essay prompts for the glass menagerie

102 The Glass Menagerie Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best the glass menagerie topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 most interesting the glass menagerie topics to write about, 👍 good research topics about the glass menagerie, ❓ the glass menagerie essay questions.

• Illusion vs. Reality in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams One of the major themes of the play is considered to be the characters’ inability to meet reality, and the meaning of illusion for them.
• Character Sketch of Laura in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams In the words of her brother: “…in the eyes of others strangers she’s terribly shy and lives in a world of her own and those things make her seem a little peculiar to people outside […]
• The Glass Menagerie: How Laura’s Relationship With Jim Changed the Tone of the Play Jim is Tom’s friend and was in the same school as Laura, he is engaged and when he tells this to Laura on their first meeting after school, she is heartbroken because she loved him.
• Gender Roles in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams In the play The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams has written the story of the Wingfield family that lived in St Louis during the 1940s.
• The Main Themes in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams The most notable feature of the play is its symbolism, which is demonstrated by the author in a variety of ways. The outside world frightens the girl, and her way of escaping from reality is […]
• How the Glass Menagerie Illustrates the Breakup of Family Structures Debusscher, in this respect states that, the mention of “a double life,” could be the mask that Tom Wingfield wears to meet the world, in particular the “world of his mother and that of the […]
• The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Drama In the play A Raising in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, each member of the Younger family has his/her own idea on how to spend $10,000 that the family received from the insurance cover of […]
• Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” and Critique It is one of the most poignant scenes of the modern stage, But there is another kind of music in The Glass Menagerie, as there is in most successful drama, and that is the underground […]
• Analysis of the Characters in Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie Although the characters of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie are different in their perception of the world and their actions, all of them prefer the world of illusions instead of reality in order to cope […]
• Family Concept in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams The play ‘The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams focuses on the life of Amanda along with her son Tom, and “weakling” daughter Laura during the year 1937 at St.
• The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Review These examples indicate that music in the play is one of the foremost instruments that express the idea of escapism and contributes to character development. The theme of hope and hopelessness is effectively conveyed in […]
• Desperation in ‘The Glass Menagerie’ by T. Williams Williams admits that she regrets her diminished status: the fading of her beauty and the increasing harshness of her tone of voice: “a little woman of great but confused vitality clinging frantically to another time […]
• The Motif of Alienation in Tennessee Williams’s Play The Glass Menagerie In its turn, this explains why, as opposed to what it happened to be the case with her mother, the Laura’s sense of existential alienation has strongly defined tragic undertones to it.
• “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams: Play Analysis Tom’s mother is from a genteel southern ancestry and frequently narrates the stories of her youth to her children and the number of suitors who wanted her.
• “Death of a Salesman” by A. Miller and “The Glass Menagerie” by T. Williams: Elements of Drama Action That is why it is interesting to compare the details of the two stories, and the peculiarities of both dramas’ actions.
• “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams Play Critique The production elements were compatible and coordinated, with the lighting and sound design contributing to the overall mood and atmosphere of the play.
• Contrast, Conflict and Tension in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams As soon as it appears clear the fact that the play’s author is engrossed in the action the audience experience the first display of tension.
• Analysis of “The Glass Menagerie” and “The Taming of the Shrew” Concerning the outline of the paper, it consists of two major parts: the first one is devoted to “The Glass Menagerie,” and the second one to “The Taming of the Shrew”.
• The Glass Menagerie: A Play by Tennessee Williams Amanda’s withdraw to the past suggests that she does not want anybody else and especially her children to go through the bad experiences she had in the past.
• The Narrative of “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams Too shy to attend the business school her mother enrolled her in and without any friends of her own, Amanda decides marriage is the only answer for Laura and forces Tom to find a beau […]
• Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”: The Distraction of Illusions She imagines that if she could have gained the attention of Jim O’Connor in high school, her life would be much different.
• The Play “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams At the time the play opens, Tom is an adult and travels the world with the Merchant Marines, but remains unhappy because of the way that he left his mother and sister.
• “The Glass Menagerie” the Play by Tennessee Williams Tennessee Williams, a prominent playwright of his own epoch was born on 26 March 1911 in Columbus where he lived with his family consisting of his grandfather who was a religious man in the church, […]
• Tennessee Williams: “Glass Menagerie” and Autor’s Life His sister Rose, the closest person in his life and the prototype of Laura in “The Glass Menagerie”, actually suffered from epilepsy and underwent a prefrontal lobotomy in the mid-1930s, which has a clearly negative […]
• The Glass Menagerie by American Repertory Theater Tiffany’s production of Williams’ play should be discussed as the tribute to the classic The Glass Menagerie because of valuing the traditional approach to interpreting the play; thus, the director’s voice can be discussed as […]
• ‘The Glass Menagerie’ and ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ Drama Analysis The two plays ‘The Glass Menagerie’ and ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ brings out the features of American society. On the other hand, the play ‘The Glass Menagerie’ portrays the American men who ran away […]
• Glass Menagerie by William Tennessee Literature Analysis He partially wants to stay at home and look after his family because he is morally obligated to do so. The advantage of the action is that he supports his mother and sister.
• Tennessee Williams: Characters in “The Glass Menagerie” The first role is that of a character having memoirs that the play writes about. It is these double roles which underpin the tension in the play pulling between dramatic realism shown in the play […]
• The Glass Menagerie: Figurines’ Significance In this paper the focus will lead to a discussion of the significance of the glass figurines and their symbolic value to the whole play as representation of the most central symbol uniting and supporting […]
• Characters in The Glass Menagerie and Death of a Salesman For example, one of the main characters in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is identified as a “mentally and emotionally confused” person; the male character of The Glass Menagerie is under a threat of […]
• The Deconstructionist Role of Fathers in “The Glass Menagerie” and “Ghosts”
• Parallel Themes in “The Glass Menagerie” and a Raisin in the Sun
• The Conflicts Experienced by the Characters in “The Glass Menagerie”
• Delayed Goals in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• The Character of Jim and Laura in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• Unrealistic Dreams in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• The Primary Archetype Elements of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Difference of Mothers in “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Raisin in the Sun”
• William’s Use of Symbolism in “The Glass Menagerie”
• Tennessee Williams’ Characters in “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Streetcar Named Desire”
• The Psychological Costs of Societal Ideals in “The Glass Menagerie”
• Transcendent Laura Wingfield in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• The Biographical Elements of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”
• Masculinity Portrayed in “The Great Gatsby,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” and “The Glass Menagerie”
• Crossing the Rubicon in Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Author’s Self Portrayal in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• The Embodiment of Escape in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• The Symbolism of Jonquils and Unicorn in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• The Need for a Husband as Portrayed in “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Irresponsibility of a Mother as Portrayed in Laura’s Case in “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Characters and Themes of Strengths and Weaknesses in “The Glass Menagerie”
• A Representation of a Dysfunctional in “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Father as the Most Important Character in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• The Theme of Desperation as Portrayed in “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Escape Mechanisms Used in “The Glass Menagerie”
• Use of Metaphor in Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”
• Fantasy in James Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Truth in Perception: An Exploration of “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Theme of Alienation in “The Glass Menagerie,” “Another Country,” and “The Love Song” by J. Alfred Prufrock
• Power of Hope Through “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Use of Symbolism in “Mulatto” and “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Demonstration of Friction Between Parents in “Oedipus Rex,” “Hamlet,” and “The Glass Menagerie”
• Glass Fragility in Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Influence of Parents in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• The Theme of Entrapment in “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Common Things in “The Glass Menagerie,” “Death of a Salesman,” and “Raisin in the Sun”
• The Working in Man in Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Failure of Amanda in “The Glass Menagerie”
• Wingfield’s Absent Father in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• Willy Loman of “A Death of a Salesman” and Amanda Wingfield of “The Glass Menagerie”
• The Meaning of Work in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams
• What Is Peculiar About Laura in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Does the Glass Menagerie Symbolize in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• Why Is Laura the Tragic Hero in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• Which Play Best Exemplifies the Contemporary Woman, “The Glass Menagerie” or “Lysistrata”?
• What Is the Conclusion of “The Glass Menagerie”?
• Why Is Tom Unhappy at the End of “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Makes “The Glass Menagerie” Play So Appealing?
• Why Is Amanda So Upset With Tom at the End of the Play in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Do the Movies Symbolize to Tom in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• How Does Williams Explore the Theme of Entrapment in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Is Tom’s Illusion in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• How Does Tennessee Williams Present the Character of Amanda in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Is the Introductory Incident in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• Who Is Called Blue Roses in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Does the Coffin Symbolize in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• Who Is the Hero in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Is the Main Idea of “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Is the Most Significant Play Element in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• How Does Tom Escape Reality in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Does the Glass Unicorn Symbolize in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Is the Irony in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Techniques Does the Author Use to Maintain the Reader’s Interest in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• How Does “The Glass Menagerie” Relate to the Metallica Song “Frantic”?
• What Does the Expression Blue Mountain Signify in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• Who Is the Antagonist in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Does the Gentleman Caller Symbolize in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• Why Is “The Glass Menagerie” Called a Memory Play?
• What Does Blowing Out the Candles Symbolize in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• What Does Amanda Make Tom Promise That He Will Never Be in “The Glass Menagerie”?
• How “The Glass Menagerie” Illustrates the Breakup of Family Structures?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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107 The Glass Menagerie Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a classic American play that explores themes of family, memory, and the struggle for self-fulfillment. If you're looking for essay topic ideas and examples to help you write about this iconic piece of literature, look no further. Here are 107 The Glass Menagerie essay topic ideas and examples to get you started:

