PRO: Tom Wingfield is right to leave his family and follow his dreams.
CON: Tom Wingfield deserts his family at a critical juncture and deserves our scorn.
Take a side and make your argument in a well-thought-out paragraph. Reply to another student with your thoughts on their reasoning.
PRO: Tom Wingfield is right to leave his family and follow his dreams.
ReplyDeleteTom is a human being and all human beings have a right to pursue their dreams and ambitions. It may seem that staying and watching your life waste away is good for your family at the time, but if your family doesn't support you in making a life for yourself that allows you to be happy, I don't know why you'd stay with them. Family is important, but you shouldn't let even family get in the way of pursuing your dreams.
Although I respectfully disagree with your prospective, I do find it interesting hearing what you thought in regards to Tom leaving his family at such a crucial point in the play. This topic really brings up some interesting questions for all of us students, as pursuing our dreams/careers are on the horizon.
DeleteI agree with your post. Tom has the right to pursue his dreams and his happiness is the most important. He should not stay put where he is, if he wishes to do something else in life.
DeleteI agree with you, individual happiness should always be a priority and family is important, but life is too short to spend it always trying to please other people who might be too stubborn to be pleased.
DeleteCON: Tom Wingfield deserts his family at a critical juncture and deserves our scorn.
ReplyDeleteTom ends the novel by walking away from his family at a critical time in order that he might pursue a greater future. His longing to be out of his mother's watch only escaladed throughout the course of the novel. Tom, being the man and leader in the family, should have led a life of respect and loyalty, instead of secrecy and annoyance. I recognize that Tom had many responsibilities and pressures put upon him, but if he led his family and sought to lay down his life for them, he might have found a greater purpose for living. 1 John 3:16 reads, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."
I defiantly think that Tom faced a large challenge, his mother was difficult to get along with and he was restless with his own desires, but you are very correct that he should have been a true man and at least provided what he could for his family sense then really had no other options.
DeleteI also agree. He had the responsibility to look after this family. I think an alternate way to achieve his dreams while going places to have adventure was just to send money back home. He could have both sought to his family while experiencing his various adventures.
DeleteCON: Tom Wingfield deserts his family at a critical juncture and deserves our scorn.
ReplyDeleteTom does have a right to his dreams, but more importantly he has a responsibility to his family sense his father had already left. The time and setting of the play harbored very few prospects for a woman to support herself; at the core if they were unmarried they were left primarily at the mercy of others, sense school was not a fit for Laura. By Tom being the only man in Amanda and Laura's life he should have made some arrangements for their well being if he really could not stay, as it was he left them flat and carried out his own dreams with no regard to theirs. Not that the situation would have been fair for Tom if he had stayed, but it would have been right, and would have not so tormented his conscious like leaving did.
I disagree with this, strongly. Tom should not have stayed and made himself miserable just to make Amanda and Laura's life better. That is not fair for him, and does not push Amanda or Laura to take on any responsibility. It is not completely unlikely that Laura, having taken Jim's advice, gains some confidence in herself and returns to school, thus creating opportunities for herself. Tom carried out his responsibilities for years, but that is no life he should have been forced to continue living.
DeletePRO: Tom Wingfield is right to leave his family and follow his dreams
ReplyDeleteTom was wrong to leave his family, but at the same time, his happiness is the most important and he needs to make himself happy first. Tom had the courage to pursue his dreams and he took an action instead of just thinking about it. Your family is very important, but you cannot let them control your life and future.
I disagree, respectfully, because I don't believe the pursuit of happiness is our number one priority. An example scenario, what if you had five dollars, and you were itching for a decent burger, but a starving, poor man came up to you, begging for something to get him a cheap meal for the night? If happiness was our priority, then, would you let that man starve (not to be likened to Tom's situation)?
DeleteOur own personal happiness shouldn't be first. That doesn't mean it should be shoveled to the bottom of our priorities. That doesn't mean we should let ourselves get abused. But, it does call for a consideration of others, lest we end up like the protagonist of The Awakening.
