Jim: The Realistic Man

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

One aspect in particular of this play that I found eerily peculiar is how separated from society and the outside world, the three main character's appear. Now this may be because most of the plot takes place between the family members, however it still feels as though they are secluded from the rest of the world. Besides Tom's interactions with the factory workers, whom still found him peculiar, the members of the family seem neither to have many friends nor acquaintances. It feels almost as though they are alone in the world. They live in their own little world of meager importance and illusion. However, Jim ,the unsuspecting Gentlemen Caller, breaks that all by being the emissary of the real world. When referring to Jim, the story speaks of how very popular and talented he was, how well connected he was with the rest of the high school. He is just a normal, average outgoing man with the blessing of a big personality. He also appears much less quarrelsome and aggravating than Amanda and Tom, he acts around people just as normal people act, polite and pleasant. He also is much more attentive to what goes on around him than those of the apartment. He amazingly, in less than a day, is able to read completely into Laura's complex and give her the confidence she so desperately needs simply by flattering her. This, Tom and Amanda had never managed to do in the many years they spent with her. He is the only realistic person in the play, because he is the one least effected by illusions.