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Why does Amanda want Laura to have gentlemen callers?
Amanda wants Laura to have gentlemen callers to allow her to relive one of the most joyful parts of her youth, thereby distracting her from the grave seriousness of their situation. However, she also wants suitors for Laura because she is worried about Laura’s future. She recognizes that Laura must either marry a man to provide for her or be able to take on a profession, like secretarial work, to support herself. Laura dropping out of secretarial school kills any hope of her being able to provide for herself independently.
Why does Tom go to the movies?
According to Tom, he goes to the movies because they are the only source of adventure he, a lowly warehouse employee, can have, albeit vicariously. However, the movies also implicitly allow him to imagine a life where he doesn’t have to worry about Amanda and Laura. Tom is under immense pressure to devote his life to caring for Amanda and Laura at the expense of his own dreams. He always leaves for the movies after arguments with Amanda, which suggests they allow him to imagine a life where he doesn’t have these arguments or these worries.
Why is Tom the narrator of the play?
The Glass Menagerie is a memory play, that is, a play meant to depict events as they appear in a character’s memory. In this case, the play presents Tom’s memories of the events that lead up to him leaving Amanda and Laura for the merchant marines. Tom’s narration of the play emphasizes the subjectivity in the depiction of the events onstage, that is, the events are as he remembers them and not an objective reality.
What happens to the glass unicorn?
While waltzing around the room with Laura, Jim bumps into the table holding the glass unicorn, knocking it to the floor and breaking off its horn. Laura insists that it might be better for the unicorn to lose its horn and become like the other horses. However, the unicorn has not become a horse, but a broken unicorn. This moment foreshadows the tragedy that’s about to occur. Although Laura feels momentarily normal dancing with Jim, her illusions and hope of normalcy are about to be shattered by Jim’s revelation that he’s engaged.
Why does Jim kiss Laura?
Jim kisses Laura because her adoration of him reminds him of his glory days. In high school, Jim was a golden child, debate captain, sports star, theater lead, class president, popular with women. But six years after high school, his life has not advanced. Laura, however, still remembers him as the high school hero. She hangs on to every word of his motivational speech. She doesn't even get upset with him for breaking her favorite glass animal. He becomes momentarily enamored by how big she makes him feel, like how the candlelight enlarges his shadow across the ceiling.
