Joyce Barrett
Mr. Parrish
11-27-02
English essay 3
Thesis: Tennessee Williams, the author of the play, “The Glass Menagerie”, uses the strengths and weaknesses of the character, Tom, to evoke both pity and empathy from his audience.
Tom is one of five characters in the play, “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams. In the book titled, Masterplots, the editor states,
“Tom, the frustrated son, is the least successful of all the characters for he is the familiar type of the young man with literary ambitions imprisoned in the deathly monotony of a job in a warehouse…We can feel desperately sorry for him, because he is burdened with the care of a nagging mother and a crippled sister” (2271).
Tom also acts as the narrator of the play who is telling the story from his own memory. He is the son of the character, Amanda, and the brother of the character, Laura. Working in a shoemaker factory for the measly sum of $65.00 a month, Tom is the sole support of his mother and crippled sister. His life is monotonous and without adventure. His only means of escape from his miserable life is by drinking and attending the movies. Tennessee Williams uses the strengths and weaknesses of the character, Tom, to evoke both pity and empathy from his audience.
Tom is kind of a pathetic character who likes to write poetry and wishes to have adventure in his life. His poetry is actually a weakness of his, because he uses it as a means to help him escape the reality of his own life instead of facing his life as it is and making changes to it. In a Critical Commentary statement, the editor states, “Because of his sensitive nature and his desire to become a writer, Tom feels imprisoned from the adventures of the rest of the world” (Jackson, 66). Tom is somewhat of a closet poet who often goes off alone to a cabinet of the washroom during slow times at the shoemaker warehouse in order to write his poetry. His co-worker, Jim, who was the only one at the warehouse with whom Tom was on friendly terms, called him Shakespeare. Gradually Jim’s attitude affected the other co-workers, and according to Tom, “their hostility wore off and they also began to smile at me as people smile at an oddly fashioned dog who trots across their path at some distance” (Williams, 676).
To further escape his boring life and to immerse himself into the fantasies and adventures created by the movie screen, Tom leaves his home each evening to attend the movies. He finally begins to build up resentment towards the movies and their adventurous characters, and at one point, he states,
“All of those glamorous people ---having adventures---hogging it all, gobbling the whole thing up!...Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America, while everybody in America sits in a dark room and watches them have them!...I’m tired of the movies and I am about to move!” (Williams 680).
Tom expresses his interest in finding his own adventures in life and leaving the life which includes the responsibility of caring for his mother and sister.
Tom’s weakness for alcohol is also a way for him to escape into a fantasy world full of adventure in which there are no responsibilities. When asked at different times by both his mother and sister where he is every night until late, Tom simply replies, “I have been at the movies” (Williams, 665). During one argument with Tom, his mother states, “Nobody in their right mind goes to the movies as often as you pretend to. People don’t go to the movies at nearly midnight, and movies don’t let out at two A.M. Come in stumbling. Muttering to yourself like a maniac!” (Williams, 664). During Scene IV, Tom returns home at 5:00 in the morning, and his sister, Laura, is awake and asks where he has been all this time. He gives her his usual response of having been at the movies, but at her questioning, he goes on to elaborate and tell her that it was a long movie with a big stage show where a magician turned wine into beer and then into whiskey. Tom stated, “I know it was whiskey it finally turned to because he needed somebody to come up out of the audience to help him, and I came up-both shows! It was Kentucky Straight Bourbon. A very generous fellow, he gave souvenirs” (Williams, 665).
According to the editor of Critical Commentary, “At times, Tom becomes angry and impatient with his mother, because he sees her as a foolish and embarrassing old woman, whose main intention in life seems to be to force him into a position of responsibility which he is not willing to accept.” (Jackson, 66) Tom’s mother has given him the impression that he is solely responsible for the care and welfare of her and her daughter since his father is not around. She expects Tom to supply them with money to make the house payments and pay the bills, and she also expects him to help to find a suitable gentleman caller for Laura. During one argument with his mother, Tom lets her know just how angry he is about spending his time working at the shoemaker factory by stating, ““House, house! Who pays rent on it, who makes a slave of himself to ---“ Later on, he tells his mother, “You think I’m in love with the Continental Shoemakers? Look, I’d rather somebody picked up a crowbar and battered out my brains --- than go back mornings! For sixty-fie dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever!” (Williams, 663).
Because of Tom’s weakness for excessive drinking and fantasizing, he is becoming more irresponsible toward his family. During a conversation with Jim, Tom explains how angry he is becoming and how he is ready to change his life. He goes on to show Jim a piece of paper which is from the Union of Merchant Seamen. Tom states, “I paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill” (Williams, 680). When Jim responds that Tom will regret his decision when the lights get turned off, Tom tells Jim that he will not be there when that happens and that he is like his father who has been gone for sixteen years. During Scene VII, the lights go out right after the family has finished dinner with Jim, and Amanda realizes that Tom did not pay the bill. She states, “I might have known better than to trust him with it! There is such a high price for negligence in this world” (Williams, 683).
