Reply to: After Reply & Conclusion - Janie

I think we are just supposed to know that Laura has a newfound confidence, and that now she has a million possibilities awaiting her. Like she was reborn, and now has millions of doors open to her. Like most story endings, it's meant to be left up to your imagination.


I must say I truly enjoyed the story. It was very real, whereas many stories you see shield some things or seem to sugarcoat with extra adjectives, etc. It reminded me of a model's photograph, before it is airbrushed and all the blemishes and shine spots are digitally removed. The finished, airbrushed picture (most novels) has all of those extra things added to make it prettier, but sometimes it gets ridiculous and a little overwhelming. This was much more real, and the "before" photograph is just as beautiful as the "after." Sometimes I think people don't realize that simplicity is really all we need, and I was pleased with the neutral ending, the few characters, and the "readability" of the book. (:

After Reply - Jules

Yes, I agree that Tom wasn't really a bad guy. And I think that he probably would have shared some of his earned money with them too. I actually do think that he might eventually go back to see them- or maybe just to see Laura. I think that he thinks about her too much to never go back to see her. As for Laura- I don't really know what I think the future holds for her. I think that a lot of things could happen now that she has  new confidence in herself.

After - Janie

After the story was over, I imagine that Laura would have a newfound confidence, and maybe goes to a school thats more suiting to her personal interests; studying something quiet in a small class size. I think Amanda would still be mostly the same; she didn't really change throughout the story. I don't think Tom would have ever gone back to his family, but that if he ever made money on a poem or short story that got published in a magazine or newspaper, I imagine he would have sent half of the money back home to Amanda and Laura. He wasn't really a bad guy, he just wanted to be free to be his own person and he as definitley tired of being smothered.

Re: Re: Reply to: The Father Reply - Jules

Yes, and I think that at the beginning of the book, Laura would not have acted like that because she was still so shy and took everything personally, but since she changed towards the end of the book she was more like Amanda in that sense.

Re: Reply to: The Father Reply - Janie

Yes, and this is one of the few things Amanda and Laura have in common; they don't really hold grudges and can actually see past the hardships of broken hearts and choose to learn from them instead of avoiding and feeling angry towards the men that wronged them.

I think this is a trait A LOT of people (girls especially) would be much better off having.

Reply to: Glass Unicorn Symbol Reply - Janie

YES, that is exactly what I was thinking. She did surprise me by being okay with the unicorn breaking, and I really loved how she was so easygoing about it. She was able to laugh it off, and I think this quality (that I wish I had!) is why the news that Jim was engaged didn't send her over the edge or into shock. It is why her talk with Amanda at the end probably helped her, and why she probably didn't refute Jim's advice out of spite after he had left and the book was over. She doesn't hold grudges or anything of the sort, she is just able to laugh it off.

Reply to: The Father Reply - Jules

Oh I see. That does make more sense to have us wondering about the father. I'm actually surprised that Amanda doesn't speak of him with more anger. She nevers really seems angry when she says anything about him. If I was her, I think that I would have a bit more visible anger for my ex-husband leaving me.

Glass Unicorn Symbol Reply - Jules

Yes, I agree that the glass unicorn symbolizes Laura. She was so protective of her glass collection throughout the entire first part of the book. It was when the unicorn broke and became "normal" that she surprised us all by saying that it was okay, "I'll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less- freakish! Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don't have horns." I was expecting her to freak out because he just broke her favorite figurine, but she is very calm about it. It is the point when I think that she feels "normal" just like the unicorn. Also I think that the glass menagerie symbolizes Laura in the sense that it is so fragile and breakable, just like her.

The Father Reply - Janie

You're on the right track; I do think that the father was brought up to show that in the end, Tom followed in his footsteps. I also think that Tom's speech at the end, when he mentions missing Laura, is supposed to make you wonder if the father also wonders about the family he left behind, or if this is where Tom and his father differed. I think the father was also meant to show why Amanda is so controlling of her children; she is afraid of them (especially Tom) abandoning her. She wants Laura to have gentleman callers, but she also wants her to go to school, etc.

Glass Unicorn Symbol - Janie

I don't know about you, but I thought the glass unicorn was a representation of Laura. The glass unicorn was one of it's kind, which was just like Laura. This comparison was alluded to in the book, when Jim said,

"I'm glad to see that you have a sense of humour. You know - you're - well - very different ! Surprisingly different from anyone else I know!"

