Saturday, April 25, 2015

Tenuous Connections

Alright, at first I really did not like The Glass Menagerie.  I read the first chapter and basically thought "nope, this is awful. I can't do this."  I almost thought about cliff notes, but then I learned we were reading it in class so I thought okay I can deal with this, and it turned out, to my surprise, I am actually really liking it now.  I feel as if I am a kindred spirit to Tom in The Glass Menagerie, not only because I have a tenancy to narrate my life and am often pushed towards intense sarcasm, but also because of how he feels about his dreams.  For a long time I very much wanted to be a screenwriter, like Tom, and I felt the same way about it.  I suppose what I mean is when Tom expresses, or rather it was implied, that he feels embarrassed and foolish about his dreams.  Lets face it, that profession is not considered respectable.  Saying "I am a writer"  is in a completely different court in social standing than "I am a doctor"  or "I am a lawyer".  However, judging by the fact that Tom is the narrator and supposedly the "author" of the play he realized that doesn't matter.  Excuse my bluntness, but people who judge artistic professions suck.  I am not usually the inspirational poster type, but really following your dreams and what you want to do is a million times more important than what people think of you.  And if it is that important to you use an alias or something, because trying to spend your life doing something you are not passionate about isn't good for anyone.  You will hate it, you won't work hard at it, and you will never reach your full potential, so what is the point?

2 comments:

  1. Interesting that you could make that connection with Tom; I was personally having a hard time with connecting with him as the narrator. Though I lack that personal connection, I still find the play to be interesting because Williams gives you plenty to think about from a literary standpoint, so I wonder if you find a personal connection or solid writing to be more intriguing when reading a work.

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  2. I really enjoyed the path this journal took in general, using your connection to the The Glass Menagerie to a larger picture. Even though I don't feel a connection with Tom, I can understand your purpose (or what came of) writing this journal and apply it to myself, and I appreciate that.

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