Preview

The Glass Menagerie Comparison

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1397 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Glass Menagerie Comparison
Similarities of Two Tales “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Raisin in the Sun” are about families with different backgrounds and are placed in different eras of American history. In “A Raisin in the Sun,” an African-American family struggles with keeping faith with their dreams and remaining optimistic. “The Glass Menagerie,” parallels to “A Raisin in the Sun,” with the family being Caucasian-American, struggling also to survive and to climb towards a better future. Despite the two families differences in background and eras, there are many connections between their economic, social, and individual scenarios. Each is a family of three dealing with poverty and with the absence of a father in the household. “The Glass Menagerie,” features Amanda …show more content…
The two stories are fundamentally parallel in two ways; their focal characters and the focal topic. Despite the fact that they do have likenesses, this doesn't prohibit them from discernible contrasts, including the adjustments to Tom and Walter Lee's character bends and how they responded to it. Basically, Tom let his dream aspirations guide him, while Walter Lee was constrained over into reality and bleakly grappled with it. Still, the subject of Reality versus Fantasy stays continuous, the essential bond interfacing these two sorts out. Its additionally recognizable how poverty can strike groups of all races and religion, shown by the Wingfield and Younger families. Truly, poverty can extend from different periods, be it the Great Depression of the 1930s or the Post-World War 2 isolated America in which these were written. This is additionally a central association, in which destitution is apparently interminable in the numerous homes and in the families it can begin in. With two substantial contentions supporting the similitudes between "A Raisin in the Sun" and "The Glass Menagerie," it could be gathered that maybe Lorraine Hansberry, the creator of "A Raisin in the Sun", took a few thoughts from Tennessee William's "The Glass Menagerie." Still, as the current contention finds some conclusion, it is noticed that while these two scholarly pieces have a few striking likenesses, the way they have taken care of the same subject utilizing differentiating points of view and gadgets that has made "A Raisin in the Sun" and "The Glass Menagerie" both diverse in their own specific

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    they most desire. In literary works like “The Things They Carried,” “The Glass Menagerie,” and…

    • 2510 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story A Raisin in the sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a story about a poor family and how money has caused them to change the way the view life completely. The children of mama have all fallen far from her. she says that life is about being free and having family that cares about you. her kids think it’s all about money. The plot is the same in both. In both walter Lee Younger thinks it,s a good idea to invest the money in a liquor store. Beneatha Younger wants to invest the money in her education. Mama and rose want to buy a house. The story then tells you how each one wants to use and spends the money.…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” is an eye opening experience into the life struggles of an African American family living in the ghettos of Southside Chicago. New dreams come and go like the wind for the desperation of a better life. Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” has more topics going on in it than just a story about an insurance check worth $10,000 for the death of the father, Big Walter. Topics such as African American oppression, racial stereotypes, and segregation. An introduction of the characters consist of Walter, Ruth, Mama, Travis, Beneatha, and Mr. Lindner. The setting is in a small two bedroom upstairs apartment with barely enough space for a kitchen.…

    • 808 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry takes place in the Chicago Southside between World War II and the 1950s. The Younger family is living in a house that is falling apart, just like their family is, due to the struggles that African Americans faced during this time period. The two characters that have the biggest influence on this plot are Mama and her son, Walter.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun explores the universal ideas of family, dignity, and hope. Hansberry set her play in an old, once well-furnished and loved apartment in Southside Chicago after World War II. It is the story of an African American family’s struggle to prioritize futures and dreams and decide whose dream is most prevalent; once the family makes the choice to purchase a home with part of the money, they face an entirely new plight. One of the major themes of A Raisin in the Sun is the need to band together as a family and fight discrimination as a unified group, as opposed to a group that cannot stop fighting within itself.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 1920’s, many African-American families had left the southern states and migrated north to Chicago’s South Side in search of the “American Dream”, dreaming of freedom, equality, and the opportunity that was supposed to be available to every American. This “American Dream” was sought by many African Americans in the U.S. Written by Lorraine Hansberry and produced in 1959, The play: A Raisin in the Sun, gave readers a strong meaning about the values of dreams and the struggles in fulfilling them. Unlike other plays that contain one main character, A Raisin in the Sun consisted of having two main characters: Walter and Mama. The audience may find that one of the main characters from the play, Walter, showed a hard time in understanding the values of dreams. The audience may also find Walter’s character to be portrayed as both: a sympathetic and an unsympathetic representation of African-American men in Chicago’s Southside during the 1950-1960’s.…

