The Glass Menagerie
Tennessee Williams

Summary: Scene Six

Tom addresses the audience, while smoking on the fire-escape; he talks about the glorious high school years of the gentleman caller. Jim O’Connor was the best in everything he did; everybody thought that he’ll have a great future, but things didn’t turn out that way. Six years after high school Jim is working at the warehouse and has a slightly better position than Tom. Tom is useful to Jim, since he is the only one who knows about how great he was in high school and Jim knows the secret of Tom, he goes to write poems in the warehouse bathroom during work hours. Jim warns Tom that, if he doesn’t wake up he’ll loose his job.
Tom stops speaking, when the lights come up in the living room, which is completely transformed by the hard work of Amanda. Amanda is adjusting the new dress of Laura, who is very nervous, because of all the fuss which is being made by her mother. Amanda explains her that: “All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be.”
Amanda, who is extremely exited, goes to dress herself; she makes her grand entrance in a girlish dress. It’s a dress from her youth that she used to ware on grand occasions, like the first time she met Mr. Wingfield.
Amanda mentions Jims name and Laura realizes that it’s the same boy that she liked back in high school. She panics and asks to be dismissed from the dinner, since she won’t be able to eat at the same table as him. Amanda tells her that this in nonsense and goes to the kitchen.
When the doorbell rings Laura doesn’t want to answer, but she is forced by Amanda. She finally opens the door and greets Jim shyly and then leaves the room. Tom explains to Jim that she is very shy, and Jim replies that: “It’s unusual to meet a shy girl nowadays.”
Tom and Jim are speaking on the fire escape. Jim encourages Tom to study public speaking, since he believes that he and Tom are not cut out to be working in the warehouse and should instead