I also thought that when the unicorn broke, it was sort of a foreshadowing to Laura shedding her own insecurities and being able to feel somewhat normal:

LAURA: Now it is just like all the other horses.
JIM: It's lost its -
LAURA: Horn! It doesn't matter. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

Although the losing of the horn was tragic, it also symbolized Laura finally feeling normal around all the other people, like the unicorn feels like all the other horses now.

What do you think the horn breaking off symbolized?

The Father - Jules

What do you think the significance is of the father in this book? I don't really understand why he is brought up so much throughout the story. Well, its not like he is brought up all of the time, but I think he is mentioned way too much. He is not really that important at all in my mind. Maybe he is brought up to show how Tom ends up being like him...? I don' t know though, what do you think?

Reply to: Characters in Real Life Reply - Jules

Wow, that's really descriptive. Nice! :) I think most of them kind of agree with my images except for Tom. I don't really picture him clean shaven at all. He always looks a little scruffy in my head.

Characters in Real Life Reply - Janie

That is an interesting thing to be thinking about, Julia, and I like your idea.

I picture Amanda as a giggly woman who looks young for her age, but has quite a few laugh lines. She has long, brown hair in loose curls and hazel eyes. She has a girlish, hourglass figure, around 5'7'', and squints her eyes and throws her hair over her shoulder when she laughs.

Tom is around 6', has brown hair (but it's lighter than his mother's) that is neatly kept, and is clean shaven at the beginning of the play but as the play progresses, he starts to get a little scruffy (because you can see the stress of staying with his family starting to show). He wears a forest green shirt and faded jeans with some rips starting to show around the knees. He is slightly muscular, but not so much that he would be considered buff.

Laura has a light, mousy brown hair and green, piercing eyes. Her hair is not perfectly curled like Amanda's but hangs sort of limp and falls into her face for every scene but the last, when Jim and her are talking. Its also around shoulder length. She has a sweet-looking rounded face. I also picture Laura as being quite short for her age, only around 5'3''.

Jim is broad shouldered and is one of those guys who is alwayus smiling, though sometimes in a slightly ignorant way. For example, if there would be an awkward silence, Jim would be the one who grins stupidly. (I'm not saying he is ignorant, he just has what some people would refer to as a "stupid smile") He has sandy colored hair in my mind as well, and is also quite tall, around 6'4''.

Reply to Fire Escape Symbol - Jules

Yeah, that's really good and completely true. Also, just to add on to Laura's fire escape symbol- remember when she was going out and she slipped on the fire escape? I think that that is another symbol about going out of her home that made her uneasy- she never knew what was going to happen and couldn't predict that sort of thing. Good job with the fire escape symbol- that's deep! :)

Reply to: Themes Reply - Jules

Hmmm I can kind of see where you are coming from, but I still believe that Amanda would rather be back in her old days. I believe that it is very important to her to have a husband  (she obviously cares about a husband for Laura) and I think that since her husband left her she wants to go back to the time when she had all sorts of people who wanted to be her husband. She is very protective of her children though, and does truly care about them, but I still think that she would rather be back in the old days, since she talks about it so much and constantly brings it up throughout the book.

Fire Escape Symbol - Janie

I think the escape theme was further accentuated with the fire escape, which was a symbol that was different for each character. For Tom, I think the meaning of the fire escape was most obvious and most relating to the theme; it was literally an escape, from his home, his family, his troubles. For Amanda, the fire escape was more of an opportunity, as she was always longing for gentleman callers to come knocking. And for Laura, the fire escape was the passage to the scary outside world, which is why she really never went out there during the course of the play.

Characters in Real Life - Jules

I was just thinking about what I picture all of the characters as. So now I'm going to list off exactly what I picture them looking like, so that you can compare what you were thinking they looked like to what I was thinking they looked like. I picture Amanda as this medium hight woman with short curly brown hair. I picture Tom as tall and with dark brown hair and kind of a scruffy beard/mustache thing going on. But it is not really a full beard/mustache, just a hint of one. Laura I picture having medium length blond hair that's kind of dirty looking and she is rather short in my mind. Jim I picture as very tall and broad shouldered and has sandy brown hair and is clean shaven. I'm not really sure what is making me think of this, but now that I am thinking of it, I am very curious as to what you picture the characters as.

