The Glass Menagerie Quotes

What is the first quote in the pathetic fallacy paragraph?

"[Outside a summer storm is coming on abruptly... [there is a clap of thunder]"

What is the second quote in the pathetic fallacy paragraph?

"[There is an ominous cracking sound in the sky]... the sky falls]"

What is the first quote in the music paragraph?

"[the annunciation is celebrated with music]"

What is the first quote of the lighting paragraph?

"a delicate lemony light"

Lyn Gardner

'Laura is self-effacing'

Kevin Catchpole

'Tom is the personification of Williams himself'

Description of Amanda's coat

'cheap or imitation'

Dominic Maxwell

'it is a guilt play as well as a memory play'

Dominic Maxwell

'nakedly autobiographical'

Amanda doesn't listen or care about what Laura says

(absently) The what?- Amanda

Motifs

- Abandonment - Words & images on screen - Music

"I'm getting a cigarette - hawk like attention".

- Clearly feels hard done by. - Doesn't enjoy mother's attention.

Tom 'remaining at portieres'

- Difference between Laura & Tom. - Not taking interest & has removed self - is tired by mother. - Treats with contempt & condescending remarks.

Themes

- Difficulty of accepting reality. - Impossibility of true escape - Unrelenting power of memory.

'Laura nervously echoes her laugh' 'Slips in a fugitive manner'

- Emotional, nervous & embarrassed. - Attempts to hide emotions. - Is scared of mother & wants to escape her attention. - Curtain is symbolic of boundaries laid down by mother & she is unable to break through them.

"Little articles of [glass], they're ornaments mostly! Most of them are little animals made out of glass, the tiniest little animals in the world. Mother calls them a glass menagerie! Here's an example of one, if you'd like to see it! . . . Oh, be careful—if you breathe, it breaks! . . . You see how the light shines through him?"

- Essentially describing herself: exquisitely delicate but glowing under the right circumstances. - Glass manifests in herself. - She is too shy to suggest what she might be able to offer. - Laura is ill-adapted for survival in the world in which she lives. The loneliness that Jim identifies in the lone unicorn is the same loneliness to which Laura has resigned herself. - Is fragile character - she takes comfort in her own world.

"I am more faithful than I intended to be!"

- Fully aware that deserting his family was a faithless and morally reprehensible act, and the guilt associated with it. - Has strong associations with the language of lovers. - Is keen to realise escape - is self-centred & mainly concerned about self. - Has ambitions beyond his family - go getter.

"All of my gentlemen callers were sons of planters and so of course I assumed that I would be married to one and raise my family on a large piece of land with plenty of servants. But man proposes—and woman accepts the proposal!"

- Harks back to more prosperous days & wishes that she lived in past. - Shows clearly, she is manifesting herself in daughter as she has set her up. - Likes to talk about herself - vain - possibly motivated by money. - Does show genuine concern in attempt to help her daughter. - Might be taken as rather tactless move—a sign that Amanda's social graces have a touch of hysterical thoughtlessness to them and that putting herself and her story at the centre of attention is more important.

"What no one"

- Is fragile & nervous as she bombards Laura with questions. - Disappointed in her.

Symbols

- Malivolio - Jim - Glass Menagerie - Unicorn - Blue Roses - Fire Escape - Fathers photograph

"She loves to tell it"

- Nice & understanding - willing to listen. - Is trying to please everybody.

"No sister, No sister!"

- She thinks that she was popular which gives her status & vindicates her - shows value placed on marriage. - Needs to remind everyone - holds on to.

Historical (in the time of the play)

-As the play is set in St Louis, between 1937-1944 I expect the set to be industrial as in that time period that was how buildings were. They were square and made with bricks and cement. As the war was happening throughout this time period, I expect the costumes, hair and makeup to be quite simple in appearance with basic colours such as black, grey, white, tan etc. I can't imagine there will be too much colour and excitement in regards to costume, hair and makeup. -Due to the characters still recovering from the Great Depression, they will convey emotions like sadness, depression and tiredness more than they convert emotions like happiness, joy and creativity. I feel like the characters will use sarcasm to express the feelings they have - specifically Tom (what a scallywag). As a lot of people were doing at the time, Amanda seems to be pretending that all is okay at times but others has complete breakdowns about how hostile their world has become. I expect her to convert her altering feelings by using a change in volume with her voice and possibly with how loud her footsteps are. -Due to the war affecting the world (hence the name) may people turned to breaking the law to get by and it's a touch different but Jim shouldn't kiss

Social

-Taking the time period of 1937-1944 into account, the set and props I expect to see would be tidy yet honest, flawed yet straightforward and slightly poor yet effective to express to the audience that the characters in the play are struggling with effects of the Great Depression and WWII. -The building that the Wingfields live in will be industrial, made from bricks and quite square, this will represent how they are doing we'll enough but aren't living an extraordinary life. -Laura's glass animals will be small and fragile, just as she is. They will be pristine to look at it and kept in good condition, just as she is. -Set pieces such as chairs, tables and sofas will be wood based and very well structured/manufactured pieces of furniture. There is a possibility that they'll have leather or cushions on them (definite likely for a sofa or chair) but whether they are that comfortable is another question.

Historical (before)

-The effects of WWI and WWII on the United States were dramatic. The Great Depression took full effect and basically ruined lives. Many, many, many people lost jobs, homes, food and money. Families were broken and torn apart due to the war and the detrimental effects it had on America, much like The Wingfield's were torn apart and broken by their father abandoning them and only ever sending one letter saying 'hello and goodbye'. In that period of time, some may say the family were lucky to even get that brief letter. -Due to these events, people became detached to their emotions in a sense. They did what they needed to do to stay alive. As many living in lower class had done before the wars, but now it was just the lower class scrounging around for food, water and money. Personalities were warped by the effects of war, people had new habits and did things that others found odd or strange - just as Amanda finds it strange that Tom is constantly going to the movies. Although Tom is using the movies as an escape as such from the bleak reality that was St Louis 1937-44.

Amanda (to Jim about her husband)

. . . A telephone man who—fell in love with long-distance!

Playwright

5 events from Tennessee Williams' life that influenced the Glass Menagerie - 5-year-old Williams contracts diphtheria. He nearly dies, and his legs remain paralyzed for nearly two years. (Laura's dodgey leg) - The Williams family moves to St. Louis, Missouri in 1918. A year later, their third and last child, Williams's younger brother Dakin, is born (play is set in St Louis) - In an attempt to cure her daughter's schizophrenia, Edwina Dakin Williams volunteers Rose for one of the first lobotomies performed in the United States. As a result of the operation, Rose is stuck in a permanent state of semi-consciousness. Williams resents his parents for the rest of his life for allowing her to have the experimental operation. At the same time, Williams takes a job as a screenwriter for MGM Studios in Los Angeles. They reject the script he produces but give him the rights to use the work as he pleases. He adapts it into a stage play entitled The Glass Menagerie. (1943) -At his father's insistence, Williams withdraws from university and takes a job at the Universal Shoe Company, his father's employer. He works for the shoe company for about six years. During that time Williams enrolls at Washington University in St. Louis, but then drops out again. (1931) -Sixteen-year-old Williams enters a writing contest in The Smart Set magazine and wins third place, and a prize of $5, for his essay "Can A Good Wife Be a Good Sport?" It is his entry into the literary world (1927)

In front of them stands Laura with clenched hands and panicky expression.

A clear pool of light is on her figure throughout this scene- sd

Way to describe fire escape

A structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth

Jim S7 - Laura's favourite figurine symbolizing her, unicorn parallels Laura; loneliness, differentm unusual, ill-adapted

A unicorn, huh? - aren't they extinct in the modern world?

A lover, a hunter, and a fighter

According to Tom, what is man - by instinct?

Legend - reinforcement of things referred to by characters. the blatancy of symbols create a sense of irony - Williams' reminder of the play as an illusion away from realism - but also create an echo for the audience of what is happening on stage to 'trap' the audience, simarly to the same extent of the chacracters and contirbue to the sense of memory.

Love! Blue roses Ou sont les neiges? annunication

She married him for his looks and his charm.

How did Amanda make the "tragic mistake" that she did in choosing her husband?

He didn't pay the light bill.

How did Tom pay his union dues?

She thought her leg brace sounded like thunder. Jim never noticed the noise, just that she was late.

How do Laura's memories of her late entrance to chorus differ from Jim O'Connor's?

She tells him that she had lots gentleman callers, she thought she would marry a rich planter and have servants, she told him how tough her life was as a single parent

How does Amanda describe her past to Jim O'Connor?

He was very popular and outgoing. He was destined for great things. Now he has a job that is not much better than Tom's.

How does Jim O'Connor's life after high school differ from his high school years, according to Tom?

She is distant and shy. Her cold hands trembled, and she leaves the room as soon as she can.

How does Laura behave as she first sees Jim?

She stayed calm. She said it was a blessing in disguise because now he is like all of the other horses.

How does Laura react to the discovery that the unicorn has lost its horn?

