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The function of the family home serves as an illumination of the characters’ lower level status and
encapsulated existence, further highlighted by the absence of the runaway father. In The Glass
Menagerie, Laura Wingfield's unicorn represents a pure, unique soul that is damaged by contact with
the world.Likewise, Laura herself radiates delicacy and purity, which she isn't able to retain fully
after her dinner with the gentleman caller. This is an evident reference to glass regarding the plays
visual setting whereby the writer’s objective of it being illusory is achieved. That nothing can be
done about it and a man’s life is an “atonement for the human condition” (Parker). In scene four
Laura rushes out, a second later she cries out having slipped. Keep on browsing if you are OK with
that, or find out how to manage cookies. By employing memory play and new plastic theater,
Williams frees himself from the confines of conventional theater in order to emphasize the underlying
reality. In response to this, a silhouette of a suited man, waiting at a door holding flowers is
projected when the term was first used, and once again further into the play when Jim arrived at the
apartment. As much as Tom wants to live his own life, his actions would jeopardize the well being
and security of his mother and sister. The rainbow-colored lights and the lively music point to a
world of leisure, ease, and good times. A ” coherent set of autobiographical memories, a picture of
ones course of life” builds up ones self image, for the preservation of which some experiences are
oppressed or transformed. The scenes barely call for much physical action, and to prevent them
becoming merely duly static, great precision is required from directors in creating on stage the kind
of moving portraiture that William calls for, so as to encapsulate visually the emotional circumstances
of each scene. The confusion in the mind of Oedipus in Oedipus Rex, compulsion for Nora Elmer in
A Doll's House and constriction in the mind of Laura in The Glass Menagerie all get evaporated,
when these fictional characters undergo self-realization. But the unicorn breaks, the music of
“Paradise” gives way to the sad sounds of the Victrola, and even Amanda is left without defenses
against reality. The main thing that it symbolizes is an escape for Laura from the real world. She, like
Amanda, could be unwittingly cruel in her desire to do the best for her “precious children.” (Scene 5,
p. 266). She reminds him that they knew each other in high school, and that he used to call her “Blue
Roses.” Jim feels ashamed that he did not recognize her at once. A fragile unearthly prettiness has
come out in Laura; she is like a piece of translucent glass touched by light, given a momentary
radiance, not actual, not lasting” ( glass 62). The Wingfield family are supposedly similar to
Tennessee's own kin. Amanda insisted that he wait until Laura could find a husband. Quick
summary Of what happens in the scene and the subject Of conversation a. The Glass Menagerie
With the use of reflections and faulty characters Tennessee Williams made the play The Glass
Menagerie more close to her own life.An unsuccessful romantic atmosphere is created in the play
using the defective characters. Of the three Wingfields reality has by far the weakest grasp on Laura.