• Discuss the significance of the title "The Glass Menagerie" in the play.
• Analyze the character of Tom and his role as both narrator and participant in the story.
• Explore the theme of memory and its impact on the characters in the play.
• Compare and contrast the characters of Tom and Laura.
• Discuss the symbolism of the glass menagerie itself.
• Analyze the relationship between Amanda and her children.
• Discuss the theme of escapism in the play.
• Explore the role of music and dance in The Glass Menagerie.
• Discuss the significance of the fire escape in the play.
• Analyze the symbolism of the unicorn in the play.
• Compare and contrast the characters of Jim and Tom.
• Discuss the theme of illusion versus reality in the play.
• Analyze the role of gender roles and expectations in The Glass Menagerie.
• Discuss the significance of Laura's physical disability in the play.
• Explore the theme of loneliness in The Glass Menagerie.
• Discuss the theme of abandonment in the play.
• Analyze the role of memory in shaping the characters' perceptions of reality.
• Compare and contrast the characters of Amanda and Laura.
• Discuss the theme of family dynamics in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the role of the narrator in the play.
• Discuss the significance of the picture of the father in the play.
• Explore the theme of freedom and confinement in The Glass Menagerie.
• Discuss the theme of nostalgia in the play.
• Analyze the role of dreams and aspirations in the play.
• Compare and contrast the characters of Laura and Jim.
• Discuss the role of symbolism in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the structure of the play and its impact on the audience.
• Discuss the theme of social class in The Glass Menagerie.
• Explore the theme of responsibility in the play.
• Analyze the role of religion in The Glass Menagerie.
• Compare and contrast the characters of Tom and Jim.
• Discuss the theme of regret in the play.
• Analyze the role of escape in The Glass Menagerie.
• Discuss the theme of sacrifice in the play.
• Explore the theme of disillusionment in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the role of fate and destiny in the play.
• Discuss the significance of Laura's glass animals in the play.
• Explore the theme of manipulation in The Glass Menagerie.
• Compare and contrast the characters of Tom and Amanda.
• Discuss the theme of love and relationships in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the role of fantasy in the play.
• Discuss the theme of self-deception in The Glass Menagerie.
• Explore the role of music and sound in the play.
• Analyze the significance of Laura's physical disability in the play.
• Discuss the theme of guilt and remorse in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the role of escape in the play.
• Discuss the theme of hope in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the role of the narrator in The Glass Menagerie.
• Discuss the theme of family dynamics in the play.
• Analyze the symbolism of the glass menagerie in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the relationship between Tom and Laura.
• Discuss the theme of loneliness in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the role of gender roles and expectations in the play.
• Discuss the significance of the fire escape in The Glass Menagerie.
• Explore the theme of escapism in the play.
• Discuss the theme of abandonment in The Glass Menagerie.
• Analyze the theme of memory and its impact on the characters in the play.

These are just a few ideas to help you get started on your essay about The Glass Menagerie. Remember to choose a topic that interests you and that you feel passionate about, as this will make the writing process much more enjoyable. Good luck!

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The Glass Menagerie

By tennessee williams, the glass menagerie essay questions.

Q: How does the breaking of glass animals function as a symbol throughout the play?

A: When Tom breaks one of Laura's glass animals, it corresponds with the shattering of his family's illusions about himself. But when Laura accidentally breaks one herself, while dancing with Jim, it suggests that she is poking a small hole into her emotional defenses, and opening herself up to the possibility of love (and of pain). The horn breaking off the unicorn depicts the animal now becoming "normal," while the breaking of the glass also symbolizes Laura's transformation into an ordinary girl who can love and hurt like everyone else.

Q: What is the symbolism of the fire escape?