Joyce Barrett
Mr. Parrish
12-5-02
English essay 4
Tom is one of five characters in the play, “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams. In the book titled, Masterplots, the editor states,
“Tom, the frustrated son, is the least successful of all the characters for he is the familiar type of the young man with literary ambitions imprisoned in the deathly monotony of a job in a warehouse…We can feel desperately sorry for him, because he is burdened with the care of a nagging mother and a crippled sister.” (2271)
Tom also acts as the narrator of the play who is telling the story from his own memory. He is the son of the character, Amanda, and the brother of the character, Laura. Working in a shoemaker factory for the measly sum of $65.00 a month, Tom is the sole support of his mother and crippled sister. His life is monotonous and without adventure. His only means of escape from his miserable life is by drinking, poetry and attending the movies. In “The Glass Menagerie”, Tennessee Williams uses the weaknesses of the character, Tom, to evoke both pity and empathy from his audience.
Tom is kind of a pathetic character who likes to write poetry and wishes to have adventure in his life. His poetry is actually a weakness of his, because he uses it as a means to help him escape the reality of his own life instead of facing his life as it is and making changes to it. In a Critical Commentary statement, the states, “Because of his sensitive nature and his desire to become a writer, Tom feels imprisoned from the adventures of the rest of the world” (66). Tom is somewhat of a closet poet who often goes off alone to a cabinet of the washroom during slow times at the shoemaker warehouse in order to write his poetry. His co-worker, Jim, who was the only one at the warehouse with whom Tom was on friendly terms, called him Shakespeare. Gradually Jim’s attitude affected the other co-workers, and according to Tom, “their hostility wore off and they also began to smile at me as people smile at an oddly fashioned dog who trots across their path at some distance” (Williams, 676).
To further escape his boring life and to immerse himself into the fantasies and adventures created by the movie screen, Tom leaves his home each evening to attend the movies. He finally begins to build up resentment towards the movies and their adventurous characters, and at one point, he states,
“All of those glamorous people ---having adventures---hogging it all, gobbling the whole thing up!...Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America, while everybody in America sits in a dark room and watches them have them!...I’m tired of the movies and I am about to move!” (680).
Tom expresses his interest in finding his own adventures and leaving his life, which includes the responsibility of caring for his mother and sister.
Tom’s weakness for alcohol is also a way for him to escape into a fantasy world full of adventure in which there are no responsibilities. When asked at different times by both his mother and sister where he is every night until late, Tom simply replies, “I have been at the movies” (Williams, 665). During one argument with Tom, his mother states, “Nobody in their right mind goes to the movies as often as you pretend to. People do not go to the movies at nearly midnight, and movies do not let out at two A.M. Come in stumbling. Muttering to yourself like a maniac!” (664). During Scene IV, Tom returns home at 5:00 in the morning, and his sister, Laura, is awake and asks where he has been all this time. He gives her his usual response of having been at the movies, but at her questioning, he goes on to elaborate and tell her that it was a long movie with a big stage show where a magician turned wine into beer and then into whiskey. Tom stated, “I know it was whiskey it finally turned to because he needed somebody to come up out of the audience to help him, and I came up-both shows! It was Kentucky Straight Bourbon. A very generous fellow, he gave souvenirs” (665).
Another weakness of Tom is his ability to handle responsibility. According to the following statement in the Critical Commentary, Tom is weak when it comes to his ability to control his anger. “At times, Tom becomes angry and impatient with his mother, because he sees her as a foolish and embarrassing old woman, whose main intention in life seems to be to force him into a position of responsibility which he is not willing to accept.” (66) Tom’s mother has given him the impression that he is solely responsible for the care and welfare of her and her daughter since his father is not around. She expects Tom to supply them with money to make the house payments and pay the bills, and she expects him to help to find a suitable gentleman caller for Laura. During one argument with his mother, Tom lets her know just how angry he is about spending his time working at the shoemaker factory by stating, “House, house! Who pays rent on it, who makes a slave of himself to ---,” and later, in the play, Tom sticking statement to his mother, “You think I’m in love with the Continental Shoemakers? Look, I’d rather somebody picked up a crowbar and battered out my brains --- than go back mornings! For sixty-fie dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever!” (663), shows how much he hates responsibility.
Because of Tom’s weakness for excessive drinking and fantasizing, he is becoming more irresponsible toward his family. During a conversation with Jim, Tom explains how angry he is becoming and how he is ready to change his life. He goes on to show Jim a piece of paper, which is from the Union of Merchant Seamen. Tom states, “I paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill” (680). When Jim responds that Tom will regret his decision when the lights get turned off, Tom tells Jim that he will not be there when that happens and that he is like his father who has been gone for sixteen years. At dinner time with the gentleman caller, Jim, the lights go out and Amanda realizes that Tom did not pay the bill. She states, “I might have known better than to trust him with it! There is such a high price for negligence in this world” (683).
Furthermore, as Tennessee Williams brings out the weaknesses of Tom, the audience begins to feel Tom’s frustrations in his life. The audience can feel the emotions from Tom as he struggles with his weaknesses. He receives both pity and empathy from his audience, as the play ends. Because of his weaknesses as a character, it is understandable why Tom leaves his family in search for his own life en the end of the play.
Work Cited
1) Masterplots. 4th vol. Englewood Cliffs: Salem Press, 1976.
2) Rathbun, Gibert L. “The Glass Menagerie” A critical Commentary. New York: Monarch Press, 1965
3) Shaw-Z., et al. Critical Survey of Drama, English Language Series. 5 vol. Englewood cliffs: Salem Press, 1985.
4) Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Frank. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2002.
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