The Glass Menagerie Essay

changing attitudes toward life and the other characters in the play, particularly the women; and his reflection on the

What’s great about this play is gives us insight into the past and focuses on an average family and provides lots of material to do a feminist analysis of.

We as American people have the ability to pick and chose want we want to do with our lives. For example we get to chose what we want to believe in, what we want to be, where we will go, and who we will marry. Something that is hard for people to comprehend now is you weren’t always given these choices. Even though we now are able to chose how we live our lives now, one thing that has not changed are gender stereotypes and the roles that genders are expected to play in our society today. Shakespeare touched on a lot of these ideas in his play Much Ado About Nothing. The soldiers in this play come to the city, Messina, after they have finished fighting in a war. Instead of all of the soldiers having sex and partying, one of the soldiers falls in love, and wants to marry. The play talks about the ongoing struggle between the main characters, Benedick and Claudio, and the contradicting views on whether to marry or stay a bachelor which plagues society today.

fears that she has lost or is losing him as far as the big things, the

The men in this play are depicted with the standard generalization of uncompassionate and coldblooded. The women in this play are delineated with the standard generalization of frail and needing steady care and consideration. This part of the play not just adds to the authenticity of sexual orientation struggle it additionally adds to the plot advancement. For instance, Mrs. Hale, one of the wives depicted in the play, goes to the protection of Mrs. Wright when she expresses, No, Wright wouldn't like the bird — a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too. This example from the play outlines to the reader the family relationship that women feel towards each other and in addition the absence of sympathy that men feel towards

In both plays it is seen that the characters experience difficulty with recognizing what is a fantasy and what is reality. Amanda and Willy both deny their childrens’ underachievement and blames and accept that the destiny of their kids exists in their grasp. Consequently, they envision their kids as being something they are not, trying to shroud their childrens’ disappointments. Such illusions permit Amanda and Willy to feel fruitful in framing Laura and Biff's lives. Amanda denies Laura as a challenged person and adjusts any individual who trusts her to be along these lines, all throughout the play. Willy impacted Biff's conviction that he had been a sales representative for Bill Oliver. Biff starts to scrutinize this after the meeting that

     The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams contained well-characterized characters. The "Dead Poet’s Society" also contained a great set of characters that were similar to those in The Glass Menagerie. It is fair to say that the characters of The Glass Menagerie and the characters of "Dead Poet’s Society" are more similar than different.

In the play, The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams addresses the hardships of a small, lower-middle class family in St. Louis. The family's future is controlled by the Amanda but, Tom will accept that no longer as he strives for independence. With their absent father, Amanda is placing the weight of the world on her children’s shoulders as she continuously comes up with ways her and her family could potentially get ahead in life. Tom feels the pressure of being the man of the house, as he’s responsible for the family’s income and works daily to provide for his mother and sister. After analyzing the characters, one might say that Tennessee Williams has used the title The Glass Menagerie to directly relate to the children being held captive

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.

The most important symbol in this play is the title itself, The Glass Menagerie. A menagerie is a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition; in this case it was Laura’s collection of glass animal figurines. The little figurines, especially the unicorn, represent a number of elements about Laura and the entire play itself. The glass is a symbol of fragility, which is also a key facet to the overall symbolism in this memory play. Like the Menagerie, Laura is unique, delicate, and somewhat childish.

The Glass Menagerie is the central symbol in this play referring to how, “a collection of wild animals is kept in captivity for exhibition. It revolves around a strange or diverse collection of people or things” (Dictionary.com, 2014). Williams quoted from Jim, “You know what I judge to be the trouble with you? Inferiority complex! That’s what they call it when someone low-rates himself! I understand it because I had it, too” (Williams, 2013) p1047 I). Laura feels like she’s in captivity because lack of self-esteem and because of her disability.

The Glass Menagerie was written by Tennessee Williams in 1944 and given this fact; it reflects some of the social norms, gender roles and values of its time. One of the issues the reader of the play must consider is the way in which gender influences the personalities and behaviors of the characters. Many of the women in “The Glass Menagerie”, for example, seem to be helpless. One is physically disabled, shy and largely withdrawn from the outside world, this is Laura Wingfield. She has to depend on her brother, Tom who is the provider of the household and her mother, Amanda.

In Tennessee Williams’, “The Glass Menagerie” Amanda was a woman who liked to reminisce about the past in order to escape from reality. Amanda was not wicked but intensely flawed. Her failures were centrally responsible for the adversity and exaggerated style of her character. Certainly, she had the endurance and heroism that she was able to support her children when her husband was gone. In her old life, she was once a Southern Belle with a genteel manner who lived on Blue Mountain. This was a place where Amanda’s version of the good old days back when she was young and popular. Amanda was full of charm in conversation that she managed to have seventeen gentlemen caller in a single day.

1. What is the role of the glass menagerie in the play? What are two things it represents? What does the glass unicorn symbolize?

Written in 1944, Tennessee Williams wrote a play during World War II when people were barely making ends meet. Centering on the Wingfield family, the story consisted of five characters: Amanda Wingfield (the mother), Laura Wingfield (the daughter), Tom Wingfield (son, narrator, Laura’s older brother), Jim Connor (Tom and Laura’s old acquaintance from high school) and Mr. Wingfield (father to Tom and Laura, and Amanda’s husband)- who abandoned the family long before the start of the play. The title, “The Glass Menagerie”, represented a collection of glass animals on display in the Wingfields’ home. At one point or another, these animals then represented each character when they couldn’t accept reality. The theme of this play were about the