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Glass Menagerie1

like Amanda, Laura’s weaknessconsumes her ability to live in reality and her sensibility,her one strength.A third critic, Tom Scanlan takes the stance that Tom’sweakness is overcome by his strength. Tom is easilyentrapped and persuaded into situations that he may or maynot want to be which weakens his character but his strengthis greater than this weakness. The critic states that “thereappearance of Tom as narrator force the reader back to thepresent” (Scanlan 99). He shows the reader that Tom’sstrength is the ability to keep in touch with reality. Scanlan also shows the reader Tom’s weakness by citing theexample where Tom “is caught between a domineering motherand a stultifying warehouse job” (99). Although this is anapparent weakness in Tom, this critic’s view is that Tomovercomes his weakness of entrapment through his strength.In The Glass Menagerie, Amanda, Laura, and Tom arecharacterized as having both strengths and weaknesses. Amanda lets her weakness get the best of her while itoverpowers her strength. The physical weakness of Lauradoes get the best of her, but her strength of sensibilitydoes shine through at the end of the play. Tom’s weaknessof entrapment seems to be beating him, but his enduringstrength prevails in the end. Though crippled physically ornon-physically, each of the characters possesses a differentstrength which either helps or is overwhelmed by theirstrength which either helps or is overwhelmed by theirhandicap.Critic Judith Thompson argues that Amanda’s weakness istoo powerful and drowns out her strength. After consideringall the facts, Thompson’s theory proves to be a valid one. Amanda is a very weak person. She pretends that Laura cando everything she can do, as when she refers to the issuesof gentlemen callers. Amanda says that she must always beready because there is no telling when a gentlemen callermay show up (2115). She ...

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