I think to myself

How lucky dead people are- Tom

She acted like the southern belle she once was in Blue Mountain, MS.

How would you describe the change that comes over Amanda in this scene?

Tom S7 - fully aware deserting his family, faithless, guilt, Laura's hold over Tom (lighting, incest)

I am more faithful than I intended to be!

Nailed-up coffin

Like Tom's life because Tom can't leave without leaving scars for Laura and Amanda

Tom (on his job)

Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter, and none of those instincts are given much play at the warehouse!

Theatrical Style (memory play)

Memory play is a term coined by playwright Tennessee Williams, describing his work The Glass Menagerie. In his production notes, Williams says, "Being a 'memory play', The Glass Menagerie can be presented with unusual freedom of convention."

A relic of the faithless

Mr Wingfield- SD

"Hello - Goodbye!'

Mr. Wingfield

Hello-Goodbye

Mr. Wingfield

"[the music becomes ominous]"

Music - gentleman caller identity

Laura, Jim S7 - breaking of unicorn foreshadows Jim breaking Laura, less of an outcast but how this is temporary

Now it's just like all the other horses. It's lost it's -

Tom (when leaving)

Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!

Ella Cartwright

One of the women that Amanda hounds to buy a magazine

Ida Scott

One of the women that Amanda hounds to buy a magazine

Jim (to Laura)

People are not so dreadful when you know them.

"I haven't enjoyed one bite of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it"

Tom

"Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter..."

Tom

"Yesterday you confiscated my books!"

Tom

-and so goodbye...

Tom

All the world was waiting for bombardments

Tom

I- go to the movies

Tom

Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter, but none of those instincts are given much play at the warehouse!

Tom

The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic

Tom

Yes, I have tricks in my pocket...

Tom

You think I'm in love with Continental Shoemakers?

Tom

"- and so goodbye .."

Tom Wingfield

"All the world was waiting for bombardments!"

Tom Wingfield

"I-go to the movies"

Tom Wingfield

"Yes, I have tricks in my pocket...."

Tom Wingfield

"You think I'm in love with Continental Shoemakers?"

Tom Wingfield

There is a trick that would come in handy for me-get me out of this two-by-four situation!

Tom entrapment

What does Tom mean at the end when he talks about Laura blowing out her candles?

Tom explains his feelings of responsiblity for his sister, and also the fact that no matter how far he removes himself from her or his family, he still feels a sense of duty for caring for her, no matter the distance. He does this to affirm to others that he is not the only one who knows this.

Tom "We nailed him into a coffin and he got out of the coffin without removing one nail"

Tom expresses his immense desire to escape the household but is also fully aware of the consequences, hence the description of escaping the coffin without removing a single nail. This isn't possible as shown at the climax and anagnorisis of the play, however this is a dream that Tom has. The themes present here would be the theme of escape and theme of dreams.

In Scene Five, Tom gives his mother two realistic warnings to counter Amanda's pleasant fantasy of the gentleman caller. What are these warnings? How does Amanda react to them?

Tom says that she never mentioned Laura to the gentleman caller. Amanda does not have a strong reaction to this.Tom tells Amanda not to expect too much of Laura, he says that both himself and Amanda see the beauty in Laura because they know her and love her.He mentions that Laura is crippled, and Amanda insists that "crippled" is not allowed in the Wingfield home. Tom mentions Laura's peculiar habits - her care of the glass menagerie and her love of their old phonograph records. Amanda seems somewhat shaken by Tom's words, but she regains her optimism and calls Laura to come out to talk. Amanda asks Laura to make a wish on the "little silver sliver of a moon", she tells her daughter to wish for happiness and good fortune.

He invited a man over for dinner.

What good news does Tom have for Amanda at the beginning of this scene?

She dropped out of business school.

What has Amanda discovered that makes her so upset with Laura?

She needs a gentleman caller for Laura.

What idea takes over all of Amanda Wingfield's energies after the Rubicam's Business College incident?

sold most of her silver, old clothes, one nice outfit, cheap and out of style, behind on their bills, very small apartment, enter through fire escape, Laura sleeps on a daybed in living room, the salmon issue

What indicates that the Winfield's are poor?

That she is going to be an old maid.

What is Amanda's fear about her daughter's future, according to Laura?

She tells her that they are setting a trap, and men expect them to set a trap.

What is Amanda's response when Laura says, "You make it seem like we were setting a trap"?

Instinct belongs to animals, good christians don't want it.

What is Amanda's view of instinct?

He is disappointed that he has not gone very far in life, when his future looked so promising in high school.

What is Jim O'Connor's main disappointment in life?

Blue Roses, Jim gave it to her because she said Plearosis and he thought she said blue roses.

What is Laura's nickname? Who gave it to her?

She says "but I'm crippled".

What is Laura's response when her mother indicates that she will see to it that Laura ends up with a nice young man?

He is drunk.

What is Tom's condition when he returns to the apartment later that night?

Daughters of the American Revolution, Amanda was a member which shows that she came from a well to do family

What is the DAR?

sells bras (pays for Laura's college), sells magazines (feather the nest, plume the bird)

What jobs has Amanda had and why?

He was shocked at first, but he ended up liking her southern ways and hospitality.

What kind of impression does Amanda make on Jim O'Connor?

He asks his mother not to ask too much of Laura. She is peculiar, extremely shy, different from other girls, crippled, lives in a world of glass animals, and listens to old records left by her father

What kind of picture of Laura does Tom create as he speaks to his mother?

she took his library book and took it back because she thought it was inappropriate

What made Tom so angry?

He goes to night school.

What makes Tom think that O'Connor is "up and coming"?

She will be barely tolerated, passed from one family member to the next, in a little room, they will sigh in relief when you leave them.

What picture does Amanda paint of the life Laura faces as a dependent, if she cannot support herself?

Cat On a Hot Tin Roof

What play did Williams win his second Pulitzer Prize for?

That he won't ever become a drunkard.

What promise does Amanda ask Tom to make?

She said the braces made her uncomfortable and kept her from making friends

What reason does Laura give Jim for having been so shy?

He likes adventure, and he doesn't get enough adventure in his daily life so he goes to the movies.

What reason does Tom give for going to the movies so much?

She is nervous and upset. Her mother fussing over dinner has made the whole ordeal seem too important.

What state of mind is Laura in when Scene 7 opens? What has caused her mood?

She collected jonquils everywhere she went with her gentlemen callers. She is persistent. She loves things of beauty, and she is homesick for her past when all she had to worry about was the next party.

What story does Amanda tell about jonquils? What does the story tell you about Amanda's personality?

memory

What type of play is it?

Thomas Lanier Williams

What was Williams' real name?

She is afraid it is the same Jim she had a crush on in high school.

What worries Laura when she hears the name of the "gentleman caller"?

He left home for good.

When Amanda accuses Tom of playing a joke on them by bringing home a "gentleman caller" already engaged to be married, what does Tom do?

He is about to make a change and it doesn't involve the warehouse.

When Jim tells Tom that he is going to be out of a job if he doesn't "wake up," what does Tom say?

She lives in a world of her own-

a world of little glass ornaments- Tom

i am the narrator of the play

and also a character in it- Tom

to avoid fluidity

and differentiation- SD

Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter

and none of those instincts are given much play at the warehouse- Tom

the future becomes the present, the present the past,

and the past turns into everlasting regret if you don't plan for it- Amanda

Laura cries out

as if wounded- sd

What are we going to do, what has

become of us, what is the future?- Amanda

I'm starting to

boil inside- Tom

In Spain there was Guernica. But here there was only hot swing music and liquor, dance halls, bars and movies. All the world was waiting for bombardments.

dancehall goers illusion

Laura

daughter

Blue Roses

different like Laura

"I ought to be good for something"

Jim O'Conner

"Stumblejohn!"

Jim O'Conner

"Unicorns - aren't they extinct i the modern world?

Jim O'Conner

"What do you see? A world full of common people!"

Jim O'Conner

... I'm in the limelight

Jim O'Connor

I ought to be good for something

Jim O'Connor

Knowledge!... Money!... Power!... That's the cycle democracy is built on!

Jim O'Connor

Stumblejohn!

Jim O'Connor

Unicorns- aren't they extinct in the modern world?

Jim O'Connor

What do you see? A world full of common people!

Jim O'Connor

What is the second quote of the legends on screen paragraph?

"[ Legend on screen: "And so goodbye..."]"

What is the second quote of the lighting paragraph?

"Blow out your candles, Laura - and so goodbye..."

What is the second quote of the characterisation paragraph?

"Leaning stiffly forward, clutching the arm of the sofa, Laura struggles visibly with her storm."

What is the first quote of the symbolism paragraph?

"She lives in a world of her own - a world of little glass ornaments"

What is the second quote of the symbolism paragraph?

"They suddenly bump into the table, and the glass piece falls to the floor."

The climax of a play is the high point of the story-its most intensely emotional moment. What scene do you think marks the climax of "The Glass Menagerie"?

