This change is subtle but it is important because, with this change, Laura has the most hope from her brother or her mother. Tom speaks at the end of the play as he does in the beginning of the play. He has not evolved not has he experienced anything that deepens his character. He is still as lost as he was before. Amanda, too, remains unchanged at the end of the play. It is Laura who emerges from some insular place to find her strength. However, she does not win a prize for doing so. She represents an aspect of the world that includes arbitrary catastrophes at every corner. She also represents one of Williams' finest characters because she does what many of us in the world want to do: "withdraw from the blinding light of reality into the softer world of illusion" (Stein). The darkness at the end of...
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