Connection

One thing I've noticed between the Glass Menagerie and Native Son is the idea of this unreachable American Dream. For the families of both Tom and Bigger are surrounded by other families achieving their goals and living it up in their societies. For the two families we examine, however, this dream seems to get further and further away with each passing week. They struggle more than their successful counterparts for food and shelter yet enjoy less privileges. For Native Son it would be easy to associate the family's struggles to their race, but in the Glass Menagerie, there are no racial issues present. The mother to son relationship is also a very prevalent connection, as it causes friction within the families and adds to the conflicts at hand.