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¶ … Glass Menagerie
Although its narrator and author are men, The Glass Menagerie is arguably a play about women in the 1930s. As such, author Tennessee Williams gives women a voice they might not otherwise have had, and at first glance the play could be considered a positive feminist statement just by nature of having major women characters. However, while giving the women voice, Williams denigrates them at the same by presenting Amanda and Laura as representative women characters. As the failed Southern belle, Amanda is manipulative, self-centered, delusional and cruel. Laura, an emotional and literal "cripple," cannot face the real world and is as weak and delicate as her glass collection. Not only do these characters present a problematic view of women, but the choice of a man, Tom, as the narrator is an additional weakness in the play. The reader sees the women only through Tom's eyes, and as narrator he proves himself to be selfish, mocking and cruel. These factors combine to create a play that portrays women as weak, delusional and cruel.
The reader's first impression...
She deludes herself into believing that Tom is the devoted son she has always wanted and that Laura will soon be visited by scores of "gentleman callers." Amanda's insistence on seeing the supposed bright side of her family's situation at first seems admirable, but in fact she is doing more damage than good by refusing to see and deal with the truth. Amanda portrays herself as a selfless matriarch who has only her children's best interests at heart, but it soon becomes apparent that she has her own selfish motives for her behavior. She insists on seeing Tom's behavior as a deliberate affront to her instead of his attempts to deal with his own demons, and during Jim's visit Amanda's self-centeredness is fully revealed. Amanda dresses up and flirts with Jim, making it obvious that she had been yearning for gentlemen callers for herself, not just for Laura. Amanda is also cruel and manipulative, as evidenced by the photo of her errant husband hanging over the fireplace. This photo is meant to remind Tom and…
Menagerie REVISED Prince, don't ask me in a week / or in a year what place they are; I can only give you this refrain: / Where are the snows of yesteryear? Francois Villon, c. 1461 "Where are the snows of yesteryear?" asks Tennessee Williams in the opening screen of The Glass Menagerie (401), quoting a poem by Francis Villon. Williams explains in the production notes to this famous play that he has left
In connection with Williams' feelings vis-a-vis his sister's lobotomy, Jack Tamburri, writing in www.courttheatre.orgbelieves that the narrator in the Glass Menagerie (e.g., Williams) "...Spins a story of regret and abandonment [regarding Laura] that must have mirrored the guilt Williams felt over his own sister's situation." CONCLUSION: The helplessness of Laura as she tries to get through the pain of her physical disability, her shyness, and the razor-sharp barbs thrown at her
Amanda is a former southern belle, who enjoyed a very comfortable and somewhat decadent upbringing. After her husband leaves, and she struggles to raise and financially support her children alone, her social life suffers, making her frustrated and lonely just like her highly introverted daughter. This is perhaps why she is so focused upon finding a suitor (and eventually husband) for Laura. She does not want her daughter to
In Oedipus this may be defined as the powerlessness of human beings against preordained fate. Diction refers to the expression of meaning through words. Stylistic elements of tragedy for example may include a character's use of metaphor. Oedipus does this very eloquently throughout the play and particularly during the climax, at the end of which he blinds himself. He uses this act as a self-punishment for his foolishness, which
Human Suffering in the Works of W. Faulkner, S. Plath, T. Roethke, and W. Shakespeare Literature is considered as one of humanity's powerful medium of expression. Different forms of expression are used in literature, such as poetry, plays, novels, and short stories. As a medium of expression, literature becomes the primary vehicle in expressing the human experience. Take as an example the theme of human suffering in literature. Numerous poems