Summary Of The Glass Menagerie

In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams uses the theme of escape to help drive the play forward. None of the characters are capable of living in the real world. Laura, Amanda, Tom and Jim use various methods to escape the brutalities of life. Laura retreats into a world of glass animals and old records. Amanda is obsessed with living in her past. Tom escapes into his world of poetry writing and movies. Jim also reverts to his past and remembers the days when he was a high school hero. Mr. Wingfield is referred to often throughout the play. He is the ultimate symbol of escape. This is because he has managed to remove himself from the desperate situation that the rest of the family is still

This novel illustrates multiple characters with unique personalities. One of them is Tom Wingfield, which is the son of Amanda and lives in a materialistic society. His mother depends on him to support the family. However, Tom does not want the responsibility to care for the house and his family and chooses to leave instead. In addition, the fire escape is an important object in the play. Tom is a character that uniquely reacts to the society in The Glass Menagerie. He shows how a person can act when in a tough situation.

Thomas Lanier Williams, born in Columbus, Mississippi to Edwina Dakin and Cornelius Coffin Williams, became one of the nations greatest playwrights. He was born on March 26, 1911 in his grandfather, Reverend Walter E. Dakin's, Episcopal Church. William's mother, Edwina, was a lively and colorful woman. She married a man whom contradicted her lifestyle. That man was Cornelius Williams, a gruff, pistol dueler with a violent temper. He was a lieutenant in the Spanish American War and a descendent from frontiersmen. Cornelius and Edwina married and continued to live in Mississippi. Cornelius had a job as a traveling salesman. Thomas became sick with diphtheria at age five which is how his love for literature bloomed. He lived in Mississippi until

Amanda, Tom, and Laura are caught up in a web of desperation, denial, and deception, and it is this entrapment that prevents them from living productive and emotionally fulfilling lives together. The mother,

The major conflict in “The Glass Menagerie” is the feeling of hopelessness that each of the Wingfield’s struggles with. Amanda’s hopelessness comes from the feeling that she isn’t as important as she once was, as though her fame/glory is slowly fading away. It is this fear that causes her to push Laura to become more socially accepted and popular with others. Laura is extremely afraid of seeing Jim O’Connor, and beneath that we can see her insecurities about her physical appearance and her fear of being able to be a productive member of society. Tom’s desire to create poetry stems from his fear of being stuck in a job where he feels he won’t make a difference, that isn’t taking him

Have you ever watched a play and been amazed to how real the play appears? Refer to this as realism. Realism tries to create an illusion that makes a certain situation look like that action is actually happening. Realism can also refer to certain social issues. Something that provides to realism is the spectacle. The spectacle is what the audience sees and hears during the play. In the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, there are several different examples of spectacle. These example gives the audience an entertaining value and sets the tone for the plot. During the play, the spectacles that contribute to the realism would be the screen and the music.

Amanda Wingfield’s life is turned upside down by her husband’s departure. In her mind it shatters hope for

A Glass Menagerie is a collection of small, wild animals which can be put out for display for public view. Tennessee Williams's play “The Glass Menagerie”, is about a family with personalities so different that they do not get along. The family could be considered wild animals all in their own way. In the story, Laura’s menagerie breaks multiple times at the slightest touch. The title of the play “The Glass Menagerie is represented by the entire family because, like the menagerie, each family member displays fragile characteristics.

Amanda is a caring and loving mother, yet overly intrusive and controlling at times. Tom works in a warehouse to provide for his family, but takes interest in writing poetry, and also seems to have a sarcastic and rebellious streak in him. Laura is very quiet and not like other women, because of this, it is difficult for her to continue her education and find romance. Throughout the play their mother is very concerned with making certain her adult children,

One of the big motivations shown through the characters in The Glass Menagerie is the yearning of escape from the real world. One example shown through Laura’s character is she finds a way to escape reality through her glass menagerie and the old records she plays that once belonged to their father. The mother, Amanda, tries to escape her current life as a deserted wife who must constantly scramble for money by retelling stories of when she was young. Her favorite story to retell regards one day when she received the attentions of seventeen gentleman callers. For her, those gentleman callers represent what her life was and what it could have been if she had not married her husband, “the telephone man who fell in love with long

As most people know, symbols are characters, objects, and figures that serve as complex ideas and concepts. While reading the play The Glass Menagerie the audience is faced with many of these nonconcrete symbols which causes them think about the deeper meaning of the play itself. In most cases, symbols are placed throughout a play to describe things in ways the author wont and to make the audience think. The audience can relate symbols to emotions, future actions, and beliefs all throughout the story that is being told. Tennessee Williams uses symbols to express intricate concepts and ideas about the play “The Glass Menagerie”.

The Glass Menagerie is known to many as a modern tragedy as well as a modern drama. A modern tragedy is when something tragic happens to not a person of nobility or the rich but to an average person. The Glass Menagerie is a perfect example of a modern tragedy because the Wingfield’s, an average family dreams are not fulfilled. The dreams that each of the family members has seems to come in conflict with one another’s dreams and this is what makes all of their dreams nearly impossible to accomplish.

One of the most important themes in the play is that of the conflict between desire and responsibility. Explain how this idea is presented through at least one character in the play.

“The Glass Menagerie” is an autobiographical play, written by Tennessee William in 1945. Each character is a prototype of a real person, who played a significant role in the author’s life. It is a memory play, which based on author’s own life story and a point of view at the family problems and ways to solve them. The main problem in the play is the conflict between parents and children, which leads to adverse consequences for all members of the family.

In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, the primarily characters exhibit a state of illusion that originates from their dissatisfaction and unhappiness with their lives. Tom seeks adventure in the movies. Amanda reminisces often about her days as a Southern Belle. Laura sits in a dream world with her glass collection, and Jim wallows in the praises of his high school glory. In their own unique ways, they demonstrate their anxiety. Thus, the characters are all displeased, but take no action to improve their situation in any feasible.