The image of blue roses is a beautiful one, and it is the image that is indicated as being on the screen
at the start of Scene Two. The author presented a narrative discourse of the lives of the three main
characters, Tom Wingfield, Amanda Wingfield, and Laura Wingfield (Williams). After losing his job
with the shoe company, Tom tries to break free of his stifling, unhappy family life and attempts “to
find in motion what was lost. There is symmetry between the uneasy peace of the time period and
the uneasy peace in the Wingfield house. American theatre when compared to other art forms was
slow to change and hand in hand with Kingsley Amis, Tennessee Williams embraced the post war
genre of realism and horror. Laura is crippled, able to walk only slowly and with great effort, and
emotionally she is terribly fragile. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more
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Learn More However, he knows he will never accomplish his dreams while he is supporting his
mother and sister and his frustration is taken out in drinking and going to the movies, which disgusts
his mother who feels he should be spending his time in loftier pursuits. Whereas if the narration was
unbiased, Amanda possibly could have been presented as a loving mother, who does everything for
her children. On the surface, the short slice of life story seems to be simple. Through this, Williams’
intrinsic truth comes to light. Amanda is imagining a fairy tale life for her daughter, and when she
asks Laura to wish on the “little silver slipper of a moon,” her description of the moon is an allusion
to Cinderella. Louis, but for now he can only escape through the illusions offered by the movie house
and the stage magician. Although she retreats to the records and stays on the couch while the others
eat dinner; she is later accompanied by Jim. This closing speech is one of the most famous moments
in all of Williams’ work, and indeed one of the most haunting and beautiful moments in all of
American theatre. When Amanda tells Jim that he should come again, he tells her about his plans to
marry his current girlfriend. Tom is in awe of the magician because he does not have to choose; he
can escape without causing any harm, a feat that might be impossible for Tom. Laura speaks
admirably of Jim’s voice, and he autographs the program of the show he was in, The Pirates of
Penzance. Amanda reminds Laura that she has told her daughter never to use the word “cripple,”
and says that Laura should overcome her “little defect” by cultivating charm. These papers were
written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Glass Menagerie. The menagerie
represents each individual character in the family and the family as a whole while representing plot
progression and the aspirations of the family. Just as America stirs restlessly with the uneasy peace
before the Second World War, Tom seethes with the need to escape his home and set out into the
world, as his father did before him. The locked world in which dreams are the only service to desires
and passions becomes more open in the end of the play, Laura experiencing the genuine affection of
a romantic suitor and Tom seizing the opportunity to truly escape the family home. For this to exist,
she greatly depends on her mother and brother. However, it is not a true autobiographical work in the
sense that there is chronological order and true documented facts to his life. She is confined herself
in the security of her house and rarely come out of that. Jim was once the big man on campus, and
life has yet to prove as rewarding as he’d once found it. But Tom’s intentions are a perverse
alteration of the deal offered by Amanda. Amanda is vicariously reliving her youth, and her longing
for that youth is made clear when she dresses in the old frock she wore as a young girl. Realistic
theatre, he believed, was dull and prosaic and his concern was to crate a kind of stage poetry. This
essay will individualise and analyse the symbols, and will try to connect them with other symbols.
Many of. This also stresses how frantic Tom's situation is, which I’ll elaborate later on. Discourse
Analysis of Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie. Secondly, she helps compound the theme of
the difficulty in accepting reality the most. It is the process or ability to recall a past incident,
something that once was reality. In general, a Tennessee Williams faded belle is from a prominent
Southern family, has received a traditional upbringing, and has suffered a reversal of economic and
social fortune at some point in her life. He writes that man has very little reason to live because of a
fragmented universe (Parker).
Both elements work together hand in hand to create a fascinating whole, a masterpiece of a truly
great playwright. It explains some of the actions (or inactions) taken by some of the characters such
as Amanda and Tom, and also provides Williams with the opportunity to make some interesting
comments about American society at the time. Tom is trapped in the apartment, with no outlets at
home for the ambitions or desires of a young man. By employing memory play and new plastic
theater, Williams frees himself from the confines of conventional theater in order to emphasize the
underlying reality. Inform Williams’ contrast “an essentially melodramatic vocabulary of the lost
past.” (Aronson) With a revolutionary idea of the introduction of memory and the fluidity of its
transition. This essay explores the credibility of the glass menagerie as a believable, realistic play;
given that its narrator says that the play is based on memories and memories can be distorted at will.
