To conform is to comply with rules, standards, or laws-to behave according to socially acceptable conventions or standards, or to be similar in form or type. Partaking in these actions can lead someone to become so unhappy that they end up taking drastic measures in order to find satisfaction. In the playwright The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams suggests that conforming can cause to an individual to hate their life, so much so that they can even turn to harmful behaviors-such as drinking, to
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life has brought to the Wingfield family. The characters of this play are people whose dreams and life expectations have been shattered by the cruel reality. This disappointment breeds unrest and dissatisfaction in them, they feel trapped in their lives and are seeking for escape. In this extract there is a mix of registers. Moreover, the registers differ even within the speech of individual characters. While Laura and Amanda are speaking exclusively in formal style, Tom and Jim speak mostly informally;
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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
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read, I continued to become more and more attached to the characters and drawn into the play. The use of the narrator, Tom Wingfield, who is also a main character in the play, was wonderful. I really enjoyed the parts where he was speaking to the audience and Amanda would call him in and he would answer, look to the audience, and walk onto the scene. In my opinion, that made the connection with Tom even bigger for the audience. Tom is the working man of the family, the breadwinner so to speak
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Tom Wingfield is a determined young man. He has decided against everyone else in his family's wishes that he wants to leave the dismal life of a factory job, to pursue a chance in the Merchant Marines. He realizes that he would be running off like his father and this is probably the only thing that kept him from leaving this long. Amanda, Tom's mother, deep down knows the day is coming that Tom will leave. She says "But not till there's someone to take your place." She wants Laura, if not herself
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author reveals the truth about Tom’s unhappiness. He craves adventure, excitement, new experiences, and at the warehouse where he works there isn’t much. Tom tries to take actions into his own hands and sets up a dinner with a gentlemen caller for his sister. Although, things don’t go accordingly to plan and the dinner turns into a disaster, Tom ends up a tragic hero and feeling
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Menagerie: Scene 1-7 Study Guide NAME__________________ Scene 1 1. Describe the physical setting of the play. 2. How is Tom dressed as the play begins? Why? 3. Why does Tom’s speech open with a comparison of his role to that of a stage magician? 4. What is a “memory play”? 5. Why does Tom say there is a fifth character in the play? 6. What do we discover about Tom’s life at home in the brief first scene? 7. What do we learn about
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I like how the author used symbolism to portray each of the characters that realistically represents an individual in every family household. The Wingfield family is just like every other family that has a hard time coping with the reality that life presents so they create individual illusions to distort their frustrations and fears. With the common goal to sugar-coat the bitterness of the reality, each of the four main characters has their individual coping mechanism that makes them unique and
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Menagerie” Williams introduces one of his characters as being trapped in the past. If there was a specific character type that identifies the dramatic writing ability of Williams it would be that of Amanda Wingfield. She was raised in a southern home atmosphere with a traditional lifestyle. Similar to Amanda, these southern traditional women have a hard time coming to grips with the ideas and practices of contemporary life. Amanda, the play’s most extroverted character, is overwhelmed by depression due to
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Williams begins this symbolic journey from the very inception of the work. The use of the word “menagerie” meaning a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition or a strange collection. In this case, the strange collection is the Wingfields. The play and the text presents us with an overbearing mother who clings to yesterday year, a daughter that is mentally bound by her psychological insecurities that stem from her physical disability, and an irresponsible brother who want to escape
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