The Glass Menagerie (Blog 1)
By: Tennessee Williams

One literary term that I found present in this play was situational irony.  In Scene 2, Laura admits to Amanda that she had a crush on a boy named Jim in high school.  She talks about how he was a talented singer, starred in The Pirates of Penzance, and had class with her three days a week.  I didn't think much of this confession of Laura's.  However, in Scene 6, I picked up on the ironic situation that was about to take place.  Amanda told her daughter that her gentleman caller was Jim O'Connor.  In the previous scene, Tom mentioned that he went to high school with this man.  "'There was a Jim O'Connor we both knew in high school.  If that is the one that Tom is bringing to dinner- you'll have to excuse me, I won't come to the table'" (1264).  Laura is terrified to see Jim again.  She doesn't know how she will handle his presence in her own home.  The situation of encountering Jim O'Connor is ironic because he was the last person Laura expected to see.  She thought that he was engaged when they graduated high school 6 years ago, so she assumed he was already married.  Unfortunately the situation doesn't end up how Laura would have liked, but I think that seeing Jim again was a positive experience for Laura.  He helped motivate her into finding self-confidence.  Because of this, the ironic situation had a positive outcome.