Even though the household ‘s relationship towards one another in “ The Glass Menagerie ” by Tennessee Williams is both dysfunctional, and questionable you begin to see a deeper significance to which the rubric of the narrative foreshadows. The narrative begins with the household holding supper. As this dinner continues we learn that they are in a individual parent family with a female parent, Amanda, who is stuck in her young person, a boy, Tom, who is seeking to divide himself from the disfunction of his female parent, and a girl, Laura, who has a physical disability that hinders her from taking portion in normal activities including interacting with people. But as the narrative moves along Laura is slightly broken out of her shell, Tom moves out, and Amanda develops a closer relationship with her girl. The rubric “ The Glass Menagerie ” seems to propose transparence, fragileness, and particular attending and attention which describe precisely what this household is and demands. Reading the drama and establishing it in dealingss to the rubric it is clear that the rubric has more pregnant so meets foremost glimpse. Some may reason that the rubric has no relation what so of all time to the drama because of things like, who is the brinies character? and how the rubric does non assist in specifying the underline significance of the drama? These points may really good be true but the inquiry is asked, why is “ The Glass Menagerie ” a good rubric? The glass menagerie is a good rubric because it leaves a certain enigma to the narrative, it suggests deeper facets to the characters in relation to life, and it gives deepness to the characters.
In the narrative there is a scene between Tom and Amanda when they are holding a confrontation about Tom and where he goes when he leaves place after work. As the statement is escalading Laura ‘s category menagerie interruptions. Glass is both delicate and delicate which seems to depict Tom and his female parent ‘s relationship, and the breakage of the glass comes at a clip when there ain relationship clefts. The enigma is why this glass? Why the glass menagerie at this peculiar clip? The implicative enigma would look to be the fact they are in some ways like the glass animate beings and are in cased in a glass instance doing them venerable, delicate and easy broken. The rubrics enigma is non merely towards the character ‘s failing, but the enigma of the rubrics relation to life.
It is clear to indicate out the irrelevancy of Amanda ‘s Scarlett O’Hara attitude, Tom ‘s acquire off attitude, and Laura ‘s over the top shyness, but there behaviours are non wholly irrelevant to existent life. At the beginning of the drama Tom says “ I reverse it to that quaint period, the mid-thirtiess, when the immense in-between category of America was matriculating in a school for the blind. “ ( 282-83 ) Tom gave insight to a clip period when the economic system is fighting due to the great depression. Life in that clip was harder, and for Amanda being the lone parent in her family it was even tougher. Her returning back to her yesteryear is non at all for fetched or uncommon. Worlds tend to travel back to happier times in there lives so they are able to get by with the present. All the characters found ways to get by with there state of affairss whether it was jumping school or traveling to the films. Laura ‘s defect gave her waiter invagination that most people suffer from, particularly those in her place, and Tom ‘s scabies to acquire out of the nest roots from him acquiring older and non being able to see what immature work forces his age do. The weak clip period and the fragileness of the economic system fit the rubric and its relevancy to life and add a certain deepness to each character.
The underline significance of the rubric helps to add deepness to the characters. With out the rubric the drama and its characters would be merely that, characters. Because the drama uses existent life state of affairss it makes it easier to associate to the characters and really understand each of them. Tom says at the terminal of the narrative “ I did n’t travel to the Moon, I went much further-for clip is the longest distance between topographic points. “ ( 329 ) By Tom stating this it shows that these characters are deep and aspire for more so given. By Tom being the storyteller he represents all the characters and there penetration of how they perceive the universe around them. As the drama comes to an terminal you see the characters evolve from being associated from being in a glass instance to happening there manner out of that enclosure. “ The Glass Menagerie ” is no longer a relic or merely a rubric about a glass instance, but alternatively a window into the characters lives.
Even through “ The Glass Menagerie ” is a great rubric for such a deep drama. Some would non hold that “ The Glass Menagerie ” is a good rubric. Amanda ‘s captivation with the yesteryear, Laura ‘s “ lower status composite ” ( 321 ) , and Tom ‘s impulse to acquire out is every bit crystalline as the rubric and is simple every bit deep as either of the characters get. This could be understood to be true because this household evidently has been this manner for quit sometime and at that place depth can non be seen base on balls there ways. Although they seem to non be as deep or every bit crystalline as the rubric suggest, still there are minutes where you are inclined to believe that there is more to them. You see that Amanda ‘s logical thinking ‘s to populate in the base on balls is based on her present and because of that she wants her childs have better lives so she has. Toms unhappy causes him to compose verse forms, and narrate the drama so we are able to understand and cognize what the household ‘s current state of affairs is about and could happen a relation to them and our ain lives. Laura ‘s shyness and her flowering at the terminal of the drama shows how much more she is as a character and how she is the most of import figure in what the rubric has to make with the drama. The more you begin to look out side the box and the more you look at the drama for intending alternatively of logic the more you see that the rubric is more interesting so any other rubric put in it ‘s topographic point.
Tennessee Williams takes a expression into the universe of an under category household in the 1930 ‘s who have many issue that they may or may non be cognizant of, and puts it in the bow forepart so that the readers can experience what these characters feel. He has a female parent drama both parents because of their broken family and gives her an mercantile establishment from her current state of affairs which is recapturing her young person. He brings Forth a boy who sees his broken household and can non assist or contend the impulse to acquire off so he retreats to watch films or to imbibe, and a girl who is physically handicap and is allowing this disablement whole her dorsum for going the adult females she should be, and the beauty she should experience. These characters give penetration to what is existent and finally the terminal to merrily of all time after. But for this to be bought to anyone ‘s attending the rubric of the narrative has to be up to pare with what the writer is seeking to carry through, and the point that is seeking to be proven. Though some argue that taking “ The Glass Menagerie ” as the rubric of this drama gives no significance to what the plays message truly is, this rubric makes perfect sense. We are speedy to judge what we do non understand therefore to some it would non, but this rubric goes beyond merely words and concentrate on the significance. “ The Glass Menagerie ” means glass is easy broken, can hold clefts, and makes even the tiniest defect seeable, but it can ever be repaired. What we see looking in is non what ‘s truly traveling on, but it is what is done to interrupt that glass and allow that something out is what ‘s more of import.