"Throughout the whole play there is the theme of "escape". The Paradise Music Hall represents the life outside their house and since Laura has removed herself from reality, it is a way of connecting to it. The Fire Escape represents an escape from their lives, this is mainly true for Tom who feels like he is trapped in their own house and the only reason he remains in the house because his departure would mean that Amanda and Laura would be shattered since he is the one who mainly supports them. Laura's leg brace is another way to represent inability to escape their fantasy life, but specifically for Laura, she's caught up in her own world because of her insecurity that comes from her leg brace. The movies is a way of Tom escaping his reality, he can't pursue his goals in life because he feels like he is trapped in his own house, he explains himself when he says, " Yes, movies ! Look at them ? [A wave toward the marvels of Grand Avenue.] All of those glamorous people - having ,adventures - hogging it all, gobbling the whole thing up ! You know what happens? People go to the movies instead of moving!" (1. 6. 60-65). The movies are a way of him seeing the adventures that he would like in his life happen without him actually doing it.

Tom's opening speech sketches the social background of the play and introduces the main characters. What basic information does Tom provide in this speech about his family? About the gentleman caller? About the nature of the play itself?

"Tom tells us that his role in the play is the narrarator and he tells us the characters of the play and gives us brief information about all of them. One of these character's is his father who only appears as a picture on a wall. From this we see that his father is no longer with the family. The other characters are his mother, Amanda, his sister, Laura, and a gentleman caller who appears in the last scenes of the play. He says that the gentleman caller is ""The most realistic character in the play, being an emissary from a world of reality that we were somehow set apart from""(1.1), and he is also being used as a ""symbol; he is the long-delayed but always expected something that we live for""(1.1). He also explains the social and historical background of the play. The play takes place in the 1930's in a bad economy. He mentions that a civil war in Spain has just led to the massacre of civilians at Guernica. He also says ""The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic""(1.1). He also says ""There were disturbances of labour, sometimes pretty violent, in otherwise peaceful cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, Saint Louis""(1.1) so we see that some American cities are struggling.

What is the first quote of the characterisation paragraph?

"Yes. I remember what a beautiful voice you had."

What is the first quote of the legends on screen paragraph?

"[ Image on screen: The sailing vessel with the Jolly Roger again.]"

What is the second quote in the music paragraph?

"[Music: "The Glass Menagerie"]"

At the beginning of Scene Four, both Tom and Amanda try to make peace. Why do they begin to argue again?

After their fight the previous scene, Amanda refused to speak to Tom however, the next day, after Laura's goading, Tom tries to make up with their mother. This doesn't last for long because they start arguing soon after about Tom and how often he goes to the movies and whether or not he is happy at home. Amanda asks, "But why —why, Tom —are you always so restless? Where do you go to, nights?" (1.4.1-2). Tom explains that he goes to the movies so much because he lacks any adventure in his life or work. In addition, Amanda believes that the "instincts" he mentions are not characteristics of good Christian men.

"I finally said to him, Tom--good gracious!-- why don'y you bring this paragon to supper?"

Amanda

"My devotion has made me a witch"

Amanda

"Things have a way of turning out so badly."

Amanda

"only animals have to satisfy instincts! Surely your aims are somewhat higher than theirs"

Amanda

Girls in those days knew how to talk, I can tell you

Amanda

It's almost time for our gentlemen callers to start arriving

Amanda

Resume your seat, little sister- I want you to stay fresh and pretty- for gentlemen callers!

Amanda

What right have you got to jeopardize your job? Jeopardize the security of us all? How do you think we'd manage...

Amanda

You're a Christian martyr.

Amanda

"Resume your seat, little sister - I want you to stay fresh and pretty - for gentlemen callers!"

Amanda Wingfield

"You're a Christian martyr"

Amanda Wingfield

How does Amanda transform herself for the gentleman caller? How is her attitude about their guest different from Laura's?

Amanda acts as if she is trying to get the callers attention herself. She dresses in a beautiful dress, which gets her noticed by Tom and Jim, and says she needs to get the house ready. She pretends to love cooking and talking with guests. She is excited to have a gentlemen caller for Laura finally. Laura is very nervous, and can barely bring herself to answer the door.

What does Amanda ask Tom to do?

Amanda asks Tom to "keep an eye out for potential suitors" at the warehouse, upon which Tom picks his friend Jim O'Connor, and invites him to dinner, without realizing the conflict this causes.

The basic dramatic situation from which a play can grow involves a person or persons whom viewers care about, who are in more or less desperate situations with a great deal at stake. Such characters decide to act and then actually take steps to achieve their "wants." Discuss how these dramatic elements are used up to this point in "The Glass Menagerie."

Amanda desperately wants Laura to find a nice young man to marry. When she finds out that Laura hasn't even been attending business school she worries that Laura won't find a successful career or a spouse. When Laura leaves one day, Amanda begs Tom to find a gentleman caller at the warehouse to come over for dinner to meet Laura one day. When Tom argues that there's not many nice young men at the warehouse, Laura continues to persist that he find someone. She says, "Will you? Will you? Will you dear?" (766.23-25). Tom finally agrees, and this leads him to inviting Jim over. Laura's persistence leads her to find someone to come over for Laura, and Tom takes a step in the plot by actually inviting Jim over.

What is Laura's reaction when she learns the identity of the gentleman caller? How does Amanda respond to this reaction?

Amanda insists that there must be a gentleman caller for Laura. Laura is nervous at this idea because she is shy. When Tom tells Amanda that he has a gentleman caller for Laura she is very excited, and stresses out that the house is not clean enough and keeps asking questions about the gentleman caller, Mr. O'Connor. Amanda and Laura both dress up to meet him. Laura gets nervous when she finds out the name of the gentleman because she had a crush on him in High School.

Dominic Maxwell

Amanda is 'rhapsodic about her early days... she's chivvying, almost castrating'

Kevin Catchpole

Amanda is an 'inadequate, self-centred mother... locked in absorption in her own lost youth'

I married no planter, I married a man who fell in love with long distances.

Amanda on past, failure, modernity vs past

Gone gone, gone. All vestige of gracious living

Amanda past

Laura thinks Tom is unhappy staying in the house with them.

Amanda tells Tom that Laura was crying. What was the reason, according to Amanda?

you live in a dream. Go then, go to the moon you selfish dreamer

Amanda to Tom, dreaming

What does Amanda ask Tom to do at the end of Scene Four?

Amanda will allow Tom to leave the apartment, only under the condition that he finds Laura a gentleman caller, who willeventually marry her and provide for her. She tells him to not think only of himself all the time and not be so selfish

At this point in the play, does Amanda seem to be a weak or a strong character? Does she arouse your sympathy, or do you think Williams wants you to dislike her? Explain.

Amanda, although you may first think weak because she is an older woman living without a husband and just barely getting by with her son's help for finances, is actually a strong southern woman. She grew up with the traditional southern ways and trys to enforce them on her children, with wanting her daughter to get married and wanting her son to do something productive with his life. Although she is very naggy, she is just worried about her childrens' futures and wants them to have the best oppurtunities in life; she portrays this want when she says, "What are we going to do,what is going to become of us, what is the future?"(Williams Act 1.2.1-2) She even goes through the humiliation of having to call and sell magazine subscriptions over the phone, however she never complains once. Also, she went through the loss of a husband during the play she never acts sad about it. A southern belle type woman's major goal in life is having a husband, so going through the loss of one must have hurt and embarassed her deeply. She has been strong through her many hardships in life and instead of resulting to moping around all the time, she still does everything in her power to get her children good lives and has a positive attitude. She personally does arouse my sympathy, and I believe Williams wants this effect, because of the situation of losing her husband and her children not always being the nicest to her, even though she is kind of annoying to them she just wants to help them. I think Williams wants us to respect her for everything she has done and also find her humerous with her very theatrical and outgoing manner and old stories she talks about.

"My callers were gentleman--all!" EXPLANATION

Amanda--Self absorbed

"Go then! Go to the moon--you selfish dreamer!" EXPLANATION

Amanda--Upset with Tom, Lost hope in Tom, Does not understand Tom

"What are we going to do, what is going to become of us, what is the future?" EXPLANATION

Amanda--Worried about future

Social - 1940s fashion

As the time of the play is 1937-1944 I expect to see the men dressed in suits and ties. The colour scheme would be stock-standard, meaning black, white, grey, navy blue (possibly brown). The women would be wearing long dresses and skirts, again most likely being stock-standard colours so pale blues and pinks, white, black (possibly red). Overcoats and petty coats are also something expected as that generation was when they became increasingly popular. Accessories like hats, ties bow ties and jewellery will be expected also, as they became increasingly common. Fedoras and top hats were generally the hat of choice for males when leading the house either going to work or going out for a fancy night on the town. Males not wearing hats, discovered hair wax and gel, and if you weren't wearing a hat, you hair was full of wax.

How did you feel about Jim O'Connor in this scene?