Later in 1945, the play opened in New York with similar success. Amanda feels that she suffers and
struggles for the sake of her children, and that her efforts go unappreciated by Tom. Amanda is
thrilled, but Tom also tells her that the gentleman caller is arriving tomorrow evening. A share
characteristic of creative writing and the declarative memory is therefore the “Past, present and
future and stung together as it were, on the thread of the wish that runs through them” (Freud,
1908). Some theatre critics also maintain that, because William’s material for his play is real and
based on his childhood memories, he does not have to drape his plays in realistic conventions for
fear of lack of credibility. Visible is a large collection of transparent glass animals, this being the first
direct reference to glass. She compares Williams to Proust and compares how Williams pieces the
images of the past together from the fragments of a “shattered consciousness”. It shows how glass
like and fragile the characters are. While it is completely unlike the other animals in the menagerie,
sticking out very prominently, it does not do so in a garish or ugly way. Regardless of what the
intention is, Williams manipulates this aspect of dramatic theater in order to clarify or enhance the
deeper meaning. Amanda alludes to Gone With the Wind, comparing the new serial to the famous
story of Scarlett O’Hara. However what would result is broken pieces of shattered glass. Though he
tried to leave his family behind, his memory of his mother and sister continues to haunt him. In the
first scene we see the family having dinner and discussing if Laura will have any gentlemen callers
that night. The newspaper headline, “Franco Triumphs,” gives the audience the first specific marker
for the time of the play: 1937. The play is about the failure of a domineering mother, Amanda, living
upon her delusions of a romantic past, and her cynical son, Tom, to secure a suitor for Tom’s crippled
and painfully shy sister, Laura, who lives in a fantasy world with a collection of glass animals. Many
of these symbols possess similar meanings, resulting in comparable themes in both stories. Laura asks
Jim about Emily Meisenbach, his ex girlfriend who Laura thought he was married to by now. Here,
he has the screen legend project a line from the argument in the following pages; therefore,
foreshadowing the dispute. Through memory play and new plastic theater, Williams is able to twist
these conventions to fit his mold. “Being a memory play, The Glass Menagerie can be presented
with an unusual freedom of convention” (Maiti 7). He is given the unenviable task of being the voice
of reason in the Wingfield house. Her pure and inalterable attachment to her glass menagerie can be
associated with for example say a wineglass’s pure and clear structure. She is mentally engrossed by
her glass collection, which remains powerfully existent as her source of solace. Another character
who features prominently in the play is Amanda Wingfield, the mother to Tom and Laura.
The newspaper headline, “Franco Triumphs,” gives the audience the first specific marker for the time
of the play: 1937. This concept is particularly true of Amanda Wingfield, mother to Tom and Laura.
The teacher remembered Laura only as the shy girl who trembled so much that she couldn’t hit the
keys. Amanda seems somewhat shaken by Tom’s misgivings, but she regains her optimism and calls
Laura to come out to the fire escape. He describes the characters: Amanda, his mother; Laura, his
sister; a gentleman caller who will appear later in the play; and Tom’s and Laura’s absent father, who
never appears, but is nonetheless an important figure in the play. Do you think life for Amanda and
her children would be different if he had not left them. By playing with the theme of memory and
its distortions, Williams is free to use music, monologues, and projected images to haunting effect. In
reality of course, there are never such fitting musical soundtracks, but “.in memory, everything seems
to happen to music.” (Scene 1, p. 235) Though not realistic, music, from dance hall jazz to a “lone
fiddle in the wings” or the scratchy victrola, all play an important part in creating the atmosphere of
the Glass Menagerie. Thus Laura is identified as one of the unanimated glass animals only to be
watched and touched by other forces. Meanwhile, Amanda is calling out from the kitchenette for
Laura to go get butter from the grocery store. With the narrator’s added perspective and his remarks
about the trouble that will engulf the world, we are made to see the illusory nature of the kind of
“Paradise” represented by the dance hall. The desired perspective of the play remains the same for it
does not present reality, but a subjective experience of it, focalised through the narrator Tom: “(Tom)
addresses the audience. Amanda rushes in, only to hear Jim’s announcement that he has to leave.
