Tennessee Williams S The Glass Menagerie Essay

, Research Paper

In Tennessee Williams s original script of The Glass Menagerie, he explains that there is much to admire in Amanda, and as much to love and pity as there is to laugh at. This statement explains Tom s view of Amanda at that point in time. He feels that she admirable, lovable, capable of being laughed at, and felt pity for at the same time. She is a complex person that can toy with people s emotions around her.

One way that Amanda can be admired is because of her courage to raise two kids by her self. Her husband left her during the early years of there children s childhood. She was left with no one to turn to and was forced to raise the kids by herself. This is an especially hard task for the time period in which the play was set, the 1930 s. Although this was not an uncommon task as many may believe, it is still an admirable one. Unfortunately this one of the very few admirable characteristics she has.

There is also much to pity in Amanda. She is a mother that is concerned more about herself rather than her kids. She means well but her actions show that she is in it for herself. Amanda can also be pitied because of her over bearing and her controlling ways. Amanda can also be pitied because she had no life. She doesn t do much with her life except complain and yell at her children. She has nothing in her life to make her happy so consequently she is unhappy the majority of the time.

Although Amanda may seem like a clod distant person, she can actually be loved in many ways. She tries to take care of her kids and do what is best for them but it doesn t always turn out that way. She can also be loved because of the fact that she loves her kids. Even though sometimes it may not seem this way, deep down inside she does really love them. Overall, Amanda can be loved for her effort of trying to raise and keep her family together.

In Tennessee Williams s original script of The Glass Menagerie, he explains that there is much to admire in Amanda, and as much to love and pity as there is to laugh at. This statement explains Tom s view of Amanda at that point in time. Amanda is such a complex person that all of these emotions can be felt toward her. Amanda is a mother that has good intentions but many times her self-centeredness causes her good intentions to become unhealthy actions.