A: Clearly the fire escape is the first step out of the Wingfield apartment for Tom. By retreating to the fire escape (by escaping the fire), he can preserve his sanity just a bit longer, until he finally is forced to make a clean break of it and leave altogether. Symbolically, Laura falls on her only attempt to go on to the fire escape. Indeed, she will break and shatter if she ever tries to leave like Tom.

Q: In Williams' character descriptions, Jim is described only as "a nice, ordinary young man" while the Wingfields each get much more substantial treatment. Why?

A: Because Jim is just that - a nice, ordinary young man, an intentional cipher. His importance is in his ordinariness. Amanda pins all the hopes and dreams of her family on this elusive gentleman caller, completely regardless of who this gentleman caller may be. He is a purely symbolic figure for the Wingfields.

Q: The original script of the play included direction for magic-lantern slides, projecting key images and phrases during the action. This device was not used in the original Broadway production, nor most subsequent revivals. What do you think of this device? Would you include it?

A: The slides are the one sure sign that Glass Menagerie is a first-time play - all else is tightly crafted professional writing, but the slides declame a lack of confidence in the material on its own. They are clearly unnecessary.

Q: Tennessee Williams writes particularly Southern plays, and has a fascination with the faded detritus of the antebellum period. Amanda Wingfield shares much in common with Williams' most famous heroine, A Streetcar Named Desire's Blanche Dubois. Compare these characters.

A: Both Amanda and Blanche cling to the mores of a departed social structure, and both escape into this fantasy to avoid the depressing reality of their lives. But Blanche's fantasy presses strongly into psychosis, while Amanda is merely in denial. Notable also is that Blanche remains firmly within her delusions at Streetcar's conclusion, while Amanda ultimately faces the truth of her situation.

Parallels can be drawn as well between Jim and A Streetcar Named Desire's Mitch. How are these characters similar in development and function?

Aside from both being gentleman callers, these characters are also both thinly drawn types - men who aspire to normalcy and achieve it. They are purposely bland cyphers on which the heroines can cast their charms and illusions.

Q: Many Williams plays have a non-present character - Skipper in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Sebastian in Suddenly Last Summer, Allan in A Streetcar Named Desire, and Mr. Wingfield in Glass Menagerie. What is Mr. Wingfield's role in Glass Menagerie, and how does he compare to the other absentee Williams men?

A: Mr. Wingfield's non-presence looms over the proceedings, staring out at the apartment and the audience. Likewise, the specter of a husband - Amanda's or Laura's - looms over the Wingfield family's life. However, it is Tom who is more similar to the other absentee Williams men than Mr. Wingfield is. Like Allan and Sebastian, he is a poet. Like all three, he is probably gay. And at the end of the play, he too becomes an absent figure. In this way, Glass Menagerie is an origin story for the absentee men of Williams' later work.

Q: So where does Tom go at night?

A: It could be the movies, like he says. It could be the dance hall. He could be going to the movies in order to cruise for men. We don't need to know - all we need to know is that he escapes, and his escapes are growing longer and longer, and that eventually, like the dove on the Ark, he won't come back to his cage.

Q: How does the social situation of the world at the time of the play's setting affect the characters?

A: The play is set in the late 30s, and the outside world is brought in by Tom, who references Guernica and the Spanish Civil War (and audience members know that this was also the time of Hitler's rise to power). The references to the war raging in the world gives urgency to Tom's life - somewhere things are happening, somewhere revolutions are being fought, somewhere heroes are being forged, but here, only the tea is getting cold.

Q: One of the last lines of the play is Tom's observation that now the world is lit by lightning. How is this applicable to the play we just saw?

A: Lightning allows brief flashes of vision/insight, tableaus surrounded by darkness. Memory - and a memory play - function likewise. Tom has showed us isolated scenes in stark electrical light, far truer than real life could be. The lightning is the lens of memory.

The Glass Menagerie Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Glass Menagerie is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What is Jim's nickname for Tom?

Jim nicknamed Tom, Shakespeare.

In Scene 6, how does Amanda embarrass Tom?

Tom is embarrassed by his mother because she acts like a teenager in Jim's presence. She talks incessantly (about herself) and presents herself as if she were a young, southern belle in search of a husband.

What would you judge the Wingfield's social status as being?

In context, the family's social status/ financial status has declined. Amanda is described as once having been a Southern belle. She has been abandoned by her husband and is now supported by her son.

Study Guide for The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie study guide contains a biography of Tennessee Williams, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Glass Menagerie
• The Glass Menagerie Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Glass Menagerie.

• Chekhov's Influence on the Work of Tennessee Williams
• Entrapment in The Glass Menagerie
• Odets and Williams's Women of the Depression
• Life's Fire Escape
• Symbolism of The Glass Menagerie

Lesson Plan for The Glass Menagerie

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Glass Menagerie
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Glass Menagerie Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Glass Menagerie

• Introduction
• Original Broadway cast
• Autobiographical elements

The Glass Menagerie

73 pages • 2 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Play Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: Scenes 1-5

Part 2: Scenes 6-7

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Tom describes The Glass Menagerie as a memory play. What elements of memory do you see at work? How does the idea of memory function? What does the theme of memory mean in the play?

In the 2017 Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie , Madeline Ferris, a performer in a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy, played Laura. She is believed to be the first disabled performer in a wheelchair to play a leading role on Broadway. How does this choice affect the meaning of the play? How does it color the ways that the characters describe or interact with Laura? Do you agree with this choice? Why or why not?

How does the play formulate disability? What does disability mean to the various characters in the play? What does it mean to Laura? Considering that the play premiered in 1945, how do you think the play’s depiction of disability would play to an audience today?

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Home › Drama Criticism › Analysis of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie

Analysis of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on October 12, 2020 • ( 0 )

Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie (1944) was regarded when first produced as highly unusual; one of the play’s four characters serves as commentator as well as participant; the play itself represents the memories of the commentator years later, and hence, as he says, is not a depiction of actuality; its employment of symbolism is unusual; and in the very effective ending, a scrim descends in front of mother and daughter, so that by stage convention one can see but not hear them, with the result that both, but especially the mother, become much more moving and even archetypal. The play is also almost unique historically, in that it first opened in Chicago, came close to flopping before Chicago newspaper theater critics verbally whipped people into going, and then played successfully for months in Chicago before finally moving to equal success in New York.

The setting is the Wingfield apartment in a shabby tenement building, in Saint Louis, Missouri, in the year 1937. The set has an interior living room area and an exterior fire escape.

