Monday, January 18, 2010

The Glass Menagerie Scenes 1-6

Throughout scenes one through six of the "Glass Menagerie" i found the work to be somewhat boring and dull. As stated in my letter of introduction, i enjoy works of art with some sense of adventure and action. As of right now, however, this work of art simply describes the life of Tom, and his mother Amanda and sister Laura. In scene one, as the setting and beginning scenario were described, i interpreted the main character to be Tom. As a result of Tom being the main character, there may be some bias, as each memory and account stem from his personal interpretation. Each character in this play in my opinion is extremely different. Tom is not content with his life at home, as each night he leaves his family and goes to the movies. He is also not happy with his job proven as he states "Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter". None of these can he accomplish in the warehouse. His mother Amanda seems bitter about her husband leaving and also her daughter Laura not going to school and not having a husband yet. Not having a husband may be due to Laura's physical disabilities, and as a result her shy and somewhat standoffish personality.

Throughout scenes one through six, the only "change" that occurs is the introduction of Tom's friend and co-worker Jim. Jim is invited over in order to meet Laura, although he is not originally aware of her presence. Amanda is very excited, as she believes his presence will change Laura's demeanor and lonely life. In my opinion, Amanda seems to live vicariously through her daughter, trying to improve her past mistakes through Laura. She feels as if Laura can't succeed, she did not exceed as a parent. As previously stated, Laura is insecure about her disabilities, seen at the dinner table as she has to excuse herself after "feeling sick". By not impressing Jim, the scene is described by Tom as the family having no sense of "change or adventure". I am interested in how the play will resolve, anticipating any hopeful positive changes for each member of the family.

1 comment:

  1. I agree with you about the fact that Amanda lives vicariously through her daughter. As far as her past mistakes I am not quite sure what those are, other than maybe when she talks of how she could have married a richer man. I also agree that Laura doesn't have a husband because of her physical disability. Good job with the picture, it really adds a lot to the post.

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