The Glass Menagerie

Zahira Necoechea
‘’Time is the longest distance between two points.’’
What does Tom mean when he says this?

‘’I didn’t go to the moon, I went much further-for time is the longest distancebetween two places.’’ (Williams, 508)
This play written by Tennessee Williams is trying to show us as readers and the audience a memory of a person who was living in the 1930´s right after the GreatDepression and before the World War II. In this play they mention us the Civil War and that they were living right where The Guernica War was happening in Europe. At this time they already know that theAmerican dream can’t be true and how they used to live and gain their life.
This text that Tom says is trying to communicate to the audience, to Laura and basically to the readers how does he feels, theway he stands life within his experiences and what he is going to do with it.
In this part of the scene as a final speech from Tom and conclusion of the play, Tom here is saying that he is nevergoing to go back to Saint Louis to see Amanda and Laura again. It is not as it seems, is not easy for him to leave his mother and sister, in the whole play Tom tries to talk with Laura and his mom maybein a metaphorical way to advertise them he is going to walk away sooner or later doing what he really wants in an independent way without needing to take and support his family doing the role of hisfather.
Even if Tom is gone he will never forget Laura and his mom, he was physically gone but his heart and his memories were left in his house, in the steps of the fire-escape and of course inLaura’s and Amanda’s heart and mind.
‘’I would have stopped, but I was pursued by something. It always came upon me unawares, taking me altogether by surprise. Perhaps it was a familiar bit of music.Perhaps it was only a piece of transparent glass.’’ (Williams, 508) Everywhere Tom goes reminds him of Laura, even the more insignificant thing is related with something that symbolizes his family....