Into the Looking Glass Wicked, a story, written by Winnie Holzman, about a misunderstood witch in the magical land of Oz, and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, a play about a small family going through normal problems. What could be similar about the two works? The answer is: more than one might think. In this paper, I will be comparing and contrasting these plays in two key areas: characters and themes. More specifically, I will compare Wicked’s Elphaba, Nessarose, Frexspar, and Boq to Glass Menagerie’s Tom, Laura, Amanda, and Jim respectively. Also, in respect to theme, I will be comparing the quest for redemption and escape from Tom and Elphaba. Beginning with Tom and Elphaba, both of these characters could be considered misunderstood children. These two can be can both be considered protagonists of their respective stories. Elphaba, also…show more content… Both of these characters are introduced very similarly. They are set up with the handicapped sister from both stories. Nessarose is set up with Boq by Galinda at the expense of Elphaba, while Laura is set up with Jim by Tom; however, this soon backfires because the two of them already in love with another woman. Boq is in love with Galinda, who has now changed her name to Glinda the Good, and Jim is in love with his fiancé. The issue with them leaving is that they leave after leading Nessarose and Laura on for a time, which causes immediate heartbreak for the two girls. There are several obvious differences between these two gentleman callers. One of which is the Boq s a munchkin in the land of Oz, while Jim is just a simple man that Tom works with. Boq, after breaking Nessarose’s heart, gets his heart broken by Nessa quite literally. She casts a spells that destroys Boq’s heart and kills him. He is saved when Elphaba turns him into tin. What happens to Jim is much less severe. He walks out on Laura with no consequences