How did you think the story would end compared to how it actually ended? How does the ending lend itself to the idea of the modern tragic story or the concept of “tragedy and the common person”?
11 thoughts on “Response to scene VII of “The Glass Menagerie””
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I thought the play would end happily with Laura finally getting herself a gentleman. While Jim and Laura were reminiscing about high school, everything seemed to be going well. Laura was getting past her shyness with Jim and he was giving her advice. Progress was being made between them just like what Amanda wanted. However, out of nowhere, Jim announces that he was soon to be engaged which was shocking to everyone in the family and to myself. Their family dream for Laura was crushed.
The final ending reveals that Tom has left the family, but he came back due to his love for Laura. He couldn’t bear to leave his fragile sister behind. However, the very last line in the scene states, “Blow out your candles, Laura- and so good-bye.” This seems to symbolize Laura giving up her dreams and in return, letting Tom be free. It relates to “Tragedy and the Common Person” since Tom is seeking his “rightful path” which is to go out into the world and just like the article states, “the thrust for freedom is the quality in tragedy which exalts.”
As I read scene VII, I truly believed the play would be accompanied by a happy ending because Jim and Laura were both getting to know each other and bond over reminiscing their time in high school. This created a sense of happiness that Laura never exerted to the audience. Thus, it gave me the notion that they would marry each other in the future. However, that was the exact opposite because Jim would reveal his engagement and all of Amanda and Tom’s hopes would be shattered. The ending lends itself to the concept of “tragedy and the common person” because Tom’s greedy drive to seek individual freedom has caused Laura to suffer with Amanda. This symbolizes the idea of tragedy because Laura is giving up her dreams to help Tom fulfill his as he deserts the family in St. Louis.
I believed that the ending of the story would involve more of Tom and his issues coming to a boiling point, but I was surprised that so much emphasis was put on Laura and Jim’s romance. I actually did not expect their relationship to progress as well as it did and did not expect Jim to reveal his insecurity regarding his self-worth to Laura. And while I knew that Tom would have to be involved in the final parts of the scene, it was surprising that he wasn’t more of a constant presence throughout the scene. The ending lends itself to the idea of the modern tragic story because the tragedy the characters experience is mostly internal. It also exemplifies the idea of the modern tragic story by including multiple characters who experience tragic events and not just one main character who shoulders it all. Tom’s supposed “happy ending” is still in its own way quite melancholy as he has not found a way to truly escape from his situation or memories.
While reading scene VII I thought that the play was going to end with Laura and Jim being together. Thru the play we learned that Laura had a crush on Jim in High School, and it was so rare but incredible that Tom was bringing him for dinner. However, in the last part of the scene, we learn that Jim is engaged. The end lets to the idea of the “tragedy and the common person” because every character is trying to escape from reality in his or her own, but Tom is the only one who gets to escape and tries to be free, in Arthur Miller’s words Tom is, “the individual attempting to gain his “rightful” position in his society.” However, he stills feels this weight of leaving his sister behind, which makes you question if he actually got what he wanted after leaving.
Initially, I thought there would be a twist at the end where Tom would turn out to be a gay couple with Jim and the story would evolve into his mother’s acceptance of his sexuality. Soon after I realized that I had been watching far too many modern shows with the same cheesy twist and decided to let go of that theory. Instead the story evolved into something greater as Jim turned out to be engaged yet oddly enough he still fell in love with Laura and went as far as to kiss her. Williams makes it clear how Jim’s mind is frantically thinking of his actions as he is described smoking soon after the kiss. It’s the little things that count in this final scene which makes it far more enjoyable. The ending puts Laura back in her shy lifestyle as her feelings have been toyed with, leaving her in a state of tragedy. Laura’s wish was to feel like a common woman which Jim helped with but in the end she didn’t feel like she had achieved her goal. Tom on the other hand wished for adventures but instead is stuck in the same place he began making him also a tragic figure.
I thought the Glass Menagerie was going to end with Tom leaving or dying and Laura getting married to Jim. Unfortunately, only the first came true. When I found out that Tom did not pay the electric bill, I already knew from that moment on that he was ready to leave the family.
The ending emphasizes the idea of a modern tragic story because every character in their own way is suffering and don’t really achieve their wants. Amanda is, if the only, the modern tragic hero in the story. According to Miller, a tragic hero is described as optimistic. Amanda thinks about her past and assumes that the same can happen to Laura. She views Laura disability as minor and should not hinder Laura from having gentlemen callers. She is always determined to see the light at the end of the tunnel despite the seemingly bad circumstances.
As I was reading through the scene, I expected it to end in a happy ending. However, Jim disclosed that he had a girlfriend and he was actually engaged. When Laura and Amanda were informed, they were crushed and desolated. The ending lends itself to “tragedy and the common person” because Tom decided to put himself in the “right position,” to pursue his desires but risking the stability of his family. Before Tom left, Amanda brought accusation upon Tom claiming that he was selfish and aloof. She alludes to the idea that Tom struggled with his dignity and responsibility by discarding everything behind as he evaded from reality.
I genuinely expected the last scene to end with Jim and Laura getting together. I was quite shocked that after he kissed her he then went on to talk about Betty and how they are going steady. Laura was crushed and Amanda was in some way too. This was their get out of jail free card. If he could take care of Laura then Amanda would have it easier and Tom would be able to leave. It was a tragedy in the sense that it didn’t end with a satisfying resolution for our main characters, they all got left in the dust in the end.
I thought the play would end with Tom describing all the great adventures he had and how happy he was after that last night where his mom told him to just go to the movies or rather go to the moon because all he cares about is himself. It seemed like this because the last thing Tom had on his mind before Jim left was that he was going to go on an adventure and leave his family. But instead he describes at the end how he couldn’t bear the guilt of leaving Laura by herself to suffer. The ending showed the concept of a modern tragic story because Tom went out on his so called “heroes journey” but it turned out to be a tragedy for him because he couldn’t leave his sister. I think the ending also showed how when Tom finished writing the play it was a way to get out of his head and feel like he was actually free.
I never thought the author was going to give us a happy ending. Also, I didn’t think Tom bringing Jim to meet his family would solve the whole family problems or end each of the characters’ misery. I thought it would be too easy. However, I did not think Tom would leave and have everyone’s life stay the same.
I think the Glass Menagerie’s ending relates to “Tragedy and the Common Man” through Tom when he ends up leaving Laura to purse his goals, which demonstrates that he was not able to put his dreams on hold any longer. After being constantly being berated by Amanda who represents the suppression of his own spirit, he decides to leave the household. However, he has to pay a high price for it by leaving Laura, whom he loves. This could suggest the idea of him putting something on the line to find his rightful place in society.
I thought the story was going to end with Jim and Laura ending up together. This way Tom would have been able to leave happily knowing his family was happy because Laura with someone, and their mother was able to see Laura with someone. However life is unpredictable, as the actual ending was. The ending is a modern tragic story because there was a possibility of Jim liking Laura, and Tom leaving happily. This tragedy was optimistic due to Toms “thrust for freedom”, there was always a possibility that Tom would’ve had a happy ending. Additionally because Tom is a regular person, ordinary people see that tragedy and pain happen to everyone. That ordinary people like us go through our own tragedy, that we try to change our status quo, and also see the possibility of succeeding.