Amanda is vicariously reliving her youth, and her longing for that youth is made clear when she
dresses in the old frock she wore as a young girl. Many of the symbols used in the play symbolize
escape and illusion. Similarly Tom knows of his mothers obsession with getting Laura a gentleman
caller and of her demanding and egotistical nature. Tom goes to the movies to experience the
“adventures” that his life at home and the warehouse lacks. The fire escape is most closely linked to
Tom’s character and to the theme of escape. As Amanda remains stuck in her illusions with which
she gets obsessed to align the much-favored reality for Laura, the latter proceeds to keep her world
with the glass menagerie. As they wait for the women, he tries to convince Tom to enroll in a public
speaking course with him. Secondly, we can offer you articles with writing advice from our
experienced authors. In psychotherapy Freud has illustrated the fluid nature of characters and
memory that can be adapted to fit the self image. In The Glass Menagerie, Laura Wingfield's
unicorn represents a pure, unique soul that is damaged by contact with the world.Likewise, Laura
herself radiates delicacy and purity, which she isn't able to retain fully after her dinner with the
gentleman caller. The conflict in the story is that the protagonist is trying to find a way to save her
friend who has been turned into a plant. In essence, The Glass Menagerie depicts the character Tom
and his desire to achieve adventure in life; however he is trapped providing for his mother and sister.
Essay on The Glass Menagerie Research Paper on The Glass. She is mentally engrossed by her glass
collection, which remains powerfully existent as her source of solace. Like Amanda, these women all
have a hard time coming to terms with their new status in society—and indeed, with modern society
in general, which disregards the social distinctions that they were taught to value. She lights candles
and asks Jim to check the fuse box. In Everyday Use by Alice Walker, Maggie believes in the
traditions and values of her cultures which makes her experiences with her sister Dee.
In essence, The Glass Menagerie depicts the character Tom and his desire to achieve adventure in
life; however he is trapped providing for his mother and sister. A brother. a boy. a friend. Tom
Wingfield the storyteller and a character in the drama. She believes that if Tom applies himself he
will succeed; the idea of her children’s success is an exhilarating one for her, and she becomes
breathless just speaking about it. It is like looking at a glass and seeing a faint image of your
reflection staring back. The little collection, like Laura, is locked completely in the realm of the
home. You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. The readers live the
story through Tom’s eyes Essays for The Glass Menagerie. The sufferings and setbacks that Laura
has encountered culminate into her making a collection of glass figurines, as a way of creating a
world of her own (Williams, Scene 1). Mention of the gentleman caller pops into every conversation
in the Wingfield apartment, and the stage is haunted by the ge eman caller’s projected image. The
reason behind the playwright's choice of Amanda as a chief character of the play is that her
experience and predicament set her to serve as the most express specimen of the psychological
distress that single mothers bear. These objects, like Laura's inner life, are considerably fanciful but
perilously delicate. Even the gentleman caller, when he finally comes, will be careless with Laura.
Williams uses the rose as a motif for Laura to emphasize her delicateness and her beauty, as well as
her worth. The foreshadowing of his frequent visits to the fire-escape shows that he will eventually
leave the apartment. Evidently glass is her only source of solace and contentment where she can
simply be. There were significant political developments in Europe, where Hitler had seized power in
1933, and was re-arming at a frantic pace. The animals must be kept on a little shelf and polished;
there is only one place where they truly belong. This month he has paid his dues to the Merchant
Seamen instead of the light bill, and he plans to leave St. Louis. Amanda does not know of his plans,
and Jim is incredulous, but before the two men can really talk about it, Amanda enters, dressed as if
she were a young Southern belle, and immediately begins to talk Jim’s ear off. Laura, exiting on the
fire escape, slips and cries out. There is a phonograph, along with some old records, and a
stenography chart with a typewriter. Write a review Update existing review Submit review Cancel
It's good to leave some feedback. The glass menagerie research paper - Colorado State University.
Another character who features prominently in the play is Amanda Wingfield, the mother to Tom
and Laura. This is the evident reason of conflict between them both suggesting everlasting peace is
unattainable. The desired perspective of the play remains the same for it does not present reality, but
a subjective experience of it, focalised through the narrator Tom: “(Tom) addresses the audience.
