The Glass Menagerie Analysis Essay - Broken Glass and Shattered Hearts

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Amanda and Laura are abandoned by all three men in the play; the father has abandoned the family, for he “fell in love with long distances” (Tennessee, 28) and Jim abandons Laura, creating the climax of the play. Although Tom necessarily abandoned his family from the very beginning, always leaving and coming home late in the night, he continues to play tug of war with leaving his family and pursuing his dream or staying and remaining miserable. But does he truly leave his family abandoned? Although he left physically, he was not able to escape mentally. When he walks the streets and sees a piece of glass, it reminds him of his beloved sister, almost created her into a glass figurine of his own.

Abandonment – Poem by Marie Cooks

You said you loved me

You said you cared

But now you’re leaving

As if you were never here

The sun it sets 5

In your remembrance

I look to the sky

Hoping to see your face

You don’t look back

As if I’m a disgrace 10

My heart mourning

You have officially left

My eyes cannot hold up

The tears come crashing down

Yet you do not return to me 15

You really have abandoned me

You knew how I needed you

I thought I was more important

I thought you’d stay

I thought you’d tell God to wait 20

You said you loved me

You said I cared

But now you’re gone

As if you were never here

God took you from me 25

And left me here in abandonment

The poem Abandonment is comparable to the play The Glass Menagerie; as if Laura has devoted the poem to her brother Tom. The author of the poem seems to be brokenhearted after an abandonment of a loved one, just as Laura was shattered when Tom finally fled from her and her mother. As the poem states “I look to the sky hoping to see your face”, it is similar to how Laura glances at her father’s portrait hanging on the wall as Tom walks out the door, seeing Tom in his father for he abandoned his family just as his father had. (Tennessee, 784). Although Tom promises his mother to watch and care for Laura until she has someone else to replace him, he breaks his promise, leaving Laura to feel like a shame just as line ten states “As if I’m a disgrace”. Laura suspected Tom would sooner or later abandon them, however she expected for him to stay a while longer, thinking she was more important than his “selfish dreams” as Amanda proclaimed. (Tennessee 784). On line seventeen in the poem, it states “You knew how I needed you; I thought I was more important.” Just as Tom supports his family and without him they are nothing. Tom is the family’s foundation that holds them up, for he is the one to work and acquire his mother and sisters necessities

Eventually, each character in the play has had a touch of abandonment and escape, whether they were escaping physically or emotionally and if they were the one to be abandoned or the one to abandon someone else. As each character finds an alternate form to try and overcome their life obstacles, they are torn between hurting others to get what they desire. As a result, the links that hold the Wingfield family together are fragile, but at its best. Tom’s adoration for his family prevents him from chasing his dreams. Amanda’s worry for the future of her odd daughter causes her to distance her son. Laura however, is so emotionally and physically isolated, she keeps a far relationship from her mother; until the ending when she blows out her candles, she then creates a connection and starts a new beginning. Although the outcome of everyone’s assumption ended in an unexpected way, it brought the Wingfield family closer and created a different kind of bond they have no once had. After letting go of the past and forgetting of what used to be, the Wingfield family was able to move forward and look forward to a new future that is yet to come.

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