Engl 215, The Glass Menagerie, 66-97

Overall, i think it was a decent play. Most everything up until the seventh scene is all basically giving the background to each cast member's personality, character, and problems. As well as preparing for the gentleman caller, who is Jim O'Connor. The reader already knows that the daughter Laura had a big crush on Jim throughout high school, however when Jim enters the Wingfield's apartment in the 6th scene he does not seem to remember her.

When Amanda and Tom are in the kitchen doing the dishes, i was not expecting for Jim and Laura to connect so quickly. Even though Laura is extremely shy, after a few words were exchanged she opened up pretty quickly. As Jim began talking a lot i sort of started to get irritated with him. He said a lot of egotistical things i though such as "you remember that wonderful write-up i had in The Torch?" i dont know, things that he said such as that irritated me. He seemed to talk to Laura a lot about fixing her personality such as "You know what i judge to be the trouble with you? Inferiority Complex!" which he explains to be a name for people who low-rate themselves. If many people were talked to like this they could get angry, but all Jim is trying to do is help her and i agree with what he is doing. It is obvious through the play that she seriously lacks confidence. After what seems to only be a few minutes, Jim basically opens up to her saying that he has strong feelings for her, and how she is different than most people and that is what he loves about her. He asks her if anyone has ever called her pretty and says " Well, you are! In a very different way from anyone else. And all the nicer because of the difference, too." At first you could take this the wrong way, like, im a different kind of pretty? but i think jim does a good job at making it clear that its a good difference, he makes this point several times.

I thought something serious was going to become of this evening between them too, but shortly after he plants a kiss, he basically tells her that nothing will happen from this because he admits to having a fiance. I felt bad when i read this, not only for just Laura but for Amanda as well as Tom. Amanda wanted something good to happen for Laura and Tom did as well, so that he can move on with his life. Amanda gets angry as soon as Jim leaves after hearing about his fiance, Laura seems to not show much emotion, she seems to just be kind of there. I felt bad for Tom because he was catching heat for not letting them know that Jim was already taken, when Tom had no idea. It seems kind of crazy that Laura got Jim to like her even though he didn't even go to the dinner to be a gentleman caller, he was unaware of a sister being there but the "secret mission" was still almost accomplished. I should have read the couple pages in the front of the book before starting the play, because throughout the reading i was going through different disabilities that Laura could have. I don't remember a part when they actually stated what it was exactly, so i was just guessing that it was polio or something of that nature. After finished I looked at the front on the page about the characters and under Laura it says "A childhood illness has left her crippled, one leg slightly shorter than the other, and held in a brace." At the end when Tom says that he left St. Louis, i didn't really think it was that selfish. Yes he left his sister and his mother to deal with the things on their own, but he still had a life to live but was held back by them. He followed in his father's footsteps like he said.