What Is The Ending Of The Glass Menagerie?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Like Tennessee Williams, Tom thinks of the warehouse job as destructive to his creative endeavors. At the end of the scene,

Tom's violent action causes some of Laura's to be shattered

. Tom returns to pick up the glass but is unable to utter a word. This symbolically represents Laura's inner feelings.

Does The Glass Menagerie have a happy ending?

And in a welcome departure from most Tennessee Williams plays, there's a happy ending: Laura—left alone at the end of

The Glass Menagerie—runs off with the gentleman caller at the close of The Pretty Trap

. … Laura gets beaten down, Amanda is an insufferable busybody, and Tom's loneliness comes to frame the entire play.

What happens to Laura at the end of The Glass Menagerie?


The intimacy is broken and Laura is left hopeless

. Likewise, when Tom tells Laura to “blow out your candles,Laura–and so goodbye,” he, too, breaks the intimacy that they once had, rupturing the past. When Laura does blow out the candles, Tom takes his release from her as the play ends.

What does Tom mean at the end when he talks about Laura blowing out her candles?

What does Tom mean at the end when he talks about Laura blowing out her candles?

A frustrated poet no longer, he has created

this play. Laura's act of blowing out the candles at the play's end signifies the snuffing of her hopes, but it may also mark Tom's long-awaited release from her grip.

Does Tom actually leave in The Glass Menagerie?

Narrator Tom gives his closing speech and reveals

that he left his family shortly after that night

, seeking adventure and other non-boring activities. Tom makes it clear that he always felt guilty about leaving Laura, and couldn't get her out of his mind.

Why does Jim Kiss Laura?

Why does Jim kiss Laura?

He is politely telling her good by

. Tom has paid him to do it. He is showing his contempt of Amanda and her silly ideas.

Why does Amanda make Tom not be a drunkard?

Why does Amanda make Tom promise not to be a drunkard?

She fears Tom will become like his father.

Why did Tom leave in The Glass Menagerie?

Tom explains that he was

fired soon after from the warehouse for writing a poem on a shoebox lid

and that he then left the family. He says that he has traveled for a long time, pursuing something he cannot identify.

What is the message of The Glass Menagerie?

The main themes in The Glass Menagerie are

memory and nostalgia, filial piety and duty, and gender roles

. Memory and nostalgia: The Glass Menagerie takes place in Tom's memory. Tom, Laura, Amanda, and Jim each feel the pull of both painful memories and nostalgia.

What is the meaning of Glass Menagerie?

A glass menagerie is

a collection of small, glassed shaped animals, that are usually put on a shelf as decoration

. From the title of Williams story, it shows what the one of most important symbol in the play is, Laura's glass menagerie. Laura is a unique character of the play.

How does Tom feel at the end of The Glass Menagerie?

Tom reveals at the end of the play that he could never shake off the memory of Laura.

He seems to feel guilty at having left her behind

; but he never says anything about his mother!

Why does Laura say about the broken horn on the unicorn?

The breaking of the unicorn's horn

represents the breaking of her shyness, freeing all of the feelings she had bottled up and making her a normal person

, or a “horse”. “Throughout the whole play there is the theme of “escape”.

How does Amanda act towards Jim?

How does Amanda act towards Jim?

She is rude and sarcastic

. She reverts to her girlish charms and talks incessantly at him. She ignores Jim and talks at him through Laura.

What word does Amanda never allow to be used?

We don't even notice she's

crippled any

more. AMANDA: Don't say crippled ! You know that I never allow that word to be used ! The last time the word is uttered, Amanda finally admits what she really thinks of her daughter's condition.

Who is the most important character in Glass Menagerie?


Tom Wingfield

is the protagonist or main character in the play, he is also the narrator. “The protagonist of a literary work is the main character, who must change in some way during the course of the events, even if the change is entirely internal. Tom is clearly the protagonist of The Glass Menagerie.

Why does Laura give the unicorn to Jim?

Laura presents the broken unicorn to Jim

as a souvenir

. The figurine becomes a memory of Laura that Jim can bring with him when he leaves Laura and returns to his life, but it also signifies the normal woman that Laura will never become.

Rachel Ostrander
Author
Rachel Ostrander
Rachel is a career coach and HR consultant with over 5 years of experience working with job seekers and employers. She holds a degree in human resources management and has worked with leading companies such as Google and Amazon. Rachel is passionate about helping people find fulfilling careers and providing practical advice for navigating the job market.