Oppression

Callie Huber
B period

There is a clear connection between The Glass Menagerie and Native son, oppression. In Native Son, Bigger is oppressed and shunned by society for being African American, in The Glass Menagerie, Tom is an outcast of society because he is gay. Bigger and Tom are oppressed by their mothers with the heavy burden of providing a steady income for their families and both the families live in poor housing conditions, another form of society's oppression. In each story this oppression creates the characters to feel trapped, and both express a want to run away from all the responsibility and hardship. Though one story is about a man and the other a family, and both are so different in numerous ways, the bridging theme between the two writings cannot be denied. The oppression that Bigger and Tom face, though it comes in different forms, is one in the same.