Tom Wingfield is in the fire-escape area outside the Wingfield apartment. He explains the concept of a memory play. He enters the interior setting, where his mother, Amanda Wingfield, and his sister, Laura Wingfield, who wears a brace on her leg, are seated at a table, waiting to eat dinner. All aspects of the meal are mimed, and as Tom seats himself, Amanda begins to instruct him on how to eat politely. Tom abruptly leaves the table to have a cigarette. Laura rises to fetch an ashtray, but Amanda tells her to stay seated, for she wishes Laura to remain fresh and pretty for her prospective gentleman callers. Amanda recalls her Sunday afternoons in Blue Mountain, Mississippi, where she received and entertained countless callers. Amanda asks Laura how many callers she expects to have, and Laura explains that she is not expecting any callers.

In the interior of the Wingfield apartment, Laura sits alone, polishing her glass figurines. Hearing her mother approach, Laura quickly hides her collection and resumes her place behind a typewriter. Amanda reveals that she has discovered that Laura has dropped out of secretarial school. Laura explains that she became ill during the first week of school and was too ashamed to return. Amanda pleads with Laura, asking her what she is going to do with her life. Amanda fears that Laura will be dependent on the charity of others for the rest of her life. Amanda warns Laura that there is no future in staying home playing with her glass collection and her father’s phonograph records. She implores Laura to set her sights on marrying. Laura confesses that she had liked a boy named Jim O’Connor in high school, but she is certain that he must be married by now. Laura acknowledges her disability as her primary obstacle in forming relationships. Amanda dismisses this claim and advises Laura to cultivate aspects of her personality to compensate for her disadvantage.

The same location as scene 2. Tom addresses the audience. He explains that Amanda has become obsessed with finding a gentleman caller for Laura and has begun selling magazine subscriptions to generate extra income. Amanda has a telephone conversation with a neighbor, trying to convince her to renew her subscription to The Homemaker’s Companion . Tom and Amanda quarrel about his habits, his writing, and his books. Amanda accuses Tom of being selfish and of engaging in immoral activities. Tom swears at his mother and bemoans his fate of working in a warehouse to support his mother and sister. In the heat of the argument, Tom accidentally crashes into Laura’s glass collection, shattering it to pieces on the floor. Amanda refuses to speak to him until he apologizes. Laura and Tom collect the shattered glass from the floor.

The same location as scene 3. Tom returns home from a movie and talks with Laura. She asks him to apologize to Amanda. Amanda sends Laura out on an errand so that she may speak with Tom alone. She and Tom make peace. Amanda warns Tom of the danger in pursuing an adventurous life. Amanda raises the subject of Laura and the need for Tom to bring a nice young man home to meet Laura. Amanda promises Tom that she will let him do as he pleases and leave after he has provided for Laura’s future. Amanda begs him to secure a nice man for Laura first. Tom grudgingly agrees to try to find someone. Amanda happily returns to soliciting magazine subscriptions.

On the fire escape, the exterior of the Wingfield apartment, Amanda suggests that Tom be more mindful of his appearance. She makes a wish on the new Moon. Tom tells her that he is inviting a gentleman caller for Laura to the apartment the following evening. Amanda inquires about the character of the gentleman caller. Tom describes Jim’s qualities and characteristics, and Amanda determines that he is suitable to call. Tom warns Amanda not to be too excited, because Jim is unaware that he is being invited for Laura’s benefit. Tom expresses concern that Amanda has unrealistic expectations of Laura. Amanda refuses to accept the reality of Laura’s condition. Tom goes to a movie and Amanda calls Laura out onto the fire escape. Amanda urges Laura to make a wish on the new Moon.

On the fire escape and in the interior of the Wingfield apartment, Tom speaks directly to the audience and explains the nature of his friendship with Jim. Tom makes Jim feel important because Tom can recall Jim’s high school glory days. In the living room, Amanda and Laura prepare for the arrival of the gentleman caller. Amanda dresses Laura and discovers one of her own former gowns. At the mention of the name Jim O’Connor, Laura refuses to participate in the evening’s events. Amanda chastises Laura and orders her to answer the door when the doorbell rings. Laura freezes with anxiety as Amanda forces her to welcome Tom and Jim. Laura hides in the kitchen while Amanda converses with Jim O’Connor. Tom goes to the kitchen to check on supper. Amanda summons everyone to the table. Laura maintains that she is sick and lies on the couch for the duration of the dinner.

In the interior of the Wingfield apartment, the lights in the apartment suddenly go out. Amanda quickly lights candles, asking Jim to check the fuses. Finding that the fuses are fine, Amanda asks Tom whether he has paid the electric bill; he has not. After dinner, Amanda asks Jim to keep Laura company. She gives him a candelabrum and a glass of wine to give to Laura. Amanda forces Tom to join her in the kitchen to wash the dishes. Settling down on the floor beside Laura, Jim asks her why she is so shy, and Laura asks whether Jim remembers her. She explains that they had singing class together in high school and reminds him that she was always late because of her disability. Jim confesses that he never noticed her limp and admonishes Laura about being self-conscious. Laura takes out her high school yearbook and Jim autographs it for her.

Laura shows her glass collection to him and Jim marvels over her delicate figurines. Hearing music from the nearby dance hall, Jim asks Laura to dance. She hesitates, but Jim persuades her to join him. They stumble into the coffee table, breaking Laura’s favorite figurine, a unicorn that she has had for 13 years. Jim apologizes, and Laura consoles him. Struck by Laura’s charm and delicacy, Jim kisses her. He chastises himself for his hasty action and informs Laura that he is engaged. Laura gives him the glass unicorn. Amanda gleefully returns to the living room with a pitcher of cherry lemonade. Jim apologizes and announces that he has to leave to collect his fiancée at the train station.

Amanda is horrified by the news and calls Tom out of the kitchen. She accuses him of playing a cruel joke on the family, but Tom explains that he had no knowledge of Jim’s engagement. Amanda again chastises Tom for selfishness and for lack of concern for his abandoned mother or his disabled sister. Tom finally leaves the Wingfield apartment for good. The lights fade on the interior setting, leaving Laura and Amanda in candlelight. Tom appears on the fire escape and offers the audience details of his departure and journey away from his family. He explains that no matter how much distance is between them, he can never forget his sister. He instructs Laura to blow out her candles, and she does.

A scene from The Glass Menagerie /New York Public Library

The Glass Menagerie began its life as a screenplay, The Gentleman Caller . This script was an adaptation of Williams’s short story “Portrait of a Girl in Glass.” The script of “The Gentleman Caller” was submitted to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in the summer of 1943. Williams had hoped that this script would impress studio executives and ultimately relieve him from other contractual obligations at MGM such as writing what he scathingly termed a “celluloid brassiere” for the actress Lana Turner. MGM was less than amenable to Williams’s idea. They declared that the popular film Gone With the Wind (1939) had served up enough Southern women for a decade (Spoto, 97). In an oddly ironic twist, this response and its implicit preference for fiction over reality resonated with the play’s central theme.

