The Glass Menagerie

ENC1102

Question 1.

Development is the process of growing and learning, whether it is for good or bad is up to the developer. You begin with a mold, a sort of base set of characteristics that after a period of time warps into a new shape. However not all development is for the better. Some development is purely meant to show what was once held inside to be unveiled. The character Amanda in the play “The Glass Menagerie” goes through a change through the molding process of the story. Grant it, it isn’t a substantial change, and it is not one I consider for the better, but a change nevertheless. There was a great need for change when it came to Amanda, but as readers will find, they were left disappointed by the little change she had.

Amanda was to begin with, a very crude and raw character. She embodied the characteristics of overbearing, fake, and rudeness. She is a blatant racist, but is the type to never agree or admit she is. She simply says ignorant or tasteless comments. For example, when she finds out Jim was Irish; she asked if he was a drinker. She seems to believe stereotypes are more facts than fake and she sweetly displays that. She is very overbearing when it comes to her children. Ironically being the rudest to them. She constantly reminds her daughter she is a “crippled” girl, that she isn’t like every other woman and that she will always have it harder than anyone else. She always hints of how badly she needs her daughter to be married or she would be pretty much useless. Amanda also is like this with her son. It is one thing to encourage your children to aspire to be better. There is no shame in that; however Amanda takes it too far. It is not right to compare or judge your children. It isn’t right to tell them that what they do isn’t enough for the family, especially when that is not their burden to bear. It is not the children’s role to support a family, the fact that tom does is something she should appreciate more often.

Amanda also has the tendency to be the one to pressure the family into doing things. One example is pressuring tom to pursue bigger dreams in the working world. I sadly think she does it less for the betterment in her child’s life, but the bigger income for the house. Also, Amanda puts the pressure on Tom to bring in a gentleman caller for his sister. It is now up to Tom to answer his mother’s prays of her daughter to be married and taken care of. And finally when he does his best despite obviously not wanting to do it, and it happens to be a flop, she blows her top at him. Showing how ungrateful she is.

Amanda also pressures Laura relentlessly. She expects her to behave and be like everyone else in the world, but constantly reminds her that she isn’t and that will never change. She shows no pride in her daughter when Jim shows up for dinner. She lies saying that it was Laura who slaved over the stove all day to cook and clean the house for his arrival. She says she is a very homey and domesticated woman. She boasts about many things Laure is not, and I can only imagine how that makes her feel, knowing her mother is ashamed of her to the point that she feels the only way she will find a man is through deception. Amanda is the type of character that isn’t going to be liked by most and is hard to feel a lot of sympathy for. And even though she does change a little towards the