Poet's Society And The Glass Menagerie example essay topic

Compare & Contrast Essay The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams contained well-characterized characters. The 'Dead Poet's Society' also contained a great set of characters that were similar to those in The Glass Menagerie. It is fair to say that the characters of The Glass Menagerie and the characters of 'Dead Poet's Society' are more similar than different. Both stories had no main characters; therefore it was easy to distinguish similarities and differences between them. The Glass Menagerie had only four main characters, but they were successfully characterized differently. 'Dead Poet's Society' also had diverse character in the main characters.

In 'Dead Poet's Society,' Knox was exhibited as having no self-confidence. Knox had fallen for Chris and always needed the guys to support him. Time after time he wasn't sure if he should pursue her. Knox always asked the guys what should he do with her and if he should even pursue Chris.

Finally, after all of the absorbed advice given to him by his friends, he was able to maintain on his own. This was the same with the character of Laura in The Glass Menagerie. Laura was constantly held back and she needed support just like Knox. Tom and Amanda constantly pushed Laura to not hold herself back. Once again, as in 'Dead Poet's Society,' a coed is used to free the character from their confinement. In The Glass Menagerie Jim is used exactly like Chris.

Jim is used to show the coming of Laura's character. Not only were Knox's character and the character of Laura similar in both the works, but Todd from 'DPS' and Tom from The Glass Menagerie are also shown to be similar. Todd kept a certain mystery about him throughout the work, as well as Tom. Tom would go to the movies and keep to himself except for some outbursts of speech to either Amanda or Laura. On the other hand, Todd usually kept to himself as well, except when Captain made him recite the poem and when he stood up for the captain.

These outbursts of speeches characterize both Todd and Tom to be the same type of character. Not only are Todd and Tom similar in that they are mysterious, but they are also the same in how they are the ones that seem to be the most down to earth in the works. These guys are realistic al in the sense that they are not dreamers like Amanda and Neil nor confined like Laura and Knox. Tom and Todd form the stable cornerstones in both 'Dead Poet's Society' and The Glass Menagerie. Both the 'Dead Poet's Society' and The Glass Menagerie have their confined characters and their cornerstones as well as their dreamers. The dreamers in the 'Dead Poet's Society' and The Glass Menagerie are Neil and Amanda.

These two are almost exactly alike. Neil was dealing with many pressures in his life. He was dealing with maintaining his grades and satisfying his father. Amanda was also dealing with the actions of Tom and satisfying her role as a mother to both Tom and Laura. Neil was dealing with the pressure of satisfying his dreams of becoming an actor as well as satisfying his father. Amanda had to deal with satisfying her dream of living the fancy life as well as satisfying her children.

These struggles within these dreamers led them to two different fates. Neil was driven to give up on his life and Amanda was forced to either give up or start over. These two different endings are what make the works different. The ending with the suicide of Neil proves to be far more powerful than the ending with the leaving of Tom. In conclusion, although the plots and number of characters are different in both of the works, the characters are constructed very similar. Both Knox and Laura are constructed the same in the sense that they had no self-confidence and needed a push forward.

Also, Todd and Tom are made up to be the same since they are more realistic and they form the cornerstones of their work. Finally, both Neil and Amanda are constructed alike because they are the struggling dreamers of the stories. In all the 'Dead Poet's Society' and The Glass Menagerie are more similar than different.