At the begining of the gentlemen caller scene and throughout most of it I thought Jim O'Connor was a decent guy. He is consistently polite to Amanda throughout the evening, indulging her in her jokes when the lights when out and he said "No ma'am, what the answer?" (Scene VII, line 77). I thought he was kind when he tried to talk to Laura and made her feel less shy. Yet there were times in his conversation with Laura that I thought he was too self-centered, like after his big speech to Laura about slef confidence he turned the subject right back to him and said "Take me for example," (Scene VII, line 51). He immediatly brought the attention back to himself which I thought was odd, considering previously he had been trying to get Laura to feel better about herself. He seems to be a genuinely kind person and wants to help others, yet is still drawn back to himself and thinks about the time when he could have done anything.

One of the basic elements of drama is progression, or change. Trace the progression of the relationship between Jim and Laura in this scene.

At the start of scene seven, it seems to the audience that Laura and Jim are strangers. Laura is her awkward self, and she can tell that Jim doesn't remember her at all. Once she reminds him that they "sat across the aisle from [each other] in the auditorium Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays" (p777 lines 25, 28) they begin to have earnest conversation. First, they recount memories of high school, and while they do so Laura pulls out a copy of their school yearbook, The Torch. Inside, Jim discovers a pamphlet from their senior operetta (he was the star), and signs it for Laura. Next, Laura discovers he is no longer together with Emily Meisenbach and gets excited. She begins to think that she may have a chance with Jim after all! Then, he talks to her about her supposed inferiority complex. She is so intrigued that her shyness seems to fade away for a bit. Laura then shares her affection for the glass menageries, and Jim seems interested. Then they dance (Laura's first time), breaking her unicorn during a final spin. Laura realizes that it doesn't matter (it would've mattered before Jim came along though). He makes her feel special, and then kisses her. He then immediately draws back and begins to explain about Betty. The moment has passed, and Laura will never be the same.

What are your feelings for the gentleman caller at this point in the play? How do you feel about Tom?

At this point in the play Jim appears to be a perfect gentleman and filled with the charm he is known for. However when he is talking to Laura he shows he is slightly full of himself such as when he brags about his people analyzing skills, "Now I've made a regular study of it [science], but I have a friend who says I can analyze people better than doctors that make a proffesion of it." (Scene VII Line17-20) However he is still kindhearted and wanting to help Laura. I personally do like Jim and believe he is truly being genuine with how he is talking to Laura. However, with how foward he was with Laura telling her she needed to quit being so shy, it made me see him as being a little harsh. I know though he was saying it with best intentions because when he called her unique and pretty and tells her he wasn't just saying that you could tell he wasn't just being a fake guy. I like Tom too, I feel sorry for him that he is so miserable working there and how often he gets in arguments with his mother. He is good brother and is essentially paying the bills with his job he doesn't feel too strongly for. I think Tom seems like a dreamer and the reason he goes to the movies is for adventure so he seems to want more in life than just a traditional family with a routine job.

I WONT ALLOW SUCH FILTH

BROUGHT INTO MY HOUSE- Amanda

Tom's monologue emphasising the use of dim lighting and music

Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic...in memory everything seems to happen to music.

He was cheerful, popular, outgoing, in the operetta. He dated a girl that Laura didn't like. He was always nice and kind to Laura.

Briefly describe Jim, the boy Laura liked in high school.

More and more you remind me of your father!

He was out all hours without explanation! Then left! Goodbye!- Amanda

Michael Billington

His plays 'acknowledge economic realities'

Received - seventeen! - Gentleman callers

Dialogue - Amanda callers

It's not fair I'm in the lime light

Dialogue - Jim (light)

I can hardly see you sitting all the way over there

Dialogue - Jim move closer

I'm - crippled!

Dialogue - Laura cripple

It doesn't matter. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise

Dialogue - Laura reaction to unicorn (after Jim) 1

Horn! It doesn't matter... [smiling] I'll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less - freakish!

Dialogue - Laura reaction to unicorn (after Jim) 2

Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don't have horns...

Dialogue - Laura reaction to unicorn (after Jim) at home

"How lucky dead people are!" But I get up. I go! For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever!

Dialogue - Tom hates work

Blow out your candles Laura - and so goodbye...

Dialogue - Tom last line

I paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill

Dialogue - Tom leaving

The play is a memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic. In memory everything seems to happen in music

Dialogue - Tom on memory

We nailed him to a coffin and he got out the coffin without removing one nail... There is a trick that would come in handy for me - get me out of this two-by-four situation!

Dialogue - Tom wants to escape (coffin)

You wave it over the goldfish bowl and they fly away canaries

Dialogue - Tom wants to escape (fish)

What part does Laura play in the angry argument between Tom and Amanda?

During the argument Laura is caught in the middle of a conflict, upset by the conflict "clenched hands and panicky expression" (Williams 758, line 73), and belonging to neither side, she seeks peace and to de-escalate the argument. When Tom is about to insult Amanda, "Oh go--" Laura interjects, " [Desperately]--Tom!" (759, lines 35-36). Laura tries to stop Tom from escalating the conflict by interveneing and preventing him from insulting Amanda. After the argument Laura tries to get Tom and Amanda to make up, by asking Tom in person to apologize to Amanda, "Make up with her, apologize" (759, line 39). Then, when Laura falls down the fire escape she brings the two together with the shared concern they have for her.

Tom S3 - hyperbole emphasizing imprisonment, Amanda's restrictions, role as breadwinner, responsibility for Laura

House, house! Who pays rent on it, who makes a slave of himself to -

Tom (about his duties)

House, house! Who pays rent on it, who makes a slave of himself to—

Social - The American Dream

During the period of 1937-1944, the main focus of everyone was the grand idealisation that was 'the American Dream'. If you were to ask 5 different people what this dream was you would most likely get 5 different answers as the American Dream was a husky individual thing that altered for each person living at the time. The only similarity in all of the dreams would've been that each person telling you would've been happy with the 'outcome' of the Dream. To get and keep a job was a difficult task in the time period of the show, this is shown when Tom explains he doesn't like his job, but it's a living so he continues. But jobs in that day ranged from factory worker, clerk, driver, shoe polisher, journalist. But the pay was not great for any job. Families in the '30's were either together and quite happy, generally with 4/5 members (Mother, Father, children) or they were broken and depressed. People believed in the 'American Dream' because that was pretty much telling them that one day, somehow, everyone was going to have an equal share of money, food and land.

Theatrical Style - Expressionism

Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas.

Political

Franklin D. Roosevelt (what a man) believed in a brighter future for his country. After a successful, democratic campaign for presidency he planned on putting this into action, and although he did achieve great things to take America back to what he wanted, he was hindered by the crippling polio that he suffered from. This is much like Laura as she clearly has been hindered by being crippled herself. Roosevelt wanted an equal playing field for all American citizens and he wanted happiness thought the land, it was just that this task was easier said than done, like in the glass menagerie Amanda wants her daughter to find a man, but as Laura is how she is, it's a bit difficult.

Amanda (on Laura dropping out of business school)

Girls that aren't cut out for business careers usually wind up married to some nice man.

Handing Jim the unicorn

Giving up her chance at being normal and retreats into her music

Laura S7 - exemplifying her own fragility

Glass breaks so easily. No matter how careful you are.

Amanda S7 - calling out Tom

Go, then! Go to the moon - you selfish dreamer!

In any story, complexity makes for interesting characters. Good drama rarely pits a "good guy" against a "bad guy." The best drama often occurs when both people in a conflict are right. Do you sympathize with Amanda, even though she causes her children to suffer? Do you think Tom and Laura are both wrong and right? Explain.

I believe the scene which shows Jim O'Connor's departure from the play is (arguably) the climax. In this scene, we learn he is engaged, and is no longer a potential suitor for Laura. At this point one could (again, arguably) see that Laura's fragile mental state suits, perhaps even necesitates a person in a situation like Mr. O'Connor's to support her, especially in the inevitable absence of her suffocating mother and somewhat negligent, brow-beaten brother (not to mention her father who will certainly be absent from her future). Her mother is clearly upset by this turn of events, given another of her daughter's prospects has yet again not come to fruition. Her disappointment is expressed as she tells her son," (p. **, Line *). The failed date or set-up that Amanda so hoped for is important because if Amanda wins this victory and finally manages to arrange a satisfactory future for Laura, then maybe she would ease up her nagging after Tom about his selfishness and lack of concern for Laura's (and Amanda's) future. Of course, the action of bringing home an eligible bachelor for Laura in itself already proves some of his concern for her future (as well as his mother's happiness/content).

Tom's opening monologue breaks the fourth wall as narrator to present the dramatic devices Williams' uses (legend, music, dim lighting) within the play in order to emphasise the sub-genre of the play as a memory and the reversal of illusion having an appearance of truth

I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion. The play is a memory.

In the conflict between Tom and Amanda in Scene Three, which character do you sympathize with, and why? What do you think Williams wants you to feel about Amanda?

