years ago. One of the main characters, Tom, faces many challenges with his job, mother, and life.

In Tennessee William’s work “The Glass Menagerie”, a theme that is well developed is feeling trapped. Williams and Tom, both share similarities. This theme fits well with Tom, Laura, and Amanda. They each have a feeling in which they are trapped. The family overcomes many obstacles from their past.

Continuously lusting after the ideal lifestyle only obtained by rich men, the people who are considered ‘somebody’, known and loved by everyone. Constantly in his pursuit of the pleasurable life of those, he considers ‘somebody’, consequently weaves a web of lies, dual personas, to multiple people. Since our first impression of Tom has never relived his reality, in his consistent pursuit to be his vision of a ‘somebody’. The question becomes how he is going to succeed in his pursuit of being a ‘somebody’, will he continue being Dickie or Tom, or start over as someone else.

This novel illustrates multiple characters with unique personalities. One of them is Tom Wingfield, which is the son of Amanda and lives in a materialistic society. His mother depends on him to support the family. However, Tom does not want the responsibility to care for the house and his family and chooses to leave instead. In addition, the fire escape is an important object in the play. Tom is a character that uniquely reacts to the society in The Glass Menagerie. He shows how a person can act when in a tough situation.

A Glass Menagerie is a collection of small, wild animals which can be put out for display for public view. Tennessee Williams's play “The Glass Menagerie”, is about a family with personalities so different that they do not get along. The family could be considered wild animals all in their own way. In the story, Laura’s menagerie breaks multiple times at the slightest touch. The title of the play “The Glass Menagerie is represented by the entire family because, like the menagerie, each family member displays fragile characteristics.

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams had ordinary people in an ordinary life that closely resembled the influences of Williams’ personal life while having reoccurring themes and motifs throughout the story. The play has been done by many with some variations in the scripts and setting while still clinging to the basic ideas of the original play.

In the memory play, “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams we will discuss the theme escape by providing examples of how Amanda, Tom, Laura, and Jim try to escape their current situations in the play. We will talk about each of these characters in the essay below.

An action as extreme as abandonment can only be the result of one failing to find happiness in their circumstances. People will often run away from their life to create one in which they hope to find more meaning. In Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, he presents the possible reasons behind abandonment through Tom’s attitude, actions, and thoughts.