Mother Knows Best- Glass Menagerie Blog 2

As scene 4 opens of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Mother and Tom are not on speaking terms, and Laura worries a great deal about this. However, after Laura leaves, Amanda and Tom end up both apologizing to each other about the things they'd said. This discussion actually leads us readers to characterize Amanda more closely and accurately. At first, to me, she seemed to be an overbearing mother to Tom and Laura- accusing Tom of going out to much and Laura for not being good enough to stay in school. Really, however, she is just a concerned mother who wants what is best for her children. Amanda confides in Tom, telling him how much she truly worries about Laura. She worries because Laura has cried over Tom's absence at home, Laura is no longer in school, and because Laura is not yet married. She tells Tom all of this and also gives him a few valuable words of advice, "'Try and you will succeed!'"(Williams 1251). Hopefully, as we dive more into the play, Amanda will stick to her own words of advice and let Tom take care of himself a bit more by letting him make his own choices and mistakes. Keeping a close eye on her, we will continue to see how she grows and reveals more about herself and the other characters as well.