Part 1 Literary

The play The Glass Menagerie takes place in 1937 and centers around Tom Wingfield and his mother Amanda and fragile sister Laura. Tom works to support the family but longs to escape his mother's nagging and his responsibility to care for Laura. Amanda is overbearing in her attempts to find a husband for Laura. Tom brings home Jim, a coworker, to meet Laura but Jim admits he is engaged after an awkward encounter. Tom leaves home for good, still haunted by memories of his sister.

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Part 1 Literary

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Salvador Mira

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Part 1.

Literary
The Summary
The play The Glass Menagerie takes place in the Wingfield family's apartment in
St. Louis, 1937. Tom Wingfield is the narrator and addresses us from the undated and
eternal present, although at the play's first production (1944-5), Tom's constant indirect
references to the violence of the Second World War would have been powerfully
current. The action of the play centers on Tom, his mother Amanda, and his sister
Laura. Tom is the family's breadwinner and works at the Continental Shoemakers
warehouse during the day, but he disappears nightly "to the movies". Amanda is a loving
mother, but her meddling and nagging are hard to live with for Tom.
Laura is a frightened and terribly shy girl, with weak nerves and a slight lame in
one leg. Amanda dreams of the long-ago days when she was a young Southern belle
and the darling of her small town's social scene. She enrolls Laura in classes at
Rubicam's Business College, hoping that a career in business would make Laura self-
sufficient, but she discovers that Laura stopped attending class Amanda gives up on a
business career for Laura and puts all her hopes into finding a husband for her. Tom
longs to be free to abandon Amanda and Laura and set off into the world, but his
mother's nagging and his frail sister's idiosyncrasies make the apartment a depressing
and oppressive place. Tom's only escape is his frequent visits to the movies, but his
nightly disappearances anger and baffle Amanda.
Amanda tries to make a deal with Tom to find a husband for Laura, and Tom
brings home Jim O'Connor, a fellow employee at the warehouse. Jim chats with Laura,
growing increasingly flirtatious, until he finally kisses her, but he admits he has a fiancé
and cannot call again. Amanda is furious and accuses Tom of playing a cruel joke on
them, and Tom leaves for good. In his closing monologue, Tom admits that he cannot
escape the memory of his sister, Laura still haunts him.
The Conflict
Tom Wingfield's own aspirations and obligations to others, as well as his romantic
ideas of the universe and reality, are the two main sources of tension in his life.
The Suspense Part
In scene number seven (7) when the accident makes Jim more aware of Laura
as a woman, and her peculiarities are attractive to him. His impulsive kiss, however,
breaks the spell. He lights a cigarette, which reminds the audience of Tom’s use of
cigarettes as an escape mechanism: rather than the gum that sticks him to the scene,
the cigarette lights his way out.
Describing the Characters
 Amanda Wingfield
Amanda is an abandoned wife and single mother living in a small apartment
in St. Louis. She dreams of her past and of her daughter's future, but is
unwilling to recognize the realities of the present. She makes a deal with Tom
to find a suitable replacement for himself in the form of a husband for Laura,
threatening her son's future in order to ensure her own.
 Laura Wingfield
Laura is crippled from childhood and is unable to face the world outside of
the Wingfield apartment. Jim's nickname for her, "Blue Roses," suggests her
odd beauty and isolation. She is like Rose, Tennessee Williams' real-life sister,
who becomes helpless and impossibly passive due to Tom's own decisions.
Tom has trouble leaving as long as he thinks of his sister.
 Tom Wingfield (PROTAGONIST)
Tom is an aspiring poet who works in the Continental Shoemakers
warehouse. He loves his mother and sister, but feels trapped at home. His
mother makes him a deal: as long as he finds a husband for Laura, he's free
to escape. However, Tom is trapped by his own guilt and repressed rage for
being put in a position where his freedom comes at the expense of his
conscience.
 Jim O'Connor
Jim is the long-awaited gentleman caller for Laura and is outgoing,
enthusiastic, and committed to self-improvement. He kisses her and raises
her hopes before revealing he is engaged. He is also a symbol of the
"expected something that we live for".