Especially as a lone figure juxtaposed to the turmoil of the forties and the war to come, Laura seems
hopelessly frail and vulnerable. The economy was in the full grips of the Great Depression which had
devastated the lifestyle of the previously moderately wealthy middles classes. It functions more like
an amalgamation of impressions that transform together with the evolution in and the needs of the
rememberer. In The Glass Menagerie, however, Williams makes the lead protagonist, Tom Wingfield,
the narrator of his production, thus presenting the play through a biased lens. Throughout the novel,
Laura’s shy, awkward and antisocial character quickly becomes evident and this is reflected in her
glass menagerie which she takes much pride in.
Therefore, all three characters have to come out of their cocoons to face the real world. The function
of the family home serves as an illumination of the characters’ lower level status and encapsulated
existence, further highlighted by the absence of the runaway father. The teacher remembered Laura
only as the shy girl who trembled so much that she couldn’t hit the keys. Despite Amanda's best
efforts, the world of the Wingfield family is one of quiet desperation and unfulfilled dreams. The
play's protagonist, Tom, is a young man who feels trapped in his job and his home, and he longs for a
way out. She accuses him of selfishness, and says that he never thinks of them, “a mother deserted,
an unmarried sister who’s crippled and has no job.” Infuriated, Tom leaves. In ' the glass menagerie '
by Tennessee Williams, Tom Wingfield initiates the play by introducing the principal characters who
happen to be his family. It is striking how Tom's speeches are always from the fire escape. Inform
Williams’ contrast “an essentially melodramatic vocabulary of the lost past.” (Aronson) With a
revolutionary idea of the introduction of memory and the fluidity of its transition. Many people were
forced to live with little or no money. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is
not realistic (Williams, 5). The menagerie represents each individual character in the family and the
family as a whole while representing plot progression and the aspirations of the family. It is quite apt
to think about the inner state of the characters by psychoanalytical approach. The theme of memory
is important: for Amanda, memory is a kind of escape. In The Glass Menagerie, one can get a good
sense of who the characters are and how they live simply from noting the general and specific
environmental touches, the large and small surrounding objects which lend to how the people
behave and interact with one another and their communal world. Amanda, her mother, pushes her to
go to college and find a man whom will take care of her. The animals must be kept on a little shelf
and polished; there is only one place where they truly belong. These papers were written primarily
by students and provide critical analysis of The Glass Menagerie. From this text we were instructed
to choose a monologue for our finale presentation. There is a brief comical interaction where
Amanda encourages Laura to stuff her bra. The fire escape, a visually prominent part of the set, is an
important symbol for the imprisonment that Tom feels and the possibility of a way out. Tennessee
Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, is narrated by Tom Wingfield from his memory. Set in St. Louis
in 1937, the play centers around three main characters: Amanda Wingfield, the mother; Laura
Wingfield, the sister; and Tom Wingfield, the narrator. This low self-esteem causes her to become
more isolated from the outside world. The various roles that Amanda has been playing for so long the
shrewish mother the coquettish belle (with Jim) and the ingratiating salesare also set aside, as if
Amanda is most completely human as she lays aside her performance and allows simply humanity to
determine her actions. Amanda has worked hard to make the apartment ready for the gentleman
caller. As The Glass Menagerie revolutionised the stylistic innovation of plays. The main thing that it
symbolizes is an escape for Laura from the real world. With this being said, the narrator in the play,
Tom Wingfield, resembles Tennessee Williams himself. The fire escape, where Tom spends much of
his time on in the play, is very symbolic of his desire to escape the informal boundaries he is trapped
in. “ In Spain there was Guernica. Like Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire she is the aging
southern belle, lamenting the loss of the old pre civil war days of debutante balls and gentlemen
callers. Jim wants to be successful and make a name for himself, but he is held back by his own
insecurities and lack of ambition.

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