Stylistically, The Glass Menagerie reflects its prehistory. The screenplay-turned-stage-script shows a number of elements more familiar, and perhaps more suited, to the cinema than to the theater. In theatrical terms, Williams’s approach is Brechtian: It uses devices meant to create what the German playwright and dramaturge Bertolt Brecht, a contemporary of Williams’s, called the “alienation effect.” In The Glass Menagerie , these devices constitute a sometimes disjointed sequence of tableaux (or scenes) rather than the more conventionalthree-act structure; a narrator/commentator (Tom) who also is a character in the play and steps in and out of the action; Williams’s scripted suggestions of legends to be projected onto gauze between the dining and front rooms, “to give accent to certain values in each scene”; the very strictly defined music, which assigns specific pieces or themes to certain scenes, especially in relation to Laura; and the lighting, “focused on selected areas or actors, sometimes in contradistinction to what is the apparent center.”

For Brecht, the alienation effect served to remind the audience that what they saw on stage constituted the real world. Williams takes this concept a crucial step further, in that he turns alienation— the conscious or unconscious loss of a person’s feeling of connection with his or her surroundings—into the mainstay of the play: It becomes a way of life for the characters. Brecht tries to prevent his audience from escaping into illusion. Williams forestalls his characters’ conquest of “a world of reality that [they] were somehow set apart from.” None of the characters is truly able to cope with the demands of everyday life; therefore, all seek refuge in their own dream world, to such an extent that illusion itself becomes subjective reality.

In this the characters are not alone. Williams declared this denial of reality symptomatic of an era during which individuals would seek out “dance halls, bars, and movies, and sex that hung in the gloom like a chandelier and flooded the world with brief, deceptive rainbows,” in order briefly to forget about their lives and their troubles. But the diversion cannot last, and the conflict between fact and fiction, reality and make-believe, remains irreconcilable. This is the central theme of The Glass Menagerie . From it emerge two related themes: the impossibility of escape and the trap of memory—or of the past in general.

The play is memory in more than one sense. As is much of Williams’s work, The Glass Menagerie is poignantly autobiographical. However, this is by far his most autobiographical work. In July 1918, Williams’s father, Cornelius Coffin Williams, exchanged his job as a traveling salesman for a managerial post with the International Shoe Company in Saint Louis, Missouri. Cornelius, his wife (Edwina Dakin Williams), and their two children, Rose Isabel Williams and Tom, left Clarksdale, Mississippi, to take up residence in what then was the fourth-largest city in the United States and a major industrial center.

From their initial quarters at a boardinghouse they moved into and out of a succession of apartments, including one at 4633 Winchester Place in downtown Saint Louis. The apartment had “two small windows, in the front and rear rooms, and a fire escape [that] blocked the smoky light from a back alley” (Spoto, 16). The wording may be less poetic than Williams’s stage directions for The Glass Menagerie , but it accurately describes the Wingfield home, and the Williams’s tenement at 4633 Winchester Place in Saint Louis later became known as the “Glass Menagerie Apartments.”

For Rose and Tom, both delicate and accustomed to the rural gentility of Mississippi and the relative stability their maternal grandparents had helped to provide, the relocation and its effects on their home life proved traumatic. Tom was seven years old at the time of the move, old enough to recognize that “there were two kinds of people, the rich and the poor, and that [the Williams family] belonged more to the latter” (Tynan, 456)—with all the ostracism this entailed. Although the play’s references to the Spanish civil war and the bombing of Guernica in April 1937 set The Glass Menagerie nearly two decades later, during the depression, the social and economic context and its bleak inescapability are virtually the same.

The family’s reduced circumstances were due to Cornelius Williams’s compulsive drinking and gambling, and the domestic situation was worsened by a string of illnesses and operations Edwina Williams had after the birth of the Williams’s youngest son, Dakin Williams. Caught between a volatile father and an infirm mother, Rose and Tom each found their own ways of escaping into safer fantasy worlds. Tom fled into literature, at first reading voraciously (much to his father’s distaste), but when his mother gave him a typewriter, he started to write poetry. The consequences for Rose, however, were far bleaker. By the early 1920s mental illness began to manifest itself through psychosomatic stomach problems and an inability to sustain any social contact, which turned her enrollment at Rubicam’s Business College into a debacle. Her condition worsened over the next 15 years, until, in 1937, her parents agreed to a prefrontal lobotomy, which left Rose in a state of childlike, almost autistic detachment. Tom, studying at the State University of Iowa by then, was informed only after the disastrous procedure. From that point on, the spirit of his sister “haunted his life” (Spoto, 60).

It also haunts The Glass Menagerie . Though physically rather than mentally disabled, Laura Wingfield is painfully shy and socially inept, and she wears her physical difference as a stifling protective cloak. Nicknamed “Blue Roses” in a clear reference to Williams’s sister, she has stomach pain caused by nervous self-consciousness when exposed to strangers, and she visits the penguins at the zoo instead of attending classes at Rubicam’s Business College. The focus of her life, to the exclusion of everything else, is her collection of glass animals, which serves as a symbol of her (and Rose’s) fragility. When Jim O’Connor accidentally breaks her glass unicorn, the loss of the horn offers a subtle but nonetheless striking reminder of Rose’s lobotomy. As Laura states, her unicorn “had an operation” to make it “less freakish.”

Rose is not the only member of the Williams family to appear in The Glass Menagerie . With the exception of Dakin, all of the Williamses are cast. Williams himself infuses his namesake Tom, the trapped poet-narrator, who hides in a closet to write and dreams of joining the merchant marine. Tom is a warehouse worker for Continental Shoemakers, and his job fills him with the same desperate frustration that caused Williams to suffer a nervous breakdown after his father withdrew him from college and forced him to work at the International Shoe Company between 1932 and 1935. Cornelius Williams, an alcoholic and a former telephone company employee, is clearly identifiable as the absent head of the Wingfield household, “a telephone man who fell in love with long distances.”

A more oblique and more sinister reference, which plays on Cornelius’s middle name, illustrates Tom’s/Williams’s attempts to break away from the presence of the father. Recounting his nightly exploits to Laura, Tom launches into the tale of Malvolio the Stage Magician and a coffin trick, “the wonderfullest trick of all. . . . We nailed him into a coffin and he got out of the coffin without removing one nail.” For Williams, his father, Cornelius Coffin Williams, was a flesh-and-blood opponent; for the character, Tom Wingfield, he is a photograph over the mantel and the mirror his mother relentlessly holds up to him. This disembodied specter is all the more oppressive because it cannot be fought or escaped. Condemned to stay at home because his father ran away, Tom looks for vicarious adventure, always fancies himself on the brink of moving, but has no idea when or where. When he finally does make a break, it is at the expense of taking the past with him. True escape is as impossible for him as it was for Williams: Laura/Rose constantly haunts him.

