...“The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams written in 1944. In many of his plays the circumstances reflect his own life, in the Glass Menagerie this is especially true. His father, a violent traveling salesman, and mother a puritanical, preacher’s daughter. He also had an older sister named Rose, whom he cherished, she suffered from psychological problems which lead to an institutionalized life. The Glass Menagerie represents a somewhat altered image of the Williams family. The play set in the 1930’s in the Wingfield’s meager apartment; which is in a lower-class tenement building in St. Louis, it’s a “memory play,” in which Tom (after his own real name Thomas) recalls scenes from his youth during the height of the Depression. Outspoken Amanda,...
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...Summary of “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams Before beginning this summary and analysis of “Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, it is important to point out that this play is not happening in the narrator’s (Tom’s) present, but it is based on his memories. The setting of “The Glass Menagerie” is a cramped apartment in a lower-class part of St. Louis in the year 1937. The main character and narrator of “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, Tom, is in a merchant sailor’s uniform and he details the setting even further, telling us that America’s lower classes are still recovering from the Great Depression. In the early stages of the plot of the Glass Menagerie, we also learn that his father left the family a long time ago, even though there is a picture of him that is plain sight throughout “The Glass Menagerie”. While Tom is speaking (as well as throughout the play) pay attention to the screen which presents certain words and images important to the text and try to imagine how this might be if you were sitting in the audience. In these first few scenes of “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, we meet the mother, Amanda, who still seems caught up in her life as a former Southern belle. She chides both of her children about being odd (Laura wears a brace on her leg and is painfully shy while Tom writes poetry and disappears every night to go the movies and get away from the depressing house). Laura is a fragile figure and collects glass animals and one...
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...harshness of reality. Some people never are able to face reality. None of the characters in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie are fit for living in reality. Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim use different techniques to get away from the relentlessness of life. Laura retreats to a universe of glass animals, Amanda utilizes Laura as a tool to live in her past, Tom gets away from the world by putting his time into composing poems and watching adventurous movies, and Jim thinks back to his high school school profession. Mr. Wingfield is hinted frequently in the play and is a definitive image of escape. This is on account of how he managed to completely remove...
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...something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible. In the cinema, entitled The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams exercised the use of symbols. One of the most abundant emblems in the play was the glass menagerie. However, other important figures were apparent in the stage play as well. Representations that were iconic in the drama included the glass menagerie, the movies, the apartment, and the fire escape. In the theatrical, Williams used the glass menagerie to represent Laura. This was the perfect symbol for her because it represented her externally and internally. The glass menagerie provided a synopsis for her externally because she was extremely fragile and crippled in the cinema. Evidence of Laura being lame comes from the text because Laura states, “I’m crippled!” (Williams 128). The eradicated menagerie pieces were analogous to Laura because both were easily broken in the play. The glass pieces of the glass menagerie were facilely destroyed in the play because Tom mistakenly annihilated the pieces. Because the glass pieces were demolished, it gave way for Laura to be broken internally. She was shattered with in because Jim broke her heart. According to D. Brent Barnard, he compares Laura and the glass menagerie by saying “Laura and the glass menagerie represent, as we have seen, those things which “relieve the austere pattern of life and make it endurable to the sensitive…” (Barnard 22.) Another...
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...Rhetorical Analysis of Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a play about the narrator turned hero named Tom. Tom works at a shoe warehouse and writes poetry in his free time; while also taking on the responsibilities of his family after his father left. The mother Amanda lives in her memories of gentleman callers and parties, while avoiding the reality of her crippled daughter Laura who is in a dream world of little glass animals. Her mother seeing no future for her, she gets Tom to find a bachelor for Laura and invite him to dinner. Instead Tom brings home Jim his employee and also unknown secret idol of Laura’s from high school. Jim gets her from out this dream world, but when he breaks off bad news of him being engaged Laura withdraws for good. Angering the mother and eventually leading to Tom leaving as his father did. In this play Tennessee Williams uses a multitude of symbols. From these symbols, there comes deeper understanding of the relationship between the play’s four characters. The most obvious symbol in this play is Laura’s glass menagerie, representing the world she lives in. Being that this glass menagerie is a representation of Laura’s world. I understood that when Jim bumped into the table and knocked the menagerie over causing it shatter; Laura picking up the pieces then handing it to Jim, showed then that she wanted Jim to be her world/her happiness. Another recurring symbol is that of the fire escape. Each symbol is a concrete...