I sympathize with Amanda in this scene because she tries to love Tom, but he is just being a complete jerk to Amanda. I think that Tom wants to love Amanda, but he is just very stressed all the time and her happy go lucky attitude just makes him really mad and snap sometim

go on

I trust you with him- Laura

Laura (to Jim about the unicorn)

I'll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less—freakish!

Mother's afraid

I'm going to be an old maid- Laura

In Scene One, what indications are there that there is tension in the family? Who seems to cause the tension?

In Scene One, the greatest indications of tension in the family occur when they are all eating dinner together for the first time in the play. As soon as they all sit down to start dinner, Amanda immediately starts critisizing Tom, saying "Honey, don't push with your fingers...So chew your food and give your salivary glands a chance to function" (1.1.54-65). Tom, obviously offended blows up at his mother, he said, "I haven't enjoyed one bite of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it...Sickening - spoins my appetitie - all this discussion of - animals' secretion - salivary glands - mastication!" (1.1.68-74). Though this may seem like a trivial argument, it clearly shows that there are underlying tensions in the family that would cause Tom to react in such a dramatic and angry fashion. It seems that Amanda is the one to cause the in-house tensions with her expectations and dreams for her children. She wants Tom to always behave like a gentleman and his reaction gives the impression that this is not the first time that she has critisized him in such a manner. On the other hand, though Laura does not seem to resent her mother or even show much discontent, in the play, it shows that Amanda has high hopes of her to have "gentlement callers", and for Laura to succeed at business school, learning how to type.

In Scenes Four and Five, Tom displays an attitude toward his mother that he has not shown before. Describe that attitude, and find the lines of dialogue that reveal it. Cite two lines of dialogue that show that Amanda is also trying to behave differently toward Tom.

In Scenes Four and Five, Tom's attitude towards his mother becomes more gentle and friendly. In earlier scenes, it seemed like he didn't care anymore about their relationship. It seemed like all Tom cared about was himself and all Amanda cared about was Laura's future and Tom's ability to provide for Laura and Amanda. However, after the big fight where Amanda refused to talk to Tom, Tom apologizes: "Mother, I-I apologize". After this their relationship seems to improve. In Scene Five, Tom even tries to find a gentleman caller for Laura to appease Amanda and improve their relationship.

One critic has said that The Glass Menagerie shows a series of contrasts between (a) the dreamer and the doer, (b) the past and the present, (c) fantasy and reality, (d) psychological and physical handicaps, and (e) the desire for escape and the awareness of responsibilities. Choose one of these contrasts, and trace the way it is developed in the play.

In The Glass Menagerie, a contrast of psychological and physical handicaps is present through the character of Laura. She was born with a physical handicap - one of her legs is shorter than the other. This somewhat contributes to her psychological handicap. She is so painfully shy because of it. She compares herself to the unicorn in her collection of glass, which is broken and therefore doesn't stand out. Essentially, because of her physical handicap she created a psychological one. However, later in the play Jim tries to help her. He says, "I'd teach you to have some confidence in yourself. The different people are not like other people, but being different is nothing to be ashamed of. Because other people are not such wonderful people. They're one hundred times one thousand. You're one times one!"(137). He says this to inspire confidence in her.

Amanda is a complex character: not easily described as either "good" or "bad." What aspect of her character do you see in Scenes Five and Six? Do you feel sympathetic toward her? Explain.

In scene 5 and 6 we see that despite her prickily nature, we see that she is actually a very kind woman. She is a welcoming host to Jim when he comes over for dinner. While she seems to be interfereing in her daughters life you can see that there i nothing but good intent behind her actions. Really all she wants is the best for her children in the end. Not ony is she intefering with Laura with our her knowledge, but she is also trying to guide Tom. Tom knows this, and gets annoyed with her. If you are on Toms side, you would probably think that Amanda was a bad character However from anyother angles you can see that like everything else Amanda does has good intentions behind it. I do sympthathize with her because, even though I have not been in her position, you can see that she s acting the way she is because she wants only the best for her family.

"Knowledge! ... Money! ... Power! That's the cycle democracy is built on!"

Jim O'COnner

In Scene Two, Amanda is in conflict with Laura. Who is in conflict in Scene Three? What starts the conflict, and what is it about?

In scene three, there is a conflict between Tom and Amanda. The conflict starts after Ms. Ida Scott hangs up on Mrs. Wingfield, who is obviously agrivated. Anything could set her off, and this time it is Tom's utterance of the phrase "What in Christ's name" (p748, line 76). It evolves into an argument about Tom's mysterious outings to the "movies." Mrs. Wingfield "[doesn't] believe that [Tom goes] every night to the movies" (p759 line 49). The argument ceases when one of Laura's menageries breaks, and Mrs. Wingfield parts telling Tom that she "won't speak to [him] again--until [he] apologizes."

A play is put in motion by some element that upsets the situation at the beginning of the story. The element that sets this play in motion arrives in Scene Two. What is it? How does it upset the opening situation, and how does it set the play in motion?

In scene two, Amanda finds out that Laura has not been attending business school like she was supposed to. This upsets the situation because all Amanda wants for Laura is to settle down with a nice job and start a family, and this business school might give her the chance to. Now, there's nothing for Laura. Amanda says, "So what are we going to do the rest of our lives?" (766.11-12). Amanda fears that Laura will never marry or have a career. She says, "Girls that aren't cut out for business careers usually wind up married to some nice man" (173-75). However, Laura argues that since she's crippled, that won't happen to her. Laura has a lack of confidence that prevents her from meeting people and being successful. Amanda is determined that her daughter will marry and this leads to her insisting that Tom finds Laura a gentlemen caller, which results in Jim coming over.

Why does Laura say about the broken horn on the unicorn: "Maybe it's a blessing in disguise"?

In the story Laura is always different from other girls. So the unicorn signifies Laura. Jim says, "Unicorns, aren't they extinct in the modern world? . . . Poor little fellow he must feel sort of lonesome." (Williams 780, lines 10-14) . When the unicorn falls and the horn breaks off Jim apologizes, but Laura says, "Now its just like all the other horses . . . . Maybe its a blessing in disguise" (780, lines 89-91). It is as if she recognizes that it is hard being different and is expressing her hope of becoming more normal herself. "Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don't have horns" (781, lines 7-9).

He is planning to leave town without telling his family.

In what way does Tom seem like his father in his talk with Jim?

Fire Escape

Irony, all the people are desperate to escape, their need to escape their lives

Not one gentleman caller?

It can't be true!- Amanda

Tom, Amanda S7 - juxtaposition of romance imagery with Cinderella and moon and bathos of the diner perverting image

It's rising over Garfunkel's Delicatessen. So it is! A little silver slipper of a moon.

"I judge you to be and old fashioned type of girl. I think that's a pretty good type to be."

Jim

"Somebody--ought to--kiss you, Laura!"

Jim

"You know what I judge to be the trouble with you? Inferiority complex!"

Jim

"...I'm in the limelight"

Jim O'Conner

The gentleman caller scene is a perfect little play within a play. Tell how the basic dramatic elements are used in this scene: characters you care about placed in a situation where much is at stake, taking steps to get what they want.

Jim, the gentleman caller for Laura brought by her brother, is unaware that he is being brought to see Laura especially. As the play progressed, the readers had grown to care for Laura, with her leg dysfunction and her shy personality. In the gentleman caller scene, Laura is placed in great distress by her mother, her brother, and the gentleman caller. Her mother forces Laura to anwer the door for Jim and Tom, despite Laura's misgivings and shyness. As a result, Laura is placed in a situation where much is at stake: her future, and her future romantic life, especially regarding Jim. Amanda ensured that Tom would bring a gentleman caller from the warehouse to see Laura, and so Tom grudgingly agrees and tells his mother "Yep. I've asked him (Jim) to dinner" (1.5.69). Thus, Amanda and Tom both took the steps neccessary to have Jim come to their house as a caller and therefore put Laura in an uncomfortable situation where her romantic life was at stake. Tom's future was at stake as well, because Amanda said that Tom could only go away from her and Laura if Laura was happily settled down with a steady husband.

"People are not so dreadful when you know them. That's what you have to remember!" EXPLANATION

Jim--Optimistic, cares about Laura

"And everybody was seated before I came in. I had to walk in front of all those people." EXPLANATION

LAURA-self conscious, gets intimated very easily

"I'm alright. I slipped, but I'm alright."

Laura

"Oh, mother--you answer the door!"

Laura

But blue is wrong for- roses...

Laura

Hold him over the light, he loves the light!

Laura

I'm- crippled

Laura

I've been playing the Victrola

Laura

I- don't suppose- you remember me- at all?

Laura

Now it's just like all the other horses

Laura

"But blue is wrong for - roses..."

Laura Wingfield

"Hold him over the light, he loves the light!"

Laura Wingfield

"I - don't suppose - you remember me - at all?"

Laura Wingfield

"I'm - crippled!"