Completing the family analogies, Tom and Laura’s mother, Amanda, is a replica of Edwina Dakin Williams. Both have pretensions to be Southern belles, both claim to have been pursued by countless gentleman callers only to marry “this boy,” both are capable of prattling incessantly, and neither can cook or bake anything apart from angel food cake. They also share a dangerously tenuous grasp on reality that materializes in their aspirations for Laura and Rose, respectively. Both mothers are convinced that their daughter’s problem—be it lameness or schizophrenia—will dissolve if only she finds the right man. In the autumn of 1933, Edwina invited a family friend, “the very handsome Jim O’Connor” (Spoto, 43), as a prospective suitor for Rose. The experiment concluded in only one brief visit, which apparently upset Rose greatly. In the same vein, Amanda badgers Tom into inviting his shoe company colleague, and former high school basketball hero Jim O’Connor, as a gentleman caller for Laura. This attempt leads to an equally devastating result. Jim, brimming with self-satisfied optimism and bent on self-improvement, has nothing in common with Laura. He has genuine affection for her and does manage to draw her out, but the relationship cannot go further, because he is engaged to someone else. This revelation occurs just as Laura is beginning to believe that her high school crush on Jim could be fulfilled. In other words, the Gentleman Caller breaks her illusions and her spirit as easily and as casually as he has broken her glass unicorn.

The Glass Menagerie is Tom’s recollection of the events culminating in the visit of the Gentleman Caller. Everything in the play happens in and from memory. Insight and perspective are counterpoised by that peculiar trick of memory that diminishes some things and enlarges others, according to their importance. Such distortion always serves to sharpen and explain. Likewise, Tom’s account, always slightly unreal, always slightly over the top, veers between caricature and canonization.

Reminiscent of the brittle translucency of glass, Laura is imbued with a “pristine clarity” similar to that found in “early religious portraits of female saints or madonnas.” In stark contrast to Laura’s otherworldliness, Amanda and her idealized Southern girlhood—grotesquely laden with jonquils and suitors—clash with the everyday contingencies of cold-calling, mastication, a disabled daughter, and an absconded husband in a way that is both painfully comical and brutally revealing. Even Jim cannot escape from the exaggeration of memory. Having failed “to arrive at nothing short of the White House by the time he was thirty” (53), he is shown to wallow in the sweet smell of former basketball glory, yearbook pictures, and the admiration of a shy, lonely girl. “Try and you will succeed” is the futile battle cry Jim and Amanda share in the face of stagnation.

Because he is an outsider and inhabits the real world, Jim is raised to a symbol of hope, “the longdelayed but always expected something that we live for.” For Amanda expectation does not stop here. Roger B. Stein makes a convincing case that Jim has been cast as a Christ-like savior figure or, at the very least, as Moses about to lead the Wingfield family to the promised land of harmony and happiness (Stein, 141–153). There is no such land, of course, and only Amanda has promised it. The pivotal scene between Jim, the flawed suitor, and Laura exposes this fallacy. “Unicorns, aren’t they extinct in the modern world?” he asks when Laura shows him her favorite glass animal. The unicorn is a mythical animal and an alien even in the unreal world of Laura’s glass menagerie. In fact, it is so strange that Jim cannot recognize it as what it is without being prompted, just as he is unaware of the real reason why he has been invited to dinner. At this point the unicorn stands for the Wingfields’ combined dreams of escape: Amanda’s hope of the miracle cure of marriage for Laura, Tom’s longing for adventure and motion, and Laura’s tentative, naive, and unformed dream of love. The shattering of the glass unicorn heralds the collapse of those dreams as much as it heralds the personal shattering of Laura. Unicorns are extinct in the modern world, Jim is engaged, and escape from reality is impossible. Tom’s last monologue underscores this fact. His own break from home has only succeeded in setting him adrift and the sole guilty resting point he has left are his memories. Ironically, it is precisely those memories that prevent his true escape, because they forever tie him to the past.

With The Glass Menagerie , Williams set out to create a new kind of “Plastic Theatre,” a highly expressionistic language of the stage that would replace what he saw as the stale conventions of realism. He succeeded, thereby revolutionizing American theater. Within two weeks of opening on Broadway in 1945, the play won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Claudia Cassidy, present at the Chicago premiere, had predicted The Glass Menagerie ’s success: “It was not only the quality of the work as something so delicate, so fragile. It was also indestructible and you knew right then” (Terkel, 144). Cassidy was correct about the play’s indestructibility, although for a long time, critics either failed to see or attempted to marginalize the play’s achievement. For some, the lyricism of language and expressiveness of theatrical devices obstructed the action. This response was due to the fact that the critics were married to an American theater tradition that demanded realism, which is precisely what Williams denounced in the production notes for the play. Instead of scientific photographic likeness, Williams attempted and conveyed spiritual and emotional truth.

The acid test of audience reception bears this out. Not tied to ideologies and convictions, audiences understood and responded immediately and favorably to The Glass Menagerie . A generation after its Chicago premiere, critical attitudes and opinions had shifted markedly. Many acknowledge The Glass Menagerie as possibly Williams’s greatest achievement because of the breadth of its cataclysmic vision, a vision “not only of individuals who fail to communicate with one another, nor a society temporarily adrift in a depression, but of man abandoned in the universe” (Stein, 153). This is the explanation for the play’s enduring appeal. As are all great works of art, it is not limited by time and space but manages to transcend both by touching on matters shared and universal. Spoto surmised that nothing Williams wrote after The Glass Menagerie possesses the “wholeness of sentiment,” its “breadth of spirit,” or its “quiet voice about the great reach of small lives” (Spoto, 116).

O’Connor, Jim

Jim is a former hero of the high school Tom and Laura Wingfield attended. He is also a colleague of Tom’s at the International Shoe Company. Tom invites Jim for dinner at the Wingfields’ apartment. Jim does not realize that Tom’s mother, Amanda Wingfield, has the ulterior motive of presenting him as a gentleman caller and prospective suitor for Laura. The plan fails, as Jimis already engaged. The character of Jim is based on an actual Jim O’Connor, who was one of Williams’s fellow students at the University of Missouri at Columbia. On one occasion he was invited to the Williams home with the goal that he would become better acquainted with Williams’s sister, Rose Williams.

