The Glass Menagerie: The Narrator

The question, "What qualities possessed by Tom, and by him alone, make him the proper narrator of the play?" at the end of Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams can be answered in only one way. Tom Wingfield is the only character to be viewed as being realistic. Amanda lives her life in the past. She obsesses over her youth and the many possibilities and potential it had. Now that her life is a disappointment to her, she cannot escape the constant nagging of the life she once lived. Laura lives in a fanatasy world as well. She hides behind her glass sculptures to hide from reality. She doesn't want to face the world she lives in by getting a job or facing prospective husbands. Although Laura does see the possibility in a bright future, she is too afraid to fight for her dreams. This is why Tom has to be the narrator. He not only dreams for a better future, but he takes the necessary measures to accomplish them. "I give you the truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion" (Williams, 1236). This quote even tells us that Tom tells the true story. He sees the world for what it trully is.