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...Curtain Call: The Glass Menagerie Throughout Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie, certain symbols and themes are portrayed; among them the fragility of glass in the form of Laura’s glass menagerie and cowardice symbolized by the portrait of Laura and Tom’s father. The thread that runs through both the symbols of glass and the theme of cowardice, is self- image. The way these characters view themselves, and each other, bind them together and tear them apart simultaneously. In fact, the symbol of glass and the theme of self- consciousness are tied together in the mirror that hangs in their apartment. Eric P. Levy writes, the mirror “becomes a vital symbol of the act of self-consciousness by which a character apprehends his or her self-image” (529). We see these themes throughout the play and they are stressed upon the most at the end of the play. One of the most significant symbols, is the fire escape. As Williams writes, the “fire-escape, a structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth, for all of these huge buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation” (345). This desperation burned in earnest for the entire Wingfield family- Amanda, Laura and Tom- enclosed by their own limitations and views on themselves and each other. Amanda is trapped in her views of her former self, a lovely lady entertaining seventeen gentlemen callers; Tom is wracked with guilt and fury whenever...
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...Report: The Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie is a play written in 1945 by Tennessee Williams. Tennessee Williams was a major American playwright and one of the greatest playwriters in the twentieth century. Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Mississippi, on March 26, 1911. The name "Tennessee" was a name given to him by college friends because of his southern accent and his father's background in Tennessee. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948 and for Cat On a Hot Tin Roof in 1955. In addition to those two plays, he also won award for The Glass Menagerie in 1945. The Glass Menagerie is a touching play about the dreams of a southern family and their struggle to escape reality. The play is set in an apartment in St. Louis in 1937. Tom Wingfield serves as the narrator as well as a character in the play. Tom is determined and hard working man who works in the Continental Shoemaker’s factory. Tom lives with his Southern mother, Amanda, who is proud and confident woman and his shy and crippled sister, Laura. Another character is Jim O’Conner who is a friend of tom from the factory who tom invites to dinner and Laura’s first gentleman caller. The main action of the play is about Amanda's search to find Laura a gentleman caller. The Glass Menagerie's plot is parallel to the actual events in the author's life. The central theme of the play is escape from reality and many symbols in the story support this theme. Tennessee Williams adds life...
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...The Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a touching play about the lost dreams of a southern family and their struggle to escape reality. The play is a memory play and therefore very poetic in mood, setting, and dialogue. Tom Wingfield serves as the narrator as well as a character in the play. Tom lives with his Southern belle mother, Amanda, and his painfully shy sister, Laura. According to Margaret Thornton: “William wrote to himself about himself” (1). Thus, Glass Menagerie’s plot closely mirrors actual events in the author's life. Because Williams related so well to the characters and situations, he was able to portray the play's theme through his creative use of symbolism. The Glass Menagerie reflects Williams's own life so much that it could be mistaken from his autobiography. The characters and situations of the play are much like those found in the small St. Louis apartment where Williams spent part of his life. Williams himself can be seen in the character Tom. Critic writer Andrea Peterson states: “The third Williams child, a boy named Dakin was born after the family moved from Columbus to St. Louis, Missouri, when Thomas was eight. It wasn’t long before the general malaise and unhappiness in young Thomas Lanier’s life would lead him to writing as an escape” (1). One not so obvious character is Mr. Wingfield, who is the absent father seen only by the looming picture hanging in the Wingfield's apartment...
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...The Function of Light in The Glass Menagerie to Emphasize the Importance of Laura Sam Student Course/123 November 1, 2009 Sally Teacher The Function of Light in The Glass Menagerie to Emphasize the Importance of Laura Tennessee Williams explores the sensitivity to light in The Glass Menagerie through explicit statements in the production notes, screen devices, and references to descriptions of characters, especially Laura. The lighting cues as explained by Williams (1945/1999) enhance character and mood, and in practically every scene, Laura dominates the stage even though she has fewer lines. Williams (1945/1999) develops Laura’s character the most through his focus on light. Even though Amanda, Laura’s mother, and Tom, Laura’s brother, have the most lines, Williams’ production notes make it clear in describing Laura that she is the major character: “The light on Laura should be distinct from the others, having a peculiar pristine clarity such as light used in early religious portraits of female saints or madonnas” (p. xxii). One of Williams’ most interesting uses of light is the screen device, or screen image, as explained in his production notes: This device was the use of a screen of which were projected magic-lantern slides bearing images or titles . . . These images and legends, projected from behind, were cast on a section of wall between the front-room and dining-room areas, which should be indistinguishable from the rest when not in use . . . . The...
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...Literary Analysis: The Glass Menagerie Many critics believe that “The Glass Menagerie” is one of Tennessee Williams finest literary pieces, and that like most of his work, it was a reflection of his own life story. Born as Thomas Lanier Williams III on March 26, 1911, in Columbus, Mississippi, he lived with his loving but possessive mother and his older sister, Rose, who later suffered a mental breakdown. His father was a hard man who tended to drink too much and who was often away from home due to his job as a traveling salesman. Through most of his childhood, Mr. Williams felt like an outcast due to both his delicate health and the ridicule he received for his southern accent after his father accepted a job in St. Louis. This ongoing theme of lack of self-worth throughout his life was in large part due to his sexual orientation and lifestyle both of which were not easily tolerated in the early part of the last century. Although Mr. Williams self-doubt is evident in much of his work, the rest of the literary world and his readers feel without a doubt that his work is award winning. His impact on the literary world can be seen by the many awards he received including his winning not one but two Pulitzer Prizes for “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1948 and for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in 1955; as well as the longevity of his work which is proven by its contemporary recognition. Therefore, due to his literary genius and personal life experience, Williams was able to use the powerful...
