THE GLASS MENAGERIE

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THE GLASS MENAGERIE

• TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

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Quick Write

• What vivid memories do you have?  What senses are
  most affected by this memory (sight, hearing,
  taste, touch, smell)?  What/Who is the focus of
  this memory?  What part of this memory stands out
  the most in your mind?  How does your own
  perception of what happened influence the memory?
  (Did it really happen exactly as you remember?)

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What is a glass menagerie?

• menagerie
• noun 1. a collection of wild or unusual animals,
  especially for exhibition. 2. a place where they
  are kept or exhibited. 3. an unusual and varied
  group of people.
• On the back of your paper what do you think a
  glass menagerie is?
• Make sure you look at all parts of the
  definition.

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BACKGROUND

• Tennessee Williams born
• Thomas Lanier Williams in 1911,
• Mississippi.
• His mother, Edwina Dakin, was
• daughter of a minister. His father
• Was a violent and aggressive
• Traveling salesman (Gussow).
• He was very close to his sister Rose
• who suffered from mental
• illness and was forced to have a
• lobotomy, which altered her
• personality

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Hive-like conglomerations of cellular
living-units that flower as warty growths in
overcrowded urban centers . . .

• He wrote to escape from his mundane existence as
  a clerk with a shoe company. There are
  autobiographical parallels in the play The Glass
  Menagerie

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CHARACTERS

• Laura Wingfield - She is the crippled and very
  shy daughter of Amanda who nags Laura about
  finding a husband.

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Tom Wingfield -

• The narrator and actor
• As Lauras brother, he is also pressed by his
  mother to find his sister a gentleman caller and
  to keep the job at the shoe factory to support
  the family.

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Amanda Wingfield -

• She is the mother of Tom and Laura and often
  digresses back to memories of her former days on
  the southern plantation farm and her night with
  17 gentleman callers.

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Jim OConner -

• He is a friend of Tom from the factory who Tom
  invites to dinner and Amanda treats as Lauras
  first gentleman

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MINOR CHARACTERS

• Mr. Wingfield - He is Amandas husband who
  deserted the family about 16 years ago and is
  only seen in the play as a large photograph hung
  on the wall, but he is often referred to.

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SETTING

• 1930 St Louis (Great Depression)
• The Wingfield apartment- This takes up most of
  the stage and the different room are separated by
  curtains.  There is the living and the kitchen.
• The fire escape - This is on the side of the
  stage and is what the characters use to get into
  and out of the apartment.

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SYMBOLS

• Victrola

• Jonquils

• Fire Escape

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Symbols

• Magic Show

• Glass Menagerie

• Blue Roses

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Symbols

• Unicorn

• Candelabrum

• Scarf

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SYMBOLS

• gentleman caller -
• fathers portrait -

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Topics what themes develop around these topics

• Escapism/Imprisonment
• Dreams and reality
• Responsibility / duty
• Family dynamics
• Abandonment

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Method of Narration

• Describe his character in the play.
• Describe his traps.
• What are his means of escape?
• Describe his relationship with Amanda.
• Describe his relationship with Laura.
• Respond to how the play ends in relation to Tom.

• Tom is narrator and a main character. He tells
  the story as memory.
• What does this technique contribute to the play?
• How does this technique help to convey Williams
  message and ideas?