Tennessee William’s “The Glass Menagerie” is a play of memories from his own experience living with his sister and mom during the time in which the Great Depression occurred. In this play Tom Wingfield serves more than one purpose. He has the role of a son, a friend, a brother, and the narrator. Tom is a young man, who possesses the characteristics of working hard to provide for his family, longing to escape his imprisoned lifestyle from a nagging mother, and having a deep love for adventure and poetry. In this play Tom is a hard-working young man. He strives daily to put his family before himself. At such a young age Tom has to play the role of his father since his father chose to leave his family. For example, he works at the Continental Shoemakers warehouse day in and day out to provide for his mother and sister. He never complains about having to do so but grows tired of feeling greatly unappreciated. He feels like no matter what he does, it is never enough for his mother. Even though she always has a way to make him feel like he never does enough he still continues to do his finest to respect her and provide for their family. …show more content…
For example, Tom’s search for an escape from his boring life leads to him turning to alcohol and going to the movies almost every single night. Surprisingly, at the end of the play, Tom follows in his father’s footsteps and makes the decision to abandon his mom and sister to chase his own independent upcoming. This decision was not selfish because Tom realized that in order to save himself he has to escape. Tom knows that if he chooses to stay home he will later become destroyed as a man and