PRO: Tom Wingfield is right to leave his family and follow his dreams.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do believe that there could have been ways for Tom to leave that would not weigh so heavily on his conscience, he had suffered and been deeply unhappy long enough. Tending to his family and taking on heavy responsibilities, it was time for him to do something for himself. His mother, having narrow minded ideals only pushed him further and further from his financial responsibilities as a son. While some may say that these financial responsibilities should outweigh his own desires, he lost his job before he left, and therefore was not making any money for them anyways. It is important for him to find a both productive and real passion, unlike his sister, and life at home with his tormenting mother was certainly not stimulating any personal growth for him.
While I disagree, I think you make a good argument. Tom's life was tough and he did lose his job before leaving his mother and sister.
DeleteHowever, Tom was warned that he might lose his job. He could have avoided losing it. But, he already made up his mind to leave, and was just waiting for an opportunity.
I agree that Tom should look for "productive and real passion." I am just not sure that his actions led to him finding it.
CON: Tom Wingfield deserts his family at a critical juncture and deserves our scorn.
ReplyDeleteWith a foolish father, Tom is put in a difficult position. He is left to take care of his sister and mother. He works at a factory to support his struggling family. Perhaps if his father had not left, he would have more freedom to pursue his dreams. But, reality is not so favorable.
Tom's desire for escape is understandable. He wants adventure. He wants a life that is not so constrained. However, in desiring this, he fails to realize that life is work. I am positive that Tom will eventually learn this when he finds that his life that he so desired does not come easily. His mother understands this. That is why she suggests that he spend his money on night school rather than smoking. She knows the value of education. She knows that with education, her son, Tom, can reach further and provide more.
Tom walks away from his mother and his sister at a terrible time. His sister finally likes a man, who turns out to be engaged. Naturally, Laura is heartbroken. Even through Laura is heartbroken, Tom walks away. His action merely causes more stress on a burdened family.
Although Tom's action is based off of natural inclinations, he chooses wrongly--and he chooses at the wrong time. His actions will have effects not only on already struggling mother and sister, but will eventually also burden his life.
PRO: Tom Wingfield is right to leave his family and follow his dreams.
ReplyDeleteI think it was right of Tom to leave his family to pursue his dreams because even though blood is thicker than water, obviously he didn't have a great relationship with his family and the fact that he even thought seriously about leaving was reason enough to go. If someone honestly considers leaving their family in pursuit of personal happiness, because they're positive they aren't receiving encouragement from their family, it's reason enough to leave them. Albeit, it was a difficult time for him to leave, but if he hadn't he maybe would never have gotten out. An individual's happiness should always be their priority because too many people live unhappy lives setting themselves on fire to keep their family warm.
This is a great post and I agree with you 100 percent, people should never feel like they have to be unhappy because of obligations like this, life is short and you can't live your life for other people.
DeleteCON: Tom Wingfield deserts his family at a critical juncture and deserves our scorn.
ReplyDeleteTom left at a stressful time, and while I don't necessarily condone his reasons for leaving, I dislike the fact that he left so abruptly, and without a better timing. His sudden departure wasn't likely rationally thought out. Emotions and temper must've stirred him.
However, I don't believe that Tom should deserve our scorn. We are all humans, imperfect in being, and I understand the fact that Tom was put through a lot of stress and frustration beforehand. Reaching his breaking point, with all these problems building, resulted him to leave. Tom is an emotional man, and sometimes feelings cloud his judgement. Perhaps he will come back. But I do know that Tom is not a heartless man, cruel at times, but still caring, and that he will feel guilt and second-guess himself. We don't need to scorn him. He does it for himself.
Con. While he has a right as a human being to follow his dreams, he is the family's only source of income, as his sister is too timid to go to typewriter school. On top of this, he left his sister in an emotionally vulnerable state, in which the man she loved had kissed her, then confessed he could not be with her because he was getting married. There is also no indication that he sent paychecks back to them, and it is likely that he continued paying his dues to become a merchant marine, so the electric bill with most likely remain unpaid. It is evident that he loves his family, but he still abandons them in their time of serious need.
ReplyDelete