Wingfield Family In The Glass Menagerie

The short play, “Glass Menagerie” written by Tennessee Williams focuses heavily on familial responsibilities. While in actuality, the play doesn’t touch on the subject explicitly, after close analysis there are many themes within that topic to be discussed. It is understood that this play, as many of Williams’ other works, reflects the living situation he grew up in. In this particular play, the father in the family has abandoned his family as well as responsibilities by leaving without a trace. When he left, he left his fatherly responsibilities for his son to pick up. While it was absolutely not Tom’s responsibility to take on these responsibilities, he does. In doing so, he does the most courageous thing anyone could ever do. It is in no
This is apparent through the mannerisms of each member of the Wingfield family. Williams does a wonderful job in showing the audience the toll it took on the family via spoken as well as unspoken lines in the play. Amanda is in denial as we learn when Jim is brought to dinner, she refers to Mr. Wingfield as her husband and makes it as though he will soon be returning. Tom is beginning to see the world as his father does and longs to travel. He is already beginning to rebel by staying out all night, drinking and neglect the household responsibilities such as the utility bill as we see during dinner when the lights go out. Laura suffers from pleurosis as well as what Jim diagnoses as a kind of lack in self-confidence. She does not finish high school and drops out of the business courses she was enrolled in. As she sees it, it already takes a great deal of time maintaining her glass collection thus she feels she need not worry about anything aside from her collection. The entire family was shocked to find Mr. Wingfield had left them. Each member of the family deals with the abandonment in their own way by finding a way to cope without understanding how he could have left them without a second