Wingfield, Amanda

She is the mother of Tom and Laura Wingfield. Living in a dingy, Saint Louis apartment and struggling to make ends meet by selling magazine subscriptions, Amanda finds solace in the romantic memories of her girlhood. Her concern about her children’s future prompts her to bully them to live her ideal life, that of Southern gentility. Her inappropriate sense of propriety makes Tom and Laura miserable. As does Esmeralda Critchfield in Spring Storm , Amanda places importance on the need to have Laura marry a socially suitable young man. This goal causes an unhappy tension in the household and bitter friction, especially between Amanda and Tom. At her insistence, Tom invites Jim O’Connor, a fellow shoe factory worker, to visit the Wingfield home as a prospective gentleman caller for Laura. Amanda Wingfield is based on Williams’s mother, Edwina Estelle Dakin Williams. Mrs. Williams acknowledged the similarity and recalled that in her youth she was always “the belle of the ball,” who proudly “made [her] debut in Vicksburg twice” (Brown, 119). Mrs. Williams also said that she greatly enjoyed the character of Amanda, especially when she was played by Laurette Taylor, a “real genius,” who adequately captured the “pathos” of the character (Brown, 115–116).

Wingfield, Laura

Laura is the daughter of Amanda Wingfield and older sister of Tom Wingfield. A childhood illness has left her with a shortened leg, for which she has to wear a brace. Laura’s self-consciousness about her disability renders her unable to attend business college, and she seeks refuge in her collection of glass animals, the eponymous glass menagerie. Her encounter with Jim O’Connor, with whom she has been secretly infatuated since high school, proves traumatic when she finds out that he is engaged. Laura Wingfield is based on Williams’s sister, Rose  Isabel Williams.

Wingfield, Tom

Tom is the narrator and simultaneously a character in the play. He has ambitions to be a poet, but he is forced to work at a shoe factory warehouse to support his mother, Amanda Wingfield, and his sister, Laura Wingfield. His home life in their Saint Louis apartment is miserable. His mother repeatedly accuses him of being selfish and regularly looks through his possessions. Dreaming of adventure and escape from his depressing job and home life, Tom spends most of his evenings at movies. He becomes a reluctant accomplice in his mother’s plan to secure a gentleman caller for Laura. He invites his workmate and former high school associate Jim O’Connor to the Wingfield apartment for dinner. The evening is a disaster, and his mother blames the negative turn of events on Tom. As a result, he leaves home, abandoning Amanda and Laura to their own resources. Tom is forever haunted by memories of his sister, and the play is his account of events surrounding his departure. Tom Wingfield is Williams’s most autobiographical character. Tom’s leave-taking mirrors Williams’s own departure from his family’s Saint Louis, MISSOURI, apartment and from his emotionally unstable sister, Rose  Isabel Williams.

FURTHER READING Brown, Dennis. Shoptalk: Conversations about Theatre and Film with Twelve Writers, One Producer—and Tennessee Williams’s Mother. New York: Newmarket Press, 1992). Cassidy, Claudia. “Fragile Drama Holds Theatre in Tight Spell,” Chicago Daily Theater Tribune, December 27, 1944, p. 11. Spoto, Donald. The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams. Boston: Little, Brown, 1985. Stein, Roger B. “ The Glass Menagerie Revisited: Catastrophe without Violence,” Western Humanities Review 18, no. 2 (spring 1964): 141–153. Terkel, Studs. The Spectator: Talk about Movies and Plays with the People Who Make Them. New York: New Press, 1999. Tynan, Kenneth. “Valentine to Tennessee Williams,” in Drama and the Modern World: Plays and Essays, edited by Samuel Weiss. Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath, 1964, pp. 455–461.

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The Glass Menagerie Essay Topics

Written and published by Tennessee Williams, the Glass Menagerie came into limelight in 1944. It’s a memory play, with most of its data extracted from the narrator’s memories. Known as Tom Wingfield, the narrator in this play acts as an aspiring poet who works in a shoe warehouse to earn a source of income to his life, that of her mother Amanda and that of her sister Laura better. Their father, known as Mr Wingfield, had left them many years ago and hadn’t be heard since then.

Amanda, the mother’s narrators, who hailed from a genteel Southern family, amuses her two children with stories of her childhood and how several suitors had pursued her to no avail. While narrating the story, Amanda doesn’t feel comfortable that Laura, her daughter, hasn’t any attracted any suitor despite her age.

Amanda enrols her daughter, Laura, in a business college with hopes that she will better her life and that of her family through her business career. Unfortunately, some weeks later, Laura drops out of school owing to her shyness. After this happening, Amanda decides to marry Laura off to earn some money. The Glass Menagerie is an excellent play that touch on the struggles a family faces in the absence of a fatherly figure. Students can write different essays on this book, and here are some topics they can use.

• The conflicts experienced by the characters in the Glass Menagerie novel
• The escape mechanisms used in the Glass Menagerie
• Delayed goals in the Glass Menagerie
• Unrealistic dreams in the Glass Menagerie
• The theme of desperation as portrayed in the Glass Menagerie
• The theme of escape and dreams in the Glass Menagerie
• How symbolism is used in the play the Glass Menagerie
• A representation of a dysfunctional in the Glass Menagerie
• How Tennessee Williams uses tensions, irony, and symbols in the play Glass Menagerie
• The characters of Amanda as portrayed in the Glass Menagerie play by Tennessee Williams
• How Tennessee portrays the character of tom in the Glass Menagerie play
• The irresponsibility of a father as portrayed in the Glass Menagerie Play by Tennessee Williams
• The primary Archetype elements of Tennessee Williams’ Glass Menagerie
• The symbols and characters of the Glass Menagerie Play
• Missed opportunities in the play the Glass Menagerie
• The irresponsibility of a mother as portrayed in Laura’s case in the Glass Menagerie
• The characters and themes of strengths and weaknesses in the Glass Menagerie
• How does the Glass Menagerie play confirm the saying that you can run, but you cannot hide?
• The need for a husband as portrayed in the Glass Menagerie play
• Loving the wrong person as portrayed in the Glass Menagerie play
• A misguided daughter in love in the Glass Menagerie Play
• The unpredictable character of Laura in the Glass Menagerie
• The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is all about fantasy
• The Glass Menagerie Play is more about illusions than reality
• A quick look on the theme of escape in the Glass Menagerie

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The Glass Menagerie

Tennessee williams, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

In his monologue that opens the play, Tom announces, “The play is memory.” The play is Tom's memory of the past, and all of the action takes place in his head. That action is therefore dramatic, sentimental, and emotional, not realistic. As is fitting in a play that is itself a memory of the past, in The Glass Menagerie the past haunts all the characters.