Laura Wingfield

"I've been playing the Victrola"

Laura Wingfield

Breaking of Unicorn

Laura becoming more normal

Each of the Wingfields escapes from unpleasant reality into a comforting, private world. In Scene One, Amanda escapes from her present circumstances by remembering and talking about her past youth, her beauty, and her romantic successes. How does Laura escape from the real world? What does Tom do to escape from his unhappiness?

Laura escapes from a harsh reality into a world of glass figurines. We know from the begining that Laura cares about her glass figurines but we do not learn to what extent until Jim is over for dinner and Laura tells him that "My glass collection takes up a good deal of time. Glass is something you have to take care of good" (Scene VII, line 96). Tom attempts to escape from his unhappiness by going to the movies very frequently, especially after he has another shouting match with Amanda. While we can tell that when Laura escapes into her glass world, she is happy, the same cannot be said for Tom. He always tries to escape his life by going to the movies yet he never can really escape his life as he knows he must always return.

Dominic Maxwell

Laura is 'afraid of the real world'

How is it shown that the boy in the yearbook was important to Laura? Why doesn't Amanda seem particularly interested in this young man?

Laura's feelings for the boy in the yearbook are revealed by the way she talks about him. When asked if she has ever liked a boy she replies by saying "Yes I liked one once" (Williams 757). Since the boy in the yearbook is the only boy that Laura has ever liked we can tell that a level of importance is present. The tone in her voice is one of reminiscing like she is thinking on the time she liked him fondly. When she tells the story about her nickname Blue Roses she sadly adds a little part at the end of the story about how she did not like his girlfriend and that she thinks they are probably married by now, wishing that he would not be married. He must be important to Laura if she feels like this. Amanda clearly does not feel the same way as Laura does about him because he is from when Laura was in High School and not recent enough to be a likely suitor for Laura, which is Amanda's goal.

The breaking of Laura's assumption that she is different and that being different makes one a freak.

Laura's glass unicorn is symbolic of what?

Unicorn

Laura, unique and special and different

"I'm just not popular like you were in Blue Mountain." EXPLANATION

Laura--low self esteem but realistic

"Hold him over the light, he loves the light! You see how the light shines through him?"

Lighting

"She is like a piece of translucent glass touched by light, given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting"

Lighting

"The new floor lamp with its shade of rose-coloured silk gives a soft, becoming light to her face, bringing out a fragile, unearthly prettiness which usually escapes attention"

Lighting

dimly lighted, sentimental, not realistic, everything happens to music

Read Tom's opening speech. What characteristics does the narrator use to describe the term memory play?

"Stay fresh and pretty! - It's almost time for our gentlemen callers to start arriving"

Scene 1-Amanda: her enthusiasm for everything to work out nicely

"One Sunday afternoon in Blue Mountain - your mother received - seventeen!-gentlemen callers!"

Scene 1-Amanda: obsession with her past

"Mother's afraid I'm going to end up as an old maid"

Scene 1-Laura: her unconcerned attitude towards her situation

"I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of the truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion"

Scene 1-Tom to audience: illusion and reality contrast

"Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental. It is not realistic."

Scene 1-Tom to audience: stage direction o chow the play is set up, and the unrealistic nature highlights the expressionism used

"He was a telephone man who fell in love with long distances"

Scene 1-Tom: about his father

"Hello-Goodbye!"

Scene 1-Tom: to audience about postcard from his father from mexico, with no address

Haven't you ever liked some boy

Scene 2

"For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever!"

Scene 3-Tom: to Amanda, defending that he's not selfish after she calls him selfish

"Look! I've got no thing, no single thing...in my life that I can call my OWN! Everything is...Yesterday you confiscated my books!"

Scene 3-Tom: to amanda; expresses his suffocating life and her overbearing behavior

"as soon as Laura has got somebody to take care of her, married, a home of her own, independent-then you'll be free to go wherever you please"

Scene 4-Amanda: to tom about his responsibility

"it don't take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed coffin...but who the hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail?"

Scene 4-Tom: conveys how he feels trapped and theres no way to get out without disturbing the family

"A man by instinct is a lover, a hunter, a fighter, but none of those instincts are ever given much play in the warehouse "

Scene 4-Tom: dissatisfaction with his job

"There is a trick that would come in handy for me!"

Scene 4-Tom: reflecting his desire to escape

"But the wonderfullest trick of all was the coffin trick!"

Scene 4-Tom: to laura; conveys how his language changes when talking to Laura 'wonderfullest'"

"I'll tell you what I wished for on the moon. Success and happiness for my precious children! I wish for it whenever there is a moon, and when there isn't a moon, I wish for it too!"

Scene 5-Amanda: reminding Tom of her love' trying to manipulate him

"A fire landing's a poor excuse for a porch!"

Scene 5-Amanda: to Tom -the irony and contrast of poor and rich worlds

"There's a silver slipper of a moon!"

Scene 5-Amanda: to laura; reflects her childish fantasies of a fairytale//also symbolizing very little hope

"Don't say crippled! You know I never allow that word to be used!"

Scene 5-Amanda: to tom; when he's trying to make her understand not everyone might understand Laura; reflects Amanda's insistence on ignoring reality

"she spreads a newspaper and sits down gracefully and demurely as if she were settling into a swing on a Mississippi veranda"

Scene 5-Stage Direction for Amanda: symbolizes how she is stuck in the past

"and then...this boy..."

Scene 6-Amanda: after her frenzied reminiscence about the days she was single and her obsession with jonquils; conveys how she is still stuck on this regret

"It seems like we're setting up a trap"

Scene 6-Laura: after Amanda puts in 'the gay deceivers'; conveys her innocent nature

"Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intend to be!"

Scene 7-Tom: Unrelenting power of memory

"-anything that can blow your candles out! For nowadays the world is lit by lightning! Blow out your candles, Laura-and so, goodbye..."

Scene 7-Tom: perhaps to tell her to move on, the world is run on electricity; candles are a thing of the past. Gives light into the technical developments taking place - supported by Jim's interest in electromechanics ("I believe in the future of television")

"Look at them--All of those glamorous people--having adventures--hogging it all, gobbling the whole thing up!" EXPLANATION

TOM--Envious, passion for adventure, bored with his life

In Scene Two, what does Laura say and do to reveal that she is "set apart" from the real world?

Scene two has a lot of character development for Laura. It develops her character as shy and timid as well as socially awkward by using her actions and words when confronted with awkward situations. The first of these situations is when her mother asks why she hasn't been going to business school and she still trys to avoid the subject because the fact that she broke down and threw up in front of everybody was just too dificult for her to face and so she does all that she can to avoid having to talk to her mother about it. Even when Laura is telling her mother about what she did instead of going to class, she says; "I went in the art museum and the birdhouses at the Zoo. I visited the penguins every day! sometimes I did without lunch and went to the movies. Lately I've been spending most of my afternoons in the Jewel-box, that big glass house where they raise the tropical flowers." (1.2 87-93) Most people would go somewhere where they could quickly forget their problems, but Laura chooses to go to the places where she can best contemplate them. When Laura's mother asks Laura if she has ever liked a boy, Laura quickly starts to talk about Jim and about how he used to call her Blue Roses because "When I had that attack of pleurosis-he asked me what was the matter when I came back. I said pleurosis-he thought that I had said Blue Roses! So that's what he'd always call me after that." (1.2 61-65) The way that Laura talks about Jim and how she remebers every detail of conversations that they had six years ago can tell the reader how she is so set apart from society and the real world that she clings on to memories and lives in better times rather than facing the present and making a life for herself.

[Screen image: A swarm of typewriters]

Screen - Business school

Image on screen: The sailing vessel with the Jolly Roger again

Screen device - Tom leaving

A blown-up photograph of the father hangs on the wall of the living room

Setting - father photo

"Laura's shyness is dissolving in his [Jim's] warmth"

Stage Direction

"She carries a bunch of jonquils - the legend of her youth is nearly revived"

Stage Direction

Laura "crouches beside the Victrola to wind it", and her "dark hair hides her face"

Stage Direction

[Legend: the sky falls] [ominous cracking sound in the sky]

Stage direction - weather after Jim

There is a tinkle of shattering glass. Laura cries out as if it is wounded

Stg dir - Laura reaction to glass

"An unmarried sister who's crippled and has no job!"

Symbolism

"Glass is something you have to take good care of"

Symbolism

"I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you the illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you the truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion"

Symbolism

Few people have Laura's specific physical handicap. Do you think most people can identify with her? Why or why not?

Tennessee Williams dissimulates "theater poetry" throughout his play mostly to add symbolism. For instance, when Laura hands Jim her unicorn glass figure, she says, "Hold him over the light, he loves the light" (Williams, Act I Scene VII). The unicorn is a symbol of Laura, and of course, how the words should be interpreted can be the subject of long essays, but perhaps then, the light stands for self-confidence. Williams complements this with some imaging as earlier on, stage directions indicate that Laura should turn "in her hands a piece of glass to cover her tumult" (Williams, Act I Scene VII). With whatever meaning, The combination of both exemplifies the "theater poetry" prevalent in the play. As was mentioned earlier, Tennessee Williams seems to use his poetry for symbolism rather than comic use; nonetheless, it still enthralls readers.

