Characters

"The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams, which was very popular when it came out, is still a classic today. One thing that made people love the play so much was the characters. Though the story is fiction, it was based on Williams’s real life, and the characters were basically his family with different names. Because they were so heavily based on real people, the characters felt very real, too. 

First there's Tom, the narrator. Tom is probably the most relatable character since he was based on the writer himself. Tom, the youngest in the house, is also the main provider since he’s the only man. He works at a factory to help his mother and older sister, but it's obvious that he's restless. Tom is constantly arguing with his mother, Amanda, about how much time he spends out at night. Near the end of the play, Tom doesn't pay the electricity bill and the lights go out. This shows that he finally gave up on his family because his need for independence was so strong. I think Williams was admitting to his own regrets with this character’s portrayal.

Laura is Tom's crippled older sister. Throughout the play, she is presented as a bit odd and hard to understand. This reflects how Williams felt towards his real sister. Like her glass collection, Laura is fragile. Her entire character is very nervous and anxious. She was enrolled in college but dropped out because everything stressed her out so much that she couldn't do the work. Laura seems stuck in life, but she's content with that position.

Amanda is their mother. She is very picky, opinionated, and controlling. As I mentioned before, she argues with Tom a lot. She also has a habit of holding on to the past. She is always talking about all of the "gentlemen callers" she had at Laura's age. She regrets marrying their father, who left, and takes her feelings out on Laura by constantly pestering her about finding the right man. The climax of this behavior is when she makes Tom invite one of his work friends over to meet Laura. She acts over-eager and ridiculous the entire time, right up until the man, who Laura actually liked in high school, leaves after revealing that he already has a girlfriend. Then Amanda is able to squeeze out some genuine concern for Laura.

All of the characters in this story are unique. Tom is a hard worker who just wants to be free. Laura is an usure, gentle piece of glass. Amanda is an overprotective, controlling mother. As I said in my introduction, the characters are real to the audience because they were real to the writer.

Sections: Educational Essays, Family, For School,  Freedom, Helping, Lonely, Nervous, Nonfiction, Sad, Shy, Writers