An Analysis of Help in "The Glass Menagerie"

Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Mississippi to an abusive alcoholic traveling salesman and a former southern belle. Despite having an abusive father, Williams was able to seek refuge in the close relationship he held with his mother and sister, Rose. As he aged, Williams's troubles continued: he began to depend on numerous drugs had several Broadway failures, and his sister began to suffer an increasing mental imbalance. Although Williams did not live the ideal life that he might have desired, "The Glass Menagerie" became his first success in 1945. "The Glass Menagerie" tells the story of Amanda Wingfield and her two children, Tom and Laura, who live their lives in an apartment only accessible from a back alley.

The father left several years ago, forcing Tom to work in a shoe factory to support the family. Laura is an extremely shy girl, who is slightly crippled in her leg. Amanda, influenced by her youth experiences as a southern belle, desires the finest for her children. While Amanda desires the best, Tom detests working at the factory and considers leaving like his father. In an attempt to find Laura a gentlemen caller, Amanda asks Tom to bring home a fellow factory worker. Tom invites Jim O'Connor to dinner, but does not mention Laura. Horrified by the thought of a gentleman caller, Laura remains very quiet while in Jim's presence. While conversing in the living room after dinner, Jim discovers that he and Laura went to the same high school and had a class together.

During the conversation, Jim points out that Laura should not be as shy or bothered by her leg. After kissing Laura, Jim reveals that he will not be able to visit again, for he is already going steady with another girl. Amanda becomes angry at Tom for not enlightening her of this fact. This confrontation pushes Tom over the limit, and he finally decides to leave. Everyone in the Wingfield family has their own problems, but Laura is the only member of the family to receive outside help. In "The Glass Menagerie", Jim O'Connor acts as the deus ex machine, someone who comes in and fixes the situation. (2298-2301)

Although Mr. O'Connor can no longer call upon Laura, he provides Laura valuable insight on her problems and temporarily makes her extremely happy. During their after dinner conversation in the living room, Jim finds out that he and Laura had a class together in high school. This realization caused Jim to inquire about why Laura was so shy. After receiving an explanation, Jim analyses Laura's dilemma:

You know what I judge to be the trouble with you? Inferiority complex! Know what that is? That's what they call it when someone low-rates himself! (Williams 80)
Laura has focused entirely too much on her disability, and in turn, her imagination has made her believe the disability is much worse than it actually is. Because Laura has belittled herself so much she has had trouble in public situations. Laura was afraid to ask for Jim's signature after a high school play because Jim was with his friends. In addition to not asking Jim, she had to drop out of business school because she vomited on the floor during a timed examination. In addition to point out Laura's inferiority complex, Jim states:

Being disappointed is one thing and being discouraged is something else. I am disappointed but I am not discouraged. (Williams 78)
Here Jim relates his problem of being set for success in high school but faltering in his early twenty's and being forced to work in the factory with Tom. Now, Laura can see that even the people she thought so highly of are not perfect and that everyone has problems. After the two finish their discussion, they waltz and Jim kisses Laura. Despite finding out of Jim's girlfriend Laura, for a short period of time, was able to experience love. While not a permanent resolution for her bashfulness, Jim was able to give Laura valuable insight and possible instill some confidence in her for the future.

Perhaps one of the most difficult points in my life was my transition from middle school to high school. I went to a private middle school that had thirty people in the entire eighth grade, and we all knew each other very well. The public high school that I attended had over twelve thousand students. Moving from a small school to a large school, where I did not know anyone, was very difficult me. I mostly kept to myself until a fellow student whom I played baseball with began to talk to me and introduce me to people. This was very similar to Jim telling Laura:

I happen to notice you had this inferiority complex that keeps you from feeling comfortable with people. Some body needs to build your confidence up and make you proud instead of shy and turning away. (Williams 88)

This interaction gave me confidence and I felt more comfortable talking to other people. I now knew that there was no point in sulking and alienating myself from others. Many other people have experienced the same trouble I did, like Jim states:

You think of yourself as having the only problems, as being the only one who is disappointed. But just look around you and you will see lots of people as disappointed as you are. (Williams 76)

Because one of my former teammates intervened into my shy lifestyle, I was able to stop feeling sorry for myself and make a change. This intervention allowed for me to realize that I was not the only one to ever experience this type of adversity. As a result of becoming more social, my high school career became much easier and I no longer felt inferior to others because I gained confidence in myself.

One of the most universal truths is that no one is created perfect. Because of this fact one should never allow one of their flaws to affect the way they live their life. While others may appear perfect, one should remain confident and not be intimidated. Instead of being intimidated, as Jim O'Connor points out, one should use their differences as an advantage.