Characters in the Glass Menagerie and Death of a Salesman
The twentieth century produced multitudes of powerful literature of all kinds from many different authors, of which two prominent playwrights are Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams.
Williams and Miller produced works that dealt with the reality of Americans and their dreams with The Glass Menagerie and Death of a Salesman being two of their more influential works. Although the characters of The Glass Menagerie and Death of A Salesman have distinct qualities, they also have similar archetypes and personalities.
Dreams and delusions maybe different from story to story but their presence in the characters of The Glass Menagerie and The Death of A Salesman is one of several links between the two plays. Amanda and Willy are two such characters who mix dream with delusion and have trouble separating fantasy from reality. Amanda pushes her children and hopes to rel relive her youth through her daughter which clouds her ability to truly see Laura for who she is. Willy is much the same in that he believes his sons to be better than everyone else and builds up their egos in an attempt to boost his own. He has trouble visualizing his sons as failures due to the fact that it might reflect his failure as a father. Both of these characters retreat into their false realities in which their children are successful and a cut above the rest. However, a key difference between the two characters is their love for their families. Amanda shows her willingness to sacrifice for the ones she loves by taking a job for the sole purpose of increasing Laura’s marriage possibilities. While Willy on the other hand shows a blatant disregard for his family through his affair, even though his wife remains loyal and supportive throughout their marriage
The elder child in each of the plays, Tom and Biff, have personalities that are parallel in many ways and yet dissimilar. Both must deal with an overbearing parent who doesn’t always see true reality and creates insecurity and detachment in their children. Each has his own ambitions which deviate from their parent’s plan for them. Tom and Biff both materialize their insecurity and detachment in their respective plays, the key difference is the manner in which they manifest such insecurities. Tom embodies his anxiety through drinking, watching movies, and reading literature; all are attempts to escape the monotony of his life. Biff instead reveals his vulnerability with his kleptomania and inability to hold a job. Even though their expressions of anxiety are different, a unifying ideal is their desire to escape with Biff wanting to head West and Tom wishing to become and adventurer.
Another comparison that can be made between the two plays’ characters is that of Laura and Linda. Both of which are secondary characters who are integral to the plots of each play. Laura and Linda have the role of the emotional backbone of their plays and are more open about showing their sorrows. Laura weeps for her brother’s dissatisfaction with his life despite her own problems. While Linda must put up with Willy’s growing detachment from reality and later cope with his death. The two share the role of “the doormat” character where they just standby and allow things to happen with rare intervention into the happenings of the play. However, a key distinction between the two is their own misconceptions of reality, with Laura stuck in her own world of glass animals and Linda blind to her husband’s infidelity and lack of appreciation.
The differences between the characters in Glass Menagerie and Death of A Salesman create unique story lines but their similarities establish a connection between the two plays. Due to both plays’ comparable themes the characters that are created as a result of developing those themes have many traits in common. Williams and Miller forged stories around characters who weren’t in touch with reality and although the plots differed between the plays, their characters are astonishingly similar
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