Today, I thought I might post this. The essay is about a play, specifically, "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams. I did this essay for another English assignment. "The Glass Menagerie" takes place during the Great Depression of the thirties, and is about a family's struggle for a better life, with each of the characters having a completely different translation of "a better life". This play does not really agree with my taste in the arts, but it does give a different perspective on life.
The topic of this essay: How does the Great Depression affect the situations and actions of the characters?
During the 30’s, America’s population saw, possibly, the hardest times it has ever seen, both financially and socially. The hardships of that time caused disturbances in the structure of many families, and such a scenario is evident in Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”. On an individual scale, the Great Depression forced many people to make decisions that would affect the rest of their lives and those of their children. Such decisions were also made by the characters of “The Glass Menagerie”.
Tom, the narrator of “Glass Menagerie”, was faced with many of the problems not uncommon at the time. To be specific, he had to financially support his mother and sister, his father was of no help to the family, and he had a taste for adventure that he could not answer by working at a low wage job in a warehouse. In this play Tom had two main role models, his father and Malvolio the Magician. Malvolio represented an ideal character for Tom; one that could escape from a “coffin” (or in Tom’s case, a bad situation) without removing a single nail or destroying a plank. On the other hand, Tom’s father represented a more pragmatic character. He could escape from the coffin, though not as cleanly as Malvolio. Tom’s father ended up choosing the option of a “poor man’s divorce” (he left his family without warning). During the Great Depression such a method of escaping one’s duties was not uncommon, especially in the United States. We will see that Tom chooses to escape his duties like his father, but, unlike Malvolio, Tom cannot escape from his “coffin” without causing any damage. Tom’s biggest role model seems to be his father, not only because of his actions, but he is also quoted as saying, “I’m like my father. The bastard son of a bastard.” (p.62)
Another aspect of Tom that was affected by the general socio-economic state of the US at that time is the fact that Tom was interested in the arts, especially cinema and poetry. During time of hardship, the arts seem to receive much more attention, and are sometimes introduced to new concepts. For example, Blues music was invented during the Great Depression. The relationship between socio-economic problems and the arts can be explained by the fact that during times of economic hardship, when a vacation is not an option, the human brain still needs a rest. Not being able to afford a vacation, or taking a break from work leads to the use of creative ways of relieving stress, by relaxing music, poetry, or otherwise. It is therefore not improbable that Tom’s artistic side is a direct result of the stress he is in. Factually, there was a boom in the number of movie tickets sold during the Great Depression because people, like Tom, needed a stress-reliever.
Amanda, Tom’s mother, is a character in “The Glass Menagerie” that was heavily affected by the Great Depression. Not a rare thing at the time, Amanda depended on her son’s financial aid to keep the family surviving. She also worked for a magazine, but the amount of money that she made was little-to none. Amanda was abandoned by her husband, a fact that she became obsessed with as it developed in almost all of her conversations and was the reason behind much of her worries. Amanda’s decisions were very typical for a mother during the Great Depression. She wanted to be sure that her kids have a financially stable future. First she tried to stable a secure future for Laura by enrolling her in a business course. This failed horribly due to Laura’s shyness. Upon discovering that Laura had dropped out, Amanda began to look for a husband for Laura. While it may not seem like an important part of the play, Laura’s limited options ultimately represent a cultural restriction on women, much of which was still evident in the thirties. Today it may not be so; however, during the thirties the only way to ensure that a woman would live a financially stable life was to wed her to a rich man or to prepare her for an office job such as a typist.
Laura, Tom’s crippled sister, was the shyest character in this story. She was, arguably, the character that was hardest hit by the socio-economic state of the thirties. First of all, she was put into a typing class which she dropped out of because of her shyness. She had also dropped out of high school because she was embarrassed by her physical disability. The fact that she did not receive any support from the school or government, in terms of emotional stability, self-confidence, dealing with the psychological effects of a physical disability, are indirect indicators of a poor economy and social turmoil. Another effect that the Great Depression had on Laura’s situation was represented by the fact that she had to look for a husband, if she did not want to live off of Tom’s income forever. An explanation for the fact that women could not work all the same jobs as men during the thirties, could be that if the economy was in a good enough shape, people would be hired, regardless of gender. Unfortunately, there were not enough jobs for everyone, so not as many women worked as they do now.
Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” takes place in the thirties, and it introduces us to some of the hardships of the Great Depression. The characters in this story each represent a group of society that has its own set of problems. Tom represents the restless youth that has to make its sacrifices. Laura represents disabled people and the young females that are faced with their set of problems. Amanda represents a single parent living with her adult children. At the end of the story, Tom has achieved his goal and Laura now has the self-esteem to achieve hers. Keeping all the problems and situations of the characters in mind, it is safe to say that the Great Depression greatly influenced the Wingfield family.
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