The duality of the ever-dreamy Tom Wingfield Essay Example

that is hardly noticeable, yet it puts her at a disadvantage in life. Amanda, on the other hand, can be perceived as both headstrong and gentle, with a patronizing nature towards her children's welfare and success. Despite her occasional pushiness, she displays tenderness through her strong endurance and tireless persistence in ensuring her children's triumphs, even in small matters. This portrays her as a character with good intentions but deeply flawed and often misunderstood. Her willingness to make sacrifices for her loved ones is demonstrated through accepting a humiliating job selling magazine subscriptions to boost Laura's chances of marriage and sending Laura to business college to secure her future, which ultimately resulted in failure.

Laura's inherently shy nature and physical disadvantages place a motherly responsibility on Amanda to ensure her proper marriage and success, so that she may avoid Amanda's own experiences of abandonment and social downfall. Despite depending on Tom for economic support, Amanda sees herself as the second provider for him and for Laura, using her earnings to send Laura to business college to improve her prospects. She feels personally responsible for Tom's success and hopes to keep him from following his father's path by making sacrifices. Ultimately, Amanda hopes that once Laura is married and independent, Tom will be free to pursue his own dreams.

According to Williams (66), it is important to protect your young and dependent sister until she can fend for herself. Williams views Laura Wingfield's situation as more serious than Amanda's.

Due to a childhood illness, Laura is physically handicapped and this affects her emotionally as well, rendering her shy and passive like fragile glass. She lives in her

own world, surrounded by her collection of glass animals and old records. Despite not being very active, Laura plays a crucial role in the story as the plot revolves around her. Her frailty makes her almost alienated from society and her attempts at joining social groups such as business college and the Young People's League have been disastrous as described by Amanda, her mother.

According to Williams (66), Laura is a homebody with an "inferiority complex" as described by Jim O'Connor. He observes that she is self-conscious and has low self-esteem. However, despite her fragility, Laura is a compassionate character who cares deeply for her family. In Scene Four, Amanda tells Tom that Laura wept over the impression of his unhappiness in the Wingfield household. This fear of losing Tom demonstrates her desire to maintain family unity.

Despite her dependence on her family members due to physical and psychological limitations, Laura proves to be a stronger character than we may have thought. This is evident in the way she handles the days she spends wandering the city in order to avoid attending her business classes. While her responsibilities towards her family members may not be as significant as Tom and Amanda's, Laura still holds a deeper sense of responsibility towards Tom, as he chooses to stay in the Wingfield household despite his Merchant Marine dreams. This is demonstrated by Tom's care for Laura, such as when he gave her the magic scarf after returning from the movies, and how he couldn't forget her even after leaving the household in his last line. Additionally, Laura is responsible towards Amanda as she is expected to recreate her mother's

youth and emulate her past.

Tom Wingfield plays two roles in the play as both a narrator and a character who recalls and reenacts past events. Much like Amanda, Tom's character is often contradictory and confused. He may provide a clear explanation of events to the audience, but his emotional and restless nature can inform his actions based on memory. Tom follows in his mother's footsteps, living in a dreamy world of poetry, literature, and movies in a quest to escape reality. He dreams of adventure, including joining the Merchant Marines and traveling. While headstrong and at times angry, Tom is patient and caring towards his family.

Despite his aversion to the Wingfield household, Tom remains to support Amanda and Laura. However, he eventually departs. Although Amanda continuously nags him, he ultimately follows his sister's advice to treat her well. While Tom's abandonment of Amanda and Laura appears harsh and unfeeling, Williams clarifies that "His nature is not remorseless, but to escape from a trap he has to act without pity" (Williams, 22). Tom reveals his emotional attachment towards Laura by attempting to flee her haunting image after his final descent down the fire escape. Acting as the primary provider for his family, Tom serves as a father figure replacement. He adheres to Amanda's belief that he is responsible for his family as the "right hand bower" and Laura's matchmaker. However, Tom's independent nature prompts him to break away by leaving his family.

The reality is that Tom does not want any responsibilities and would rather escape, as evidenced by his disdain for the warehouse. He expressed this clearly to Amanda when he said, "You think I'm

crazy about the warehouse?... I'd rather somebody pick up a crowbar and battered out my brains..."

Despite feeling envious of the dead every time you holler "Rise and Shine!", I motivate myself to get out of bed.

According to Tennessee Williams, giving up one's dreams and desires in exchange for a monthly payment of sixty-five dollars is a heavy price to pay (Williams, 52). The characters in The Glass Menagerie, including Amanda, Laura, and Tom Wingfield, all have their own methods of escaping reality and slipping into their own fantasy world. However, their responsibilities towards each other serve as a constant reminder that they cannot fully ignore the real world. Amanda Wingfield, who is both a dreamer and a flawed yet caring mother, takes on the role of the second provider in the family with the intention of boosting her daughter's marriage prospects and helping Tom avoid his father's negative traits.

Tom Wingfield is a responsible son who serves as the primary provider for his family and must also find a suitor for his sister. Although hardheaded, he is patient. Laura Wingfield is fragile and unique, akin to a glass unicorn or blue rose. Like transparent glass, she adopts Amanda's colors as a recreation of the past and acts as Tom's reason to remain in the household. Unfortunately, their responsibilities slowly eroded their fantasies over time.