Existentialism in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie

One of the most important literary critical movements of the 20 th century is Existentialism, which is European philosophy, distinguished by its emphasis on human existence. The existentialist's main focus lies on the individual's freedom and choice. One of the pioneers of this school is Jane Paul Sartre who asserts that Man is free; but this freedom makes him responsible for the conditions he has put himself as a result of his choice. So he becomes what he makes of himself; either he remains a common individual or finds himself a place among the stars. The existentialists' major concern is the 'self'; they believe that it is essential to understand it in terms of possibilities, dread and decision. Many existentialists pessimistic their general view of the human position and destiny. They believe that the human beings can never understand why they are created and that the human situation is ambiguous and absurd. The existentialists have insisted that personal experiences and acting on ones own convictions are essential reaching truth. So the understanding of a situation by someone involved it is superior to that of a detached and objective observer. Existential themes are reflected many of Williams' plays, especially those which concern issues as freedom, choice, dread, anxiety and the ambiguity of the human situation. His characters finally recognize that they could not conceal their great need to assert their complete freedom before themselves and others. Tom, the protagonist of the play, is a good representative of Sartre's statement. Those who hide their complete freedom from themselves out of spirit of seriousness or by means of deterministic excuses, I shall call cowards. Williams began to realize his identity when his family moved to St Louis where he and his sister were teased and snubbed for their southern manners and speech by the children the neighborhood. This rejection forced Williams to escape into reading literary works by great writers as Poe, Chekhov and Faulkner. A major existential theme Williams' plays is self –assertion; his characters try to