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...family in The Glass Menagerie, it leaves Tom with an overwhelming feeling to do the same, feeling as if his father has found freedom. Throughout the story, it is evident that Tom feels the need to get away because he is constantly going to the movies to feel the adventure he has never experienced. When the reader is shown the true colors of where Tom’s heart really is, it brings a mild discomfort because it is noticeable how much the family really needs him and how devastating it would be to them if he ever left. His indifference towards his sister leaves his mother with a constant want for him to forget his father and dreams because she wants him to take care of them. Throughout the book, the reader gets a sense of disconnection from Tom. He does not seem to really be interested in what his sister is doing nor what his mom thinks. Him going to the movies is a constant reminder to him on what his father is doing and how much he wants to follow in his footsteps. Deep in his mind, he seems to cling to the notion that he might oneday be able to leave. Tom says to his mother, “Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I’d be where he is—GONE!”(Referring to his father)(Williams 1772). This shows his desire to leave and do what he has always dreamed of which is have an adventure. The Mother seems to carry this arrogance about her as if she is still young and beautiful. She tells a story to Tom and Laura and the reader can tell they have heard it before. Amanda talks about...
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...use of symbols, Williams conveys the incessant confinement of the Wingfield’s by circumstance, while also demonstrating the damaging effect of the characters’ illusionary worlds. Williams’s description of the Wingfield’s apartment as a vast “hive-like conglomeration” of cellular living-units establishes a prison-like feel, compelling audiences to consider whether American lower-middle-class populations only function as one inter-fused mass of automatism. Moreover, the Wingfield’s confinement, highlighted through stage directions, is emphasised through the symbolic fire-escape which demonstrates the elusive prospect of the characters escape and is symbolic of “an entrance and exit” out of the characters illusionary worlds. William’s...
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...Subjected to an unhappy marriage, an alcoholic father often away from home, and an unsafe, abusive environment, Tenessee Williams defied all odds with his astounding success in the drama industry. Though his home life was troubled, he grew to be an author known across the country for his wildly popular novels and plays, most notably of the latter being The Glass Menagerie. Modeled after Williams’s own family, Tom, Amanda, and Laura Wingfield are the artfully created main characters of The Glass Menagerie, each with their own distinct personalities constructed carefully through symbolism. With consideration of the motif of memory, Tennessee Williams uses recurring music, the victrola, jonquils, and Laura’s crippled leg to characterize the members...
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...Breaking the Victimizing Bonds Despite being portrayed as the villain of his mother’s unknown fate, Tom Wingfield in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams is a victim held in the life pillaging bonds of his father’s mistakes and the suffocating pressure of his mother Amanda. Thrashing to break free of his bonds, Tom brings about harm and resentment to his family as he abandons his home responsibilities to fulfill the responsibilities he has set for himself. As a victim in his own life Tom’s fate is unavoidable. The reader’s villainizing view of Tom’s leave is onset by his preceding to leave despite his father’s absence, his mother’s inability to fulfill her roles, and her unobtainable goals; however, these tragic couplings of events...
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...Jennifer Golson English 1302 Final draft Tennessee Williams once said “Symbols are nothing but the natural speech of drama.”(where I live 20) His disposition to transform the world of his experience into symbols can be found throughout his writing. The Glass Menagerie is one of Williams’ greatest plays and one of the most intense in terms of symbolism. The very title of the play is a symbol, and symbols occupy almost every sentence. It is said that this literary work was written as an allegory of his own life’s disappointments. The characters, lighting, glass, and even the props all prove to be somewhat symbolic in nature. In the play a southern family, trapped by poverty and codependency, struggles to survive in St. Louis. The story is narrated by Tom Wingfield who struggles with choosing between his own personal dreams versus accepting the reality of his families situation. Tom and his family live in an alley apartment and survive mainly on Tom's salary from a shoe factory. Having dreams that are bigger than St Louis he lives in a fantasy world and his mind is comsumed with thoughts of escaping their dreary lifestyle. The fire escape and goingto the movies are his only solice. He is able to live vicariously through the characters on screen, watching their adventures cause he is not able to live his own. Toms sister Laura is slightly cripple and is incredibly insecure. She had to wear a brace on her leg because of a childhood disease so she felt inferior. She...
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