The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams Themes l Reality

The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams

Themes l Reality versus ¡ Tom ¡ Laura ¡ Amanda Illusion l Loneliness ¡ Amanda’s loquacious nature l Power of Memory ¡ Father’s picture ¡ Laura blowing out the candles

Symbols l Fire Escape ¡ ¡ l Blue Roses ¡ l Laura’s isolation and fragility Father’s portrait ¡ ¡ l Describes Laura’s mood and beauty Glass Menagerie ¡ l Represents the only place where the character can escape the painful world Characters use to exit apt. (literal and figurative escape) Missing link b/n family members. He is gone, but not forgotten. Very important “character” in the play Moon ¡ Hope

Conflicts l Amanda versus her children ¡ Amanda versus Tom ¡ Amanda versus Laura l Tom’s inner conflict l Laura’s inner conflict l Amanda’s inner conflict

l The play is set during the Depression l Tom is the narrator and a character l The play is a memory l The initial fight b/n Amanda and Tom shows us the tension in the family l The father was a telephone man who fell in love with long distances… meaning? l How does Amanda escape reality?

Laura has a slight limp Amanda accuses Laura of deception when she dropped out of class l Amanda is worried about Laura’s ability to take care of herself l Blue Roses came from… l l ¡ l l They symbolize Laura’s beauty and difference Tom dreams of becoming a sailor. Reading and writing, going to the movies, and joining the merchant marines are all escapes for Tom

l l l l l Why is Tom nicknamed Shakespeare? The music from PDH is in contrast to the Wingfield’s existence Tom enjoys the magician’s coffin trick, why? Amanda sells magazine subscriptions to help pay rent Amanda dislikes Tom reading D. H. Lawrence, why? During the worst argument Tom and Amanda have, what insult does he say to her? Amanda believe Christian adults should want love of family Laura is petrified when she finds out Jim is coming for dinner Jim ruins the night when he tells them about Betty

Open-Ended l Compare Williams’ life to The Glass Menagerie. l How do Amanda, Laura, and Tom deal with loneliness? How do they each escape? Explain in terms of symbols and themes.