Topic: The Glass Menagerie and its idea of pursuing adventure or sticking to one’s duties.
Thesis Statement: The Glass Menagerie suggests that a person should not make a choice between chasing one’s dreams or staying put because it is possible to find the middle ground and do both.
Brainstorm:
- Happiness Comes at a Price
- respect for parents and their sacrifices
- dedication to one’s family
- Tom’s inability to leave behind his guilty memories of the mother and sister
Living one’s own life:
- all people are free to choose their own destiny and the way of life
- Tom feels burdened at home
- he seeks another fate and wishes for having adventures
Reconciliation:
- more chances to find inner peace
- fewer regrets and guilty thoughts
- Tom’s mother and he himself would find a compromise and be happier
Introduction
Have you ever been faced with any choices you were forced to make, and their importance significantly changed your life? All people are familiar with these serious decisions, and one of such dilemmas is discussed in the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. The author raises the question of whether one should follow one’s dreams or remain with the family. However, the play’s idea is that there is no need to choose one or the other since it is possible to find the middle ground and be happy and peaceful.
Happiness Comes at a Price
It is doubtless that being responsible not only for oneself is quite vital. According to Harold Bloom in his book Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, the play paints the picture of life in which there is no room for following a set of standards that restrain and limit one’s desires and aspirations (20). However, sometimes it is a necessity to put the family’s well-being first at the expense of one’s dreams, which is exactly what the protagonist of the play encountered and could not bear (Guan et al. 70). Finally, after escaping from Laura and Amanda, Tom could not abandon the memories about his sister and mother which made him feel guilty: “I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be” (Williams 116). This quote points to the complexity of the emotions that one may feel in the situation in which Tom finds himself. While he moves beyond family life in pursuit of personal happiness, such happiness comes at a price.
The Importance of Pursuing Adventure
The pursuit of adventure is among the important themes that Williams explores in The Glass Menagerie. There is a belief that no one owes anything to anybody, and all people are free to choose their destiny and way of life. It was Tom’s desire and dream to leave his family and be on his own while living an exciting life (Williams 20). He was not able to do what made him stressed and unhappy and he felt burdened at his own home, which is an overall negative sign (Nalliveettil and Gadallah 205). When he argues with Amanda, he desperately mentions: “For sixty-five dollars a month, I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever” (Williams 20). This is not how one wants to live all of his life, and even though Tom loved his sister and mother, he decided to choose his happiness.
Reconciliation
In the play, Tennessee Williams suggests that finding a compromise between pursuing dreams and staying loyal to one’s family eliminates stress, anger, and trust issues between family members. According to Bloom, the play was the most autobiographical for Williams, with his experiences being similar to what the protagonist goes through (43). Tom and his mother apologize to each other and express their sincere feelings, which makes little closer and understanding (Williams 26). The play’s idea is also proved by the fact that there would be more chances for Tom’s mother to finally find inner peace, which she was not able to do since her husband has left her. Finding the middle ground is possible since Tom’s mother does not only need his help but also loves and cares about him: “Both of my children – they’re unusual children” (Williams 27). As for Tom, he would feel much better if he persuaded his mother to let him combine his duties and desires.
Conclusion
To conclude, finding a compromise is the best choice in most challenging life situations, which leads to the comfort of all parties. In The Glass Menagerie, probably the most promising option for Tom was to make a deal with his mother so that both of them could be pleased and comfortable. The fact that Tom’s mother truly loved him, and he could neither forgive himself for leaving his family nor stay with them proves the necessity of compromise that would suit the whole family. Respecting and caring about one’s parents and siblings is as crucial as living one’s own life and fulfilling dreams; that is why instead of choosing, it is better to find the middle ground. In addition, no matter how challenging it is to communicate with one’s relatives, it is often necessary if one wants to maintain his or her inner peace.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie. Infobase Publishing, 2007.
Guan, Yanbo, et al. “Fragile as Escaping into the Glass World —Analysis of The Glass Menagerie from the Perspective of Cognitive Domains.” Advances in Literary Study, vol. 4, no. 4, 2016, pp. 67-76.
Nalliveettil, George Mathew, and Mahmoud Sobhi Mohamed Gadallah. “Discourse Analysis of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie.” Advances in Language and Literary Studies, vol. 7, no. 3, 2016, pp. 201-210.
Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. Marco Book Company, 2009.