The Glass Menagerie Scene 7

Scene 7 ended up being the opposite of what i expected. I thought Laura and Jim were going to fall in love with eachother, making a better life for themselves and giving Amanda a better attitude and some sense of relief for her daughter. Jims reassurance of nothing wrong with Laura, seen in the quote "You shouldn't have been self-conscious", may have given Laura some false hope. In this scene, however, there are many signs of heartbreak. The first one i noticed was the unicorn falling over and breaking. In my opinion, this represented Laura's love for Jim being broken after he tells her of his fiance. Just as Laura was beginning to open up and not be so insecure about her disabilities, her "comfort" in Jim was taken away, and her representation of the "blue rose" died.

In this scene i also realized that each character in the play is attempting to escape from reality in some way. Laura escapes from her disfigurement and shy personality by interacting with her animals and glass menagerie. Amanda and Jim disregard the real life by reminiscing about the past; Amanda with her past callers and Jim with his high school achievements. For instance, while talking to Laura, he asks "You remember that wonderful write-up I had in The Torch?" showing his arrogant and flashy personality. Tom leaves the ordinary world and the safety of his home by going to the movies every night. Overall, each person in the play is not content with their present lives.

With Jim leaving i feel the family is torn apart. His high expectations and eventual downfall lead to a fight between Amanda and Tom, and ultimately Tom moving out of the house. Tom, in my opinion, kept the house together by being there for both Laura and Amanda. With his absence, things may drastically change. Although Tom wanted to move out, and showed signs throughout the entire play of wanting something different, leaving was apparently pretty hard. By saying "Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!" it shows his love and strong attachment to his family. Similar to the college experience, leaving parental control is great at times, but not having them around for instant comfort is always hard.