Themes Reply - Janie

I definitley agree that escape from reality is a HUGE theme that exists in the book. I do disagree with you when you said that Amanda lives in the past and is therefore seperated from her children. I don't think she was separated from them, I got the impression that she was living through them. Like she was trying to control their fates when she should be worrying about mothering them and not smothering them.

Themes - Jules

So, Janie, what do you think were some common themes in the book? A theme that I thought constantly showed up throughout the book was a separation from reality. I thought that all of the characters had a separation from there dreams and reality (with the exception of Jim). For example, Amanda obviously would like to be back in her younger teenage years. She constanly talks about it, reminiscing the "good" times of her life. She is separated from her current life, with her kids and no husband. Tom is separated from reality in the sense that he doesn't understand that everyone has to work in life. He hates his job, complains about it throughout the entire book. He prefers to be lazy, drinking, going to the movies, ect. Laura has the biggest separation from reality in the book. She is so shy, and prefers to be in her world of glass figures. All of the characters would rather be somewhere else, in a different place, time period, ect. It's actually kind of sad when you think about it, none of them really enjoyed their lives.

Reply to Jim Reply - Jules

Yes, I do agree that Laura probably did have a bit more confidence from what Jim told her. What he told her was so sweet and heartfelt! If only he didn't dash it down by telling her he was engaged a few seconds after that... Anyway, I agree that Jim had good intentions, he just wasn't really thinking through everything that he did.

Jim Reply - Janie

Yeah, I agree that Jim seemed to be playing with Laura's emotions. It would have definitely been logical for him to tell her about Betty as soon as she asked if he was engaged, but then the author wouldn't have been able to fit in the symbolism that he did; with the unicorn. Also, even though ended up telling Laura he was engaged, leaving Laura slightly heartbroken and confused, she still got to hear all the nice things that he thought about her and all of the advice he gave her to help her get over those irrational thoughts about her cripple.

"You think I'm making this up because I'm invited to dinner and have to be nice. Oh, I could do that! I could put on an act for you, Laura, and say lots of things without being very sincere. But this time I am. I'm talking to you sincerely. I happened to notice you had this inferiority complex that keeps you from feeling comfortable with people. Somebody needs to build your confidence up and make you proud instead of shy and turning away and - blushing - Somebody -ought to - Ought to - kiss you, Laura!"

Even though he ended up leaving turmoil in his wake (And it WAS unintentional; try to remember that. He didn't actually know what he was doing), if you'll remember the passage I put in my ending post, everything turned out alright. We can assume that Amanda helped Laura get over Jim, but we can also assume she kept that newfound confidence and maybe even took his advice.

Jim - Jules

Okay, Janie, what do you think of Jim? I think that I dislike him. He isn't really a 'bad guy', but he really led Laura on, telling her that she was pretty and then even kissing her. About a minute after kissing her he tells her that he is engaged and then promptly leaves. I mean, how rude is that? He completely led Laura on! Laura even asked him if he was engaged to that one lady because she saw it in the paper, and he said no! I think that that would have been an appropriate time to mention that he was engaged to a different person! I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but this really made me turn my feelings around about him. Laura's self confidence was low enough, I think after that incident it was underground. Sorry if I'm ranting, it just made me really mad how he hurt her.

The Last Paragraph Reply - Jules

For the first part of the monologue Tom is saying that he is like his father, you know, leaving the family and everything. He is also saying that everywhere he is, things remind him of what he left behind, especially Laura. If glass catches his eye, he thinks of Laura.  I don't believe that he wants to think of them though, I believe that he is trying to forget about that part of his life. And I do think that he has erased his mother from his mind, because he doesn't mention her, and she is the reason that he left the home in the first place. But Laura is stuck in his mind, everywhere he travels. I think a sequel to this book would be very interesting, because I bet that it would be about Tom going back to see Laura, because I believe that he subconciously misses her. I hope that I cleared up the confusion...

