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Who Is Trapped In The Glass Menagerie

Decent Essays

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. They are not a perfect family and often bicker with each other in the house sometimes. This family is like every other family, there are times when you don’t get along and times when you do. The family has to deal with the father/husband leaving, Laura’s leg with one being slightly shorter than the other, and one income in the house. Because of the obstacles the family faces, Tom, Laura and Amanda all feel trapped in their circumstances in various …show more content…

Tom is Amanda’s son and Laura’s younger brother. He connects well with the theme of feeling trapped. Tom is the father figure of the household. He is trapped by the responsibility of having to assist his mother and sister. “.. [Tom] had to quit college to work in the shoe warehouse. Trapped in the mechanical job of typing orders eight hours a day” (Hale). He works at the shoe warehouse to bring in the income to support the family. Tom has to pay for the water bill and the electricity bills. His income goes to his mother and sister and he doesn’t get to spend it on himself. After being the father figure for so long, he’s becomes tired of it. “Honey, don’t push with your fingers. If you have to push with something, the thing to push with is the crust of bread. And chew-chew! Animals have sections in their stomachs which enable them to digest food without mastication, but human beings are supposed to chew their food before they swallow it down” (Williams 1167). He gets annoyed with his mother Amanda, when she complains about the way he eats. He gets annoyed by the fact that she keeps telling him how to eat his food. Her annoyance kills his appetite and he no longer enjoys his dinner. Tom starts looking for ways to escape his mother and sister. He believes that if he leaves them he will be happier. He wishes to spend more time writing poetry and traveling. In fact, sometimes he writes poetry while working. In order for …show more content…

Laura was born with one leg slightly shorter than the other. She calls herself crippled. Her mother tells her she is not crippled, just born with a defect. After throwing up on the floor, Laura was too embarrassed to go back. Laura dropped out of her business college only after attending a few days. Instead of going to college, she walks around the park, goes to the art museum, and the zoo. Laura does this to convince her mom that she is still attending college when in reality she isn’t. “Tom’s painfully shy and physically crippled sister Laura hides in a fantasy world of glass animals” (Moe). She lacks the self-esteem for friends and communication. She has trapped herself in a world of glass figurines. Her mother calls them her glass menagerie. Amanda asks Tom to find Laura a gentleman caller from his job. Tom finds a man by the name of Jim O’Connor, who happens to be Laura’s high school crush. Jim is the best possible choice for Laura. When she finds out its Jim, she faints. She slowly starts opening up to Jim more, by mentioning how she went to all the performances he was in. Laura tells Jim about her glass collection, which she never lets anyone touch. “Oh be careful-if you breathe, it breaks (Williams 1204)! Laura is just as fragile as the glass figurines. Laura doesn’t want to pick favorites, but the unicorn one is her favorite and her oldest one. Her unicorn stays on the shelf with a group of horses. Laura

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