Death Of A Salesman And The Glass Menagerie - 1452 Words

Time and space is an intriguing concept. Arthur Millers (1949) Death of a Salesman and Tennessee Williams (1945) The Glass Menagerie both implement these concepts in different ways. Death of a Salesman is told through a man who is imagining his memories, while at the same time, living his everyday life. The Glass Menagerie similarly is being told through the narrator, Tom Wingfields memories, but not while he is living his present life. The characters in both stories similarly reminisce of the past because of their regrets. However, the purpose of the reader is different in these stories. Arthur Miller (1949) demonstrates that Willy Loman is trapped in his feelings of guilt for what he did in his past, and how his decisions led up to†¦show more content†¦Tom even admits that the show is meant to be sentimental and not realistic (p. 2). Jim, Amanda, and Laura are trying to relive their pasts, whereas Tom is trying to create a future. As this play is acted out within Toms memory, it can be assumed that any scene without Tom in it was relayed to him by another character or invented in his mind. One scene especially involving Jim and Laura, when Jim tells Laura he is engaged, after which Tom does not receive the full story, and leaves directly after. Therefore, this scene exists only in Toms space, not the rest of his familys. Tennessee Williams (1945) establishes that Jim is trying to relive his high school days, and uses Laura to try and fulfill it. When he and Laura speak together he reminisces of his high school glory days. You remember that wonderful write-up I had in The Torch?[†¦] It said I was bound to succeed in anything I went into (p. 87). He also gloats of how the girls loved him in high school. I was beleaguered by females In those days (p. 89). Tennessee Williams (1945) reveals how Laura is trapped trying to relive her past love for Jim. She gave up college because she was too embarrassed to continue (p. 11). She never pursued Jim because of his high school girlfriend (p. 14). When Jim comes to visit, Laura is still in love with him. She even goes faint when he arrives. She is obviously quite faint, her lips trembling, her eyes wideShow MoreRelatedOedipus The King, Death Of A Salesman, And The Glass Menagerie1555 Words   |  7 PagesIn unit two of the semester, the class focused our attention on drama. As a class we read three very good play’s Oedipus the King, Death of a Salesman, and The Glass Menagerie. While all three of these plays were well written and had their share of both dynamic and static characters, the reader can’t help but notice that the mothers in all three plays were secondary to their male counterparts. 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