The Glass Tower Character Analysis

The end result of of a fake life is a struggle about one’s self. In “The Glass Tower” by Reinaldo Arenas, the main character, Alfredo, Flees Cuba and moves to Miami. Alfredo, highly praised for his writing, is invited to numerous parties in his honor. His social anxiety and difficulty in conveying himself makes it impossible to write the story that has been stuck in his head for years. His stress creates so much unease in his life, he experience illusions of his characters during one of his parties. People begin to question his sanity and Alfredo, unable to be in control of his illusions, faces struggles with his identity and mental health all contributing to his story. Over the course of the story, Alfredo struggles to express himself, and …show more content…
Alfredo has been struggling because he “had been carrying around” a story “ in his head for years, his characters, Berta, Nicolas, Delfin, Daniel, and Olga constantly vied for his attention”(2). Tension escalates when characters start to beg for their freedom. Alfredo’s inability to write keeps him from living a complete life as an author. During a gathering in his honor, Alfredo faces the continuous urge to write: “... he kissed the lady's hand, he decided to search for his pen and pencil…in the hope of jotting down a few notes. But the countess misconstrued his intentions.”(20). This an example of the misunderstandings that show Alfredo’s struggle to express his thoughts, which is that he doesn’t speak up about what he wants to write.In the midst of the party, his characters appear outside the glass tower: “I know exactly what you mean…distracted by his characters, who were now struggling on the other side of the glass like insects drawn to a hermetically sealed streetlamp.” (24). Alfredo still tries to hide the fact that he must write down the characters, instead ignores them. This quote shows how when Alfredo chooses to meet the social expectations, the struggle between what he wants and what he does escalates. The inability to express one’s thoughts hinders him from living a life he wants but instead a fake