In "The Glass Menagerie," Tennessee Williams has created "theater poetry" by using various arts besides language. For example, he uses the two transparencies at the beginning of the play to enhance the idea that this is a memory play. Check through the stage directions and dialogue to find other uses of visual and sound effects, which, combined with words, help to create "theater poetry." Do any of these effects add a touch of humor to the play?

Tennessee Williams dissimulates "theater poetry" throughout his play mostly to add symbolism. For instance, when Laura hands Jim her unicorn glass figure, she says, "Hold him over the light, he loves the light" (Williams, Act I Scene VII). The unicorn is a symbol of Laura, and of course, how the words should be interpreted can be the subject of long essays, but perhaps then, the light stands for self-confidence. Williams complements this with some imaging as earlier on, stage directions indicate that Laura should turn "in her hands a piece of glass to cover her tumult" (Williams, Act I Scene VII). With whatever meaning, The combination of both exemplifies the "theater poetry" prevalent in the play. As was mentioned earlier, Tennessee Williams seems to use his poetry for symbolism rather than comic use; nonetheless, it still enthralls readers.

In memory everything seems to happen to music.

That explains the fiddle in the wings.

What does Williams achieve in the way of "theater poetry" by having Tom neglect to pay the light bill?

The "theater poetry" that Williams achieves by having Tom not pay the electric bill is a change in mood. Before the lights went off the scene was a normal dinner with all four of the characters present. When the lights went out they were forced to switch to candle light, which brought in a whole new mood especially since Tom and Amanda left, leaving Jim and Laura on their own. Williams is able to use "theater poetry" to change to a more romantic mood by having Tom fail to pay for the lights.

A telephone man who fell in love with long distance

The father was

a structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth, for all of these large buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation

The fire escape

What happens to make you think at first that Jim O'Connor's visit may work out as Amanda hopes? Explain how the evening ends in disappointment for Laura and Amanda.

The first sign that Jim O'Connor's visit may work out as Amanda hoped was when Laura open up. This was first by asking for the piece of gum she initially did not want. Then, she compliments him as she "remember[s] what a beautiful voice [he] had" (Williams, Act I Scene VII). The two then embark on a long conversation that leads to a dance followed by a kiss. At this point, the gentleman caller is sure to be the right one, but Jim says he "shouldn't have done that" (Williams, Act I Scene VII) because he "go[es] out all of the time with a girl named Betty" (Williams, Act I Scene VII). This ends the night in a disappointment, and Jim quickly leaves to allay the situation.

Discuss the symbolism of the glass menagerie in relation to Laura. How, for example, does Laura resemble the glass animals? What does the unicorn represent at first, and what does it represent once its horn has been broken?

The glass animals represent Laura because she is fragile like a piece of glass and she sits in her own world, still, like a glass animal sitting on the counter. The breaking of the unicorn's horn represents the breaking of her shyness, freeing all of the feelings she had bottled up and making her a normal person, or a "horse".

Mr. Garfinkel

The grocer

Lack of hope for a gentleman caller

The image of a gentleman caller haunted our small apartment

In most plays, suspense is preferable to surprise. If a person reaches the top of a hill and looks down to see two trains at the moment they crash, it is a surprise and it is shocking. But dramatically, it would be more effective if, as the person neared the top of the hill, he saw the trains approaching each other on the same track from perhaps a mile apart. This would be suspense. How has Tennessee Williams used suspense in the play up to now?

The most noticable way that Tennessee Williams has used suspense in the play up to this point is with Laura and the gentleman callers. It started with using Amanda to bring the topic to light and point out that it is important to everybody that Laura finds somebody. After the audience and Amanda finds out that Laura quit business school, it becomes even more important that Laura finds a man to support her and in fact it sort of becomes one of the focal points of the play. When Tom talks to Jim O'Connor and convinces him to come over for dinner, the audience knows that he is the man that Laura was in love with in high school and even Tom is aware that Jim knew Laura (though he does not know that she was in love with him). The suspense is at its highest at this point because the audience is waiting for Laura or even Amanda to find out that the gentleman caller is, in fact, the very person who Laura was in love with. In short, Tennessee Williams used suspense to keep the reader paying attention to all aspects of the story by taking the characters, who all clearly have very different ambitions and interests, and tying them together with the common factor of Jim O'Connol.

Amanda often refers to her absent husband, and his grinning picture is highlighted at various times during the play. What does the photograph represent to Amanda? To Tom? How is the photograph a constant threat to Amanda and Laura's survival?

The photo represents the mistake that Amanda believes she made when she "had to go out of my [her] way to pick out" their father, who was after adventure and embodies selfishness, which she fears in her son who is eerily becoming like his father. Amanda has a sort of remorseful view of the absent Mr. Wingfield, which is attested when she says, "And I could have been Mrs. Duncan J. Fitzhugh, mind you! But- I picked your father!" (p.754, Line 78-79). To make up for her own choices, Amanda actively tries to compensate by 'encouraging' (in her view) her children to do better. This leads to pressure and stress within the family to the point of quite evident (verbal) conflict. To Tom, his father's picture is the symbol of adventure that he has not yet found or sought. Tom also sees the possibility to follow his father and abandon the family, much like he did 16 years before. The picture of the absent father is a constant reminder of the financial instability that Amanda and Laura constantly face as unmarried women without a steady income or husband.

How is Laura's relationship with Tom different from her relationship with Amanda? How can you tell that Tom is truly fond of Laura?

The relationship that Tom has with Laura is more understanding than the relatinship Laura has with Amanada. This is because Tom seems to care about Laura's feelings rather than getting her a gentleman caller. While Amanda expects a lot from Laura, Tom reminds her, "Mother, you mustn't expect too much of Laura" (1. 5. 80-81). Tom is genuinly more understanding of Laura's shyness than Amanda.

one of those vast hive-like conglomerations of cellular living-units that flower as warty growths in overcrowded urban centers of lower middle-class populations and are symptomatic of the impulse of this large and fundamentally enslaved section of American society

The wingfield apartment (entrapment)

Jim (about the unique-ness of Laura)

They're common as—weeds, but—you—well, you're—Blue Roses!

Tom - "I'm like my father, that bastard, son of a bastard! Did you notice him grinning in his picture in there and he's been absent going on 16 years"

This is a dialog between Jim and Tom after Tom reveals that he paid his dues to the merchant marines and has not paid the electricity bill as a result. He then compares himself to his father, yet he loathes his father for abandoning his family through criticizing the grin that his father makes in the picture of him. This occurs after the climax as the audience knows of Tom's final decision to leave and there isn't really a point of return.

Laura - "I don't believe we're going to receive any, Mother"

This is an example that relates to Illusions and dreams due to Amanda having an absurd fantasy with Laura receiving gentlemen callers and even Laura comprehends that this is very unlikely in reality. Amanda's version of reality which consists of gentlemen callers and parties as she did while at blue mountain no longer exists, however Amanda's nostalgic views prevents her from realizing this.

Tom - Listen you think i'm crazy about the warehouse? [he bends fiercely towards her figure]

This is one of the many incidents where Tom and Amanda have major arguments and conflicts in the play. His line is further emphasized through his stage directions to bend fiercely towards her which is Tom expressing his frustrations towards Amanda and her unrealistic expectations of Tom to work at a Warehouse while doing monotonous tasks on a daily basis. This also represents their constant miscommunication which leads to the frustration of both characters while having a dialog with each other in the play.

"I can't face it"

This is what Laura says in a dialog with Amanda and she refers to her inability to go to business college which essentially tarnishes the dream of Amanda for her daughter to find a Job. This is the rising action of the plot as this incites Amanda to bring up the idea of Gentlemen callers and enforce that onto Laura where she feels that that is the only option for Laura due to her insecurities and inability to survive in the real world. This then leads to Amanda requesting Tom to find a Gentlemen caller which then leads to the climax and falling action afterwards.

Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind but i'm much more faithful than i intended to be.

This is what Tom says just before the play ends during scene 7 and is the falling incident of the play. This is also the anagnorisis of the play as he makes a critical discovery that he can never truly escape. He may have physically escaped the apartment but he is still mentally haunted and feels a mental connection with his sister. This is a trait of Tom which seperates him from his father, the feeling of guilt that his father did not have after leaving is within Tom as a result of leaving his sister Laura. This portrays William's strong relationship with his sister Rose Williams who seemed to be the inspiration behind the character Laura in the play. This also links back to the fact that this play is a memory play and that Williams writing this play hints at he has never forgotten about the strong relationship with his sister.