Tom the character (the Tom who Tom is remembering as…

Abandonment

The male characters in the play all abandon Amanda and Laura . The father, whom we never see, has abandoned the family: he worked for the telephone company and “fell in love with long distances.” The traumatic effect of this abandonment on Amanda, and Amanda's resulting fear about her own helplessness, is clear in her relentless quest for Laura to gain business skills and then to marry. Jim ’s abandonment of Laura forms the play’s…

Illusions and Dreams

Tom explains that in creating the play from his memory that he is giving “truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion,” and the stage directions of the play are designed to create a nostalgic, sentimental, non-realistic atmosphere to create the unreal yet heightened effects of a dream. The lighting in each scene adds emphasis and shadows: for example, the electric light that goes out, the candelabra, moonlight, the paper lantern that hides the broken lightbulb…

Escape in the play operate in two directions: from the real world into the world of memory and dreams, as Amanda and Laura demonstrate; or from the world of memory and dreams into the real world, as Tom desires. Amanda and Laura escape reality by retreating into dream worlds. Amanda refuses to see things as they are, insisting on seeing what she wants to see. Amanda still lives as a past version of herself, even…

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Essays on The Glass Menagerie

One of the most famous plays in American literature is The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams. This timeless story explores themes of family dynamics, dreams, and the harsh reality of life. Writing an essay on The Glass Menagerie can help you to deepen your understanding of the play and its significance in literature.

When choosing a topic for your essay on The Glass Menagerie, consider the various themes and characters in the play. You can explore the relationships between the characters, the symbolism of the glass figurines, or the impact of the past on the present. The possibilities are endless!

If you're considering writing an argumentative essay, you can delve into the complex relationships between the characters and argue your point of view on their actions and motivations. For a cause and effect essay, you can explore the consequences of the characters' decisions and how they shape the outcome of the play. An opinion essay allows you to express your personal thoughts and feelings about the play, while an informative essay can delve into the historical and cultural context of the time period.

To give you a head start, here are ten possible topics for each type of essay:

Argumentative Essay

• The role of gender in The Glass Menagerie
• The impact of Tom's abandonment on the family
• The significance of the glass menagerie as a symbol
• The conflict between illusion and reality
• The portrayal of the American Dream in the play
• The manipulation and control of Amanda over her children
• The importance of Laura's disability in the play
• The symbolism of the fire escape in the play
• The theme of escapism in The Glass Menagerie
• The role of memory in shaping the characters' actions

Cause and Effect Essay

• The consequences of Laura's shyness
• The effects of Tom's job dissatisfaction on the family
• The impact of Amanda's unrealistic expectations on her children
• The causes of the family's financial struggles
• The effects of Jim's visit on the Wingfield family
• The consequences of Tom's abandonment on the family
• The impact of Laura's disability on her relationships
• The causes of Laura's withdrawal from the outside world
• The effects of Amanda's controlling nature on her children
• The consequences of the family's reliance on illusion

Opinion Essay

• My interpretation of the play's ending
• My personal connection to the characters in The Glass Menagerie
• My thoughts on the character of Amanda Wingfield
• My opinion on the significance of the glass menagerie
• My feelings about Tom's decision to leave his family
• My perspective on the portrayal of the American Dream in the play
• My thoughts on the character of Laura Wingfield
• My interpretation of the play's symbolism
• My feelings about the theme of escapism in The Glass Menagerie
• My opinion on the role of memory in shaping the characters' actions

Informative Essay

• The historical context of The Glass Menagerie
• The cultural influences on the play
• The impact of World War II on the characters
• The societal expectations of women in the time period
• The significance of the Great Depression in the play
• The portrayal of the American Dream in The Glass Menagerie
• The symbolism of the glass menagerie
• The theme of escapism in the play
• The impact of disability in the time period and its portrayal in the play

Thesis Statement Examples

For an example of a thesis statement on The Glass Menagerie, consider these options:

• The Glass Menagerie explores the destructive nature of illusions and the impact they have on the characters' lives.
• The characters in The Glass Menagerie are trapped by their past and struggle to find a sense of freedom and fulfillment.
• Tennessee Williams uses symbolism and imagery to convey the themes of The Glass Menagerie and the characters' inner struggles.
• The Glass Menagerie portrays the fragility of human relationships and the desire for escape from reality.
• The play delves into the complexities of family dynamics and the ways in which they shape the characters' lives.

Paragraph Examples

As for an example of an paragraph, here are a few options:

• As one of Tennessee Williams' most famous works, The Glass Menagerie continues to captivate audiences with its poignant exploration of family, dreams, and the harsh reality of life. The play delves into the lives of the Wingfield family, where each member grapples with their own desires and disappointments. Through the use of symbolism and powerful imagery, Williams crafts a story that resonates with audiences to this day.
• In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams invites readers into the world of the Wingfield family, where the characters navigate the complexities of their relationships and the struggle to break free from the confines of their past. The play delves into the themes of illusion, memory, and the pursuit of happiness, creating a story that continues to resonate with audiences across generations.
• Set against the backdrop of 1930s St. Louis, The Glass Menagerie delves into the lives of the Wingfield family, where the characters grapple with their own dreams and disappointments. Tennessee Williams' powerful storytelling and evocative imagery bring to life a story that explores the fragility of human relationships and the desire for freedom and fulfillment.

And finally, for an example of a paragraph, consider these options:

• The Glass Menagerie continues to captivate audiences with its timeless exploration of family dynamics, dreams, and the harsh reality of life. Tennessee Williams' powerful storytelling and evocative imagery create a story that resonates with audiences across generations, inviting them to reflect on the complexities of human relationships and the pursuit of happiness.
• The themes of illusion, memory, and the pursuit of happiness in The Glass Menagerie continue to resonate with audiences, as the play invites readers to delve into the intricacies of the human experience. Tennessee Williams' masterful storytelling and evocative imagery create a story that captivates and challenges readers to reflect on their own desires and disappointments.
• Through the powerful use of symbolism and imagery, The Glass Menagerie invites readers to explore the fragility of human relationships and the desire for freedom and fulfillment. Tennessee Williams' poignant exploration of family dynamics continues to captivate audiences, as the play delves into the complexities of the human experience and the pursuit of happiness.

The Glass Menagerie Setting Analysis

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Creating a Fantasy: a Look at The Use of Irony in The Glass Menagerie

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Analysis of Laura Wingfield's Character in The "Glass Menagerie"

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Dreams and Desires in "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams

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March 31, 1945

Tennessee Williams

Memory Play

Amanda Wingfield, Tom Wingfield, Laura Wingfield, Jim O'Connor, Mr. Wingfield

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