Being Outcast In The Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams

When Tennessee Williams wrote his play concerning a small family living within the alleyways and small apartments of St. Louis, he clearly imbedded his work with snippets of his past. From references of St. Louis to mentions of a drunkard for a father, The Glass Menagerie is more than just a moving memory play. An underlying theme is the feeling of being outcast from a society focused on the social life and making a name for oneself, but even within this theme is the idea that the choices one makes in life will directly affect the outcome. Within The Glass Menagerie, the choices of Mrs. Amanda Wingfield, Laura, and Tom Wingfield portray how the feeling of being outcast can be directly or indirectly related to the choices one has made or must make in life. From the very beginning, one sees how Amanda Wingfield’s choices have had an adverse effect on her life. Choosing to marry a man full of charm but void of responsibility instead of one of her “17 gentleman callers” she so proudly boasts of, she was soon abandoned by the man who promised to love her, leaving to children behind for her to raise. She was surrounded by men who made something of their lives and
Wingfield’s daughter Laura still had the choice of Rubicam’s Business College or living within her glass menagerie. Because of her disability, she feels that she can’t handle being in public, and it has made her avoid it at all costs. She chooses to go to the park or the zoo everyday instead of college, avoiding admitting this to her mother. She now lives among her glass figurines and victrola, and although she would allow herself to fall for her one gentleman caller, Jim O’Connor, she falls in love with a man promised to someone else. Her choice to submit to her feelings of being strange compared to other people directly relate to her feelings of seclusion, and while she does have a valid excuse to be shy, she inadvertently places more pressure on her mother and