"Buildings like hive-like conglomerations of cellular-living units that flower as warty growths"

This line is in Scene 1 and it is a description of the setting which is St.Louis Missouri during the 1930's where the Wingfield family lives in the play. This rather vulgar imagery and figurative language shows the reader what Tom, Laura and Amanda have to face on a daily basis in St.Louis. A theme that this relates to would be Tom's dream of escaping and experiencing a life of adventure and action which is a stark contrast to the real world. As a result the wingfield apartment metaphorically suffocates him and traps him which he also describes as a coffin and how he is trapped within it but seeks to free himself without removing a nail like the magician he witnessed and tells this to Laura in scene 4. This suffocation is furthermore amplified by the congestion of the setting which allows the reader or audience to sympathize with Tom.

The outburst of anger that ends Scene Three marks the emotional peak of the play so far. How has the playwright prepared you for Tom's anger and Amanda's accusations?

Throughout the scenes we can tell that Tom is unhappy with his life right now, constantly being hassled by his mother who does nothing as he sacrafices his life to work in the warehouse. We can see some of this anger when he's eating food and his mom is critizing him on how he's eating and he gets mad at her about it "I haven't enjoyed one bite of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it"( Pg.753, Line 68). This is also sort of a metaphor for his life because he'snot able to enjoy it due to his moms constant directoins and her telling him how to live it. We also see that Amanda is concerned about where their family is in life, with her daughter Luara not receiving any gentleman callers and too shy to go to college. We can tell that Tom is starting to get to the breaking point of his life where he's getting fed up with eberything going on, which isn't a good combination to his mom's attitude of Luara being almost angry at Laura for not getting anywhere in life and her anger at Tom for not taking this situation Selflessly.

feather the nest

To make the house look better?

attempting to find in motion what was lost in space

Tom's inability to escape

I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion

Tom, prologue

"But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in pleasant disguise of illusion." EXPLANATION

Tom- Understands that leaving would hurt Laura and Amanda

"Then all at once my sister touches my shoulder. I turn around and look into her eyes. Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!" EXPLANATION

Tom-Feels some guilt for leaving, Misses Laura

Drama Critic Circle Awards, 2 Pulitzer Prizes and the Presidential Medal of Freedom

What 4 major awards were awarded to Williams that we studied?

overbearing, nagging, very similar character

What are similarities between Amanda (mom) and Williams' mom?

"Blue Roses" like Rose which was the name of his sister, his sister was mentally handicapped and Laura is physically handicapped, lobotomy, Rose would go out on the front step and had 2 or 3 glass animals and play with them

What are similarities between Laura and Williams' sister?

wanted to write - poetry on the shoebox lid, Williams' had a bad relationship with his dad as well, family situation is very similar, felt responsible for his sister like Williams

What are similarities between Tom and Williams?

abandoned the family like in his real life

What are similarities between the dad in the story and Williams' dad?

St. Louis - where Williams' family moved when he was 10, called it a dark, dreary, tenant building like the one in the play

What are the things that are similar to the setting in the play and in Williams life?

Amanda (worrying)

What are we going to do, what is going to become of us, what is the future?

The New York Drama Critic's Award

What award did Williams win when "The Glass Menagerie" went on Broadway?

They were all gentleman, they all loved her, they were all rich, and they were all planters or sons of planters.

What characteristics did all of Amanda's gentlemen callers have in common?

a salesman

What did Williams father do as a job?

Find a nice young man for Laura who doesn't drink, he agrees to do it.

What does Amanda ask Tom to do at the warehouse? What is Tom's reply?

He can entertain Laura

What does Amanda say Jim can do to "help" while she and Tom are washing the dishes?

Laura just needs to cultivate something else to take its place like charm.

What does Amanda tell Laura she must do to counteract her "slight defect"?

Laura has to have someone to take Tom's place before he can leave.

What does Amanda tell Tom will have to happen before he can join the Merchant Marine?

He has freckles and a big nose. He is medium homely.

What does James D. O'Connor look like, according to Tom?

He tells her to come sit close to him on the floor, he offers her a pillow, he offers her gum, he talks about Chicago and the world's fair

What does Jim O'Connor do to make Laura comfortable as they sit in the front room?

Inferiority complex

What does Jim judge Laura's problem to be?

Her glass menagerie

What does Laura indicate to Jim she is more interested in than anything else?

He is a shipping clerk, and he earns $85 a month.

What does O'Connor do at the warehouse, and what does Tom judge he earns?

He was a telephone man, fell in love with long distance, left his family.

What does Tom tell us about his father?

The lights go out

What event starts off the beginning of Scene 8?

She threw up in class, and she is too embarrassed to go back.

What explanation does Laura give for not attending Rubicam's Business College?

What is the significance of the "blue roses" that appear on the screen at the start of Scene Two?

When Laura met Jim, the boy she liked in high school. She told him that she had pleurosis. However, because she is so shy she spoke quietly so Jim though she said "blue roses". From then on Jims nickname for Laura was "blue roses". The quote where she explains this to here mother was, "he thought that I had said Blue Roses! So that's what he'd always call me after that." (1.2 61-65). The roses from that point on became a symbol for Laura. It suggest that she is unique, just like Blue roses would be if they were real. The roses could also be though of as a symbol for the relationship between Jim and Laura. It turns out that Laura greatly enjoys being connected to someone like they were.

Hotel Elysee in New York City

Where did Williams die?

University of Iowa

Where did Williams graduate college from?

Chicago

Where did Williams play, "The Glass Menagerie" do well?

shoe company

Where did Williams work in 1931?

St Louis

Where do they live?

Merchant Marine

Where does Tom Want to work?

Continental Shoe Makers

Where does Tom work?

Blue Mountain

Where is Amanda from?

Rubicam Business College

Where was Laura enrolled in school?

Colombus, Mississippi

Where was Williams born?

the south

Where was Williams from?

A Streetcar Named Desire

Which play earned Williams a Pulitzer Prize?

He is engaged to a girl named Betty.

Why can't Jim O'Connor take Laura out on the date that he feels she deserves?

they are behind on their bill

Why does Laura hate going to the grocery store and charging it?

They go to the movies seeking adventure. They escape movies when there is a war.

Why, according to Tom, do people go to the movies? When do people "come out of the dark room?

Michael Billington

Williams 'had an instinctive love of the marginalised & defeated'

Michael Billington

Williams 'pinned down America at its worst'

homosexual

Williams was an open _______.

Amanda's pathetic retreat into her illusion of her past in her monologues (contrast the single-lined dialogue), a wistful distortion of reality where her representation of the 'American South' becomes clear - creation of ethereal imagery contrasting the claustrophobic apartment causing audience to be captivated and emphasises Williams' creation of a distorted memory

Won the Cakewalk twice at Sunset Hill, wore one Spring to the Governor's Ball in Jackson. little silver slipper

This is his magic scarf.

You can have it Laura- Tom

Tom (on gentlemen callers)

[H]e is the long delayed but always expected something that we live for.

I'm right in the middle of committing myself to a

future that doesn't involve the warehouse

I'm not expecting any

gentleman callers- Laura

All my wedding silver

has to be polished- Amanda

in memory, everything seems to happen to music

memory and music

the scene is

memory- SD

Amanda

mom

Success and happiness for

my precious children- Amanda

I've told you

never, never to use that word- Amanda

like a frightened deer

of Laura

she can hardly speak from the almost intolerable strain

of being alone with a stranger

Tom

opposite of a magician: played a trick that is not real and makes it look real

Dad

photograph in the living room, looks over everyone

clinging frantically to another time and place

production notes on Amanda

like a piece of her own glass collection, too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf

production notes on Laura

Jim

represents the real world coming in on their family, tries to bring Laura into it, until he crushes her, Laura can't handle it and can't survive and retreats back to her music

Jim is 'heartily', Laura is

retreating, stiff and trembling

fundamentally enslaved

section of American Society- SD

coyly, shyly,

shaking her girlish ringlets- SD of Amanda

Description of the Wingfield household - cramped and needing extinguishing, reflection of the familial conflict - burn steadily and dysfunction that rage in the Wingfield household

slow and implacable fires of human desperation

he is the long delayed but always expected

something that we wait for- Tom

Tom

son, narrator

one of those vast hive-like conglomerations of cellular living units

that flower as warty growths- sd

dressed as a merchant sailor

tom costume

He is the most realistic character in the play, being an emissary from a world of reality that we were somehow set apart from. But since I have a poet's weakness for symbols, I am using this character also as a symbol; he is the long delayed but always expected something that we live for.

tom on Jim

She is like a piece of

translucent glass- SD

All the world

was waiting for bombardments- Tom

You make it seem like

we were setting a trap- Laura

dimly lighted, sentimental, not realistic

what 3 things make it a memory play?

Clarkesdale

where is the setting of the Glass Menagerie and also a place where Williams moved to when he was a child?

a free imaginative use of light can be of enormous value in giving a mobile, plastic quality to plays of a more or less static nature

williams on lighting

used to give emotional emphasis to suitable passages

williams on music

A free, imaginative use of light can be of enormous value in giving a mobile, plastic quality to plays of a more or less static nature

williams on the lighting

gives accent to certain values in each scene

williams on the screen device

Laura touches her lips

with a nervous gesture- SD

You will come to the table

you will not be excused- Amanda

Now just look at

your mother!- Amanda