The Last Paragraph - Janie

On the last paragraph, where Tom had a fairly long monologue, I was having trouble figuring out what he was saying. I think it has something to do with the guilt he feels in trying to forget his past; trying to erase the memories of his family - Laura in particular - but I feel like I'm not understanding the whole thing.

Any thoughts?

Re: Reply to: The Ending Reply - Janie

Yes, I understand that completely. I would have probably been a bit more satisfied as well if the author had made the ending more resolute.

P.S. I love your word choice! "Resolute!" :D

Reply to: The Ending Reply - Jules

Yes, I do agree that maybe there is some sort of happiness for Laura there, however, I still wish that the author had elaborated more and made the ending a little longer and more resolute. I mean, the book is so short, it could have standed to last a little longer regardless of whether the ending was good or not.

The Ending Reply - Janie

I understand where you're coming from about the ending. We have no idea if Laura will ever find bliss, and Tom leaves, and its sort of a downer. But I think that Laura has new self-confidence, despite Jim's awful departure. The play also leaves a shred of hope, with:

"Now that we cannot hear the mother's speech, her silliness is gone and she has dignity and tragic beauty. Laura's hair hides her face, until, at the end of the speech, she lifts her head to smile at her mother. Amanda's gestures are slow and graceful, almost dancelike, as she comforts her daughter."

I think that these lines give us insight into the fact that, yeah, things are bad, but they are going to get through it. Laura has grown and Tom has learned to stand up for himself. Its almost twisted; the ending seems bad, but its really not. Our characters have learned something about themselves, and everything is going to be alright.

Amanda Reply - Jules

I completely agree about the Amanda thing. I honestly felt like she was flirting with Jim at first, you know, how she was telling him how she had all of those callers when she was younger and telling him all those jokes. But I really think that she was just trying to make him think more highly of Laura. And yes, I think that she has good intentions for her children but does not always do the right thing for them. For example, how she was always nagging Tom about how to properly chew his food. She was just trying to be caring for him, but it really seemed annoying. Also, with the whole thing about Laura going to school. Some people may call her a bad mother because she wasn't making sure that her daughter was actually going to school, but I feel that she shouldn't have to check up on that sort of thing for someone as old as Laura. I feel like she really tried to be a good mother for them, she just didn't always do it the right way.

Amanda - Janie

Amanda was kind of a strange woman. When Jim came over, I know she was just trying to impress him and show that Laura came from a lovely family, etc. but she seemed kind of fake. Almost to the point where she was acting ditzy. It also bugged me a little bit, how she tried to force her children to do things they didn't want to do. Though she did mean well, and I admire her perseverance. She had tried to get Laura out of her shell and out of her comfort zone, even though none of her efforts availed until Jim came over. Amanda wanted so much for her daughter to feel more included, Laura ended up isolating herself because it was overwhelming. But Jim, instead of forcing her into public settings, just told her she was pretty, and that had much more of an effect. It seemed like Amanda could be a bit oblivious to what was going on, especially in Laura's case.

What do you think of her, Julia?

The Ending - Jules

Okay, so I found the ending of this book rather depressing. It seemed to end really quickly, basically with Jim leaving and crushing Laura's dreams (because he told them he was engaged), and then Tom talking about how he left their home and continues to think about Laura. I really wished that there was some sort of closure with Laura's life, something happy, because I ended the book feeling worse for her than I had even started. Nothing good/pleasant seemed to happen to Laura throughout this book. The happiest part was when she and Jim were talking, but that ended quickly with him telling her that he was engaged. What do you think?

Laura Reply - Janie

I agree. Laura seemed really self concious of her cripple, and I loved how Jim's visit when the lights went out sort of forced her out of her shell. I thought it was kind of cute when Jim asked her to sit closer to him, so he could see her face. (:

Laura - Jules

Okay, Janie, so I hope I'm doing this right because I really wasn't sure where to do this, but I think this is right. I was thinking that I would start out by talking about Laura. She is the main character of the book, although her mother and brother are very important too.  I have felt pretty bad for Laura throughout this entire book. She really has no self confidence and thinks so poorly of herself. I think that the reason that she feels this way is because of her brace that she had in high school. I really liked the part when Jim told her "I never heard any clumping!" I thought that this really helped show Laura that people don't really notice those sort of things, they care about the personality. So anyway, what do you think of her?