    • 1948 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams there is a since of fantasy and escape among the characters. They all live in there own type of world. Tom Wingfield, our narrator’s sister Laura is in a crippled world of her own. She lives in a world where it consist of phonography records and her favorite glass animals, she lives in a world of confinement and dependency. Amanda Wingfield, Tom’s mother lives in a world of the past, she feels trapped by the life she was given. She did not choose to be left with her two children alone not being able to enjoy life. She escapes to her world of her gentlemen callers to forget about it all. Tom Wingfiled lives in a world of movies and writing, but among all these characters, there is one character who has managed to escape the desperate and…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motifs are abundant throughout the world of literature. Many esteemed works of literature contain symbols in order to imbibe deeper meanings. Trifles’s canary and The Glass Menagerie’s glass animals both serve to further enhance the characterization of Mrs. Wright and Laura in each respective work.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While reading the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, the reader quickly learns of a, sadly, typical tale of family strife. In this play a family struggles to find the way out of their secluded, seemingly solitary life. Amanda Wingfield, the mother of Tom and Laura, only craves for the best for her kids. However, this ostensibly adoring mother puts Toms needs at the bottom of list. As a family without a father figure Tom, being the only boy, steps up to help his mother and sister. Striving to live up to his father’s memory, Tom helps by paying for the rent while putting his personal goals on hold. The Wingfield family goes through much trouble and strife portraying the sad truth of what goes on in the everyday family and home.…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Glass Menagerie Flaws

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Have you ever wondered how life would be like as an introvert? In “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, the main character, Laura’s tragic flaw forces her to drop out of Rubicam Business College leading to a life of isolation and despair. Many times people have told her to “be proud instead of shy and turning away”.…

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Almost all characters in the book "The glass Menagerie" are not ideal citizens of the original American dream, as they do not put action in to their dreams even if their aspirations lack virtue. In the story "The glass menagerie" the character that comes closest to a role model of an ideal citizen who is living out the American dreams of some sort is Jim. Jim has the most motivation in his aspirations to become successful, he also puts actions into his dreams and morally goes about achieving it"I believe in the future of television! I wish to be ready to go up right along with it. Therefore I'm planning to get in on the ground floor. In fact I've already made the right connections and all that remains is for the industry itself to get underway!"(Williams,…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Raisin in the Sun

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Raisin in the Sun is about a African-American family struggling in poverty. The Younger…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world is a very mysterious place with its constant advancements and how it is always evolving, but to some people this world may be considered a scary place. This fear of the outside world has the ability to make those who fear it unable to accept reality. In Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie, the thought of accepting reality is especially hard for the Wingfield family, Laura, Tom, and Amanda, causing them to close themselves off each in their own unique way.…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Raisin In The Sun Family

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The American Dream is idolized by many. Family is often the backbone of any successful person. Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin In The Sun is about the Younger family. The Younger’s are hard working African Americans living on very low income. The family can only afford a small apartment for the five of them. The importance of family can clearly be seen through the characters of Mama, Walter, and Ruth.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The typical view of the American dream is illustrated by the various characters in the plays “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams and the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry. Each character has their perspective as to what the American dream means and how to attain it. The protagonists in each family have their own individual dreams as well as their own barriers in attaining that dream. Although the social, economic and educational barriers are similar, the underlying barriers are quite different in each case. The emasculation of Walter Lee and the strong family commitment of Tom Wingfield are their own personal barriers. The character Walter Lee of “A Raisin in the Sun” as well as Tom Wingfield of “The Glass Menagerie” are two individuals attempting to attain their deferred American dream.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays