The Glass Menagerie
One of the many aspects of The Glass Menagerie that fascinates readers, is that it relies so heavily on memory while exaggerating the emotional value of events that take plays throughout the play itself. The word ‘nonrealistic’ is repeated several times in its stage directions solely to highlight the fact that it isn’t supposed to be depicted as actual reality. A character that represents the fantasy element of the play is Amanda, who is arguably the antagonist of the play itself. While she isn’t ‘bad’ in nature, she does provide the conflict that moves the story along for both Laura and Tom, the characters most likely to be the protagonists of The Glass Menagerie. Both of them seek some sort of resolution to their storylines; …show more content…
The Glass Menagerie showcases growth for both characters, but it’s arguable that Tom is the character whose journey we followed, leading me into thinking that he is, in fact, the protagonist of the story. That being said, the ‘story’ can be defined as the journey that all three members of the Wingfield household take – ‘reality’ is a word that comes to mind when describing the story of The Glass Menagerie. Tom, Laura, and Amanda are all shown to have escaped into their own little worlds at the beginning of the story; Tom went to the movies seeking adventure, since he was too afraid to go after it for himself, Laura had shrunk into herself so much that she was incapable of surviving in the real world and found solace in her glass collection, and Amanda distorted reality in her own head by telling long, doubtful tales of her past and about how glamorous her life was before she had gotten married to try to comfort herself. The story follows these three characters as their illusions of reality are shattered completely, leaving them to decide where to go from there. Amanda and Laura draw back into themselves but are shown to have grown a little, as Amanda isn’t silly in a dreamlike manner anymore, but instead ‘has dignity and tragic beauty’ while Laura is shown to smile at her comforting
One of the many aspects of The Glass Menagerie that fascinates readers, is that it relies so heavily on memory while exaggerating the emotional value of events that take plays throughout the play itself. The word ‘nonrealistic’ is repeated several times in its stage directions solely to highlight the fact that it isn’t supposed to be depicted as actual reality. A character that represents the fantasy element of the play is Amanda, who is arguably the antagonist of the play itself. While she isn’t ‘bad’ in nature, she does provide the conflict that moves the story along for both Laura and Tom, the characters most likely to be the protagonists of The Glass Menagerie. Both of them seek some sort of resolution to their storylines; …show more content…
The Glass Menagerie showcases growth for both characters, but it’s arguable that Tom is the character whose journey we followed, leading me into thinking that he is, in fact, the protagonist of the story. That being said, the ‘story’ can be defined as the journey that all three members of the Wingfield household take – ‘reality’ is a word that comes to mind when describing the story of The Glass Menagerie. Tom, Laura, and Amanda are all shown to have escaped into their own little worlds at the beginning of the story; Tom went to the movies seeking adventure, since he was too afraid to go after it for himself, Laura had shrunk into herself so much that she was incapable of surviving in the real world and found solace in her glass collection, and Amanda distorted reality in her own head by telling long, doubtful tales of her past and about how glamorous her life was before she had gotten married to try to comfort herself. The story follows these three characters as their illusions of reality are shattered completely, leaving them to decide where to go from there. Amanda and Laura draw back into themselves but are shown to have grown a little, as Amanda isn’t silly in a dreamlike manner anymore, but instead ‘has dignity and tragic beauty’ while Laura is shown to smile at her comforting