Different Diction

Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams

At first I thought I would be confused by Tom being both the narrator and a character, but what helped with the distinction was diction the author used for the narrator and the character of Tom.  The word choice and style of speaking for the two parts was quite different.  Tom as a narrator uses much more sophisticated and calm diction, as opposed to the character's choppy, fiery, simple diction.  Tom as a character exits the story in a storm- "The more you shout about my selfishness to me the quicker I'll go, and I won't go to the movies!" (Williams, 1288).  In contrast, the narrator's ending in the play is much more soothing and wise- "TOM: I didn't go to the moon, I went much further- for time is the longest distance between to places...For nowadays the world is lit by lightening! Blow out your candles, Laura, and so goodbye..." (Williams, 1288-9)  This difference in diction not only helps distinguish the two parts but also helps character feel more relatable while at the same time portraying the narrator as a wise man who has grown since the time of his memory.  Tom the narrator is looking back at the particular time of his life and comments on it not with the bias of hindsight, but more with the knowledge and clearer view of experience.

If the narrator had the same loose diction as the character, the reader might not give his insight much merit and might assume that Tom has not changed at all.  If the character had the same diction as the narrator, the character would not be as easy to relate to and might come of as pretentious.
The varied diction helps in not only telling the difference between the two parts, but also the difference between the two roles both the narrator and the character play in contributing to the theme.  The play is a memory play and the sophisticated diction of the narrator helps to display that and also show how Tom has grown.