Tom states that the events are based on a "working memory" thus suggesting that aspects of the story are exaggerated. Williams works to point out that the story will not follow the conventions of conventional theatre which is evident in the narrator addressing the audience directly.
3. Describe the contrast between Amanda's perception of the night Jim comes to visit, and Laura's perception of the same evening. What does this tell us about the relationship between Amanda and her children, and about Laura's future?

Amanda accuses Tom of playing something of a practical joke on her and Laura. Her dreams for her daughter were shattered after they had prepared both physically and mentally for the diner. The diner was expensive for the family and ended in disaster. While Amanda's reaction was one of anger, Laura's could be better described by desolation. The glass unicorn shattered which represents how Jim's presence "broke"…...

86). Jim symbolically inspires Laura to accept her individuality and to see that beneath her outstanding traits she is no different from anyone else. His gentility and kindness, borne of Southern culture, help Laura come to terms with herself and her social awkwardness.
Laura's personality transformation through Jim's kindness paralleled her symbolic transformation through the unicorn. Had the unicorn not been made of glass, its horn would not have so easily fallen off. Moreover, the unicorn broke during a moment of joy for Laura, during a dance. illiams seems to suggest that Laura will achieve positive personal transformation as a result of her interaction with Jim.

The transformation from unicorn into horse is a central symbol in the Glass Menagerie. In fact, Durham also notes that illiams was concerned with the concept of personal transformation when he wrote the play (p. 62). Ironically Laura, who is crippled physically and socially, emerges…...

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Works Cited

Durham, Frank. "Tennessee Williams, Theatre Poet in Prose." Modern Critical Interpretations: Tennessee William's the Glass Menagerie. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1988. Pp. 59-73.

Falk, Signi. "The Southern Gentlewoman." Modern Critical Interpretations: Tennessee William's the Glass Menagerie. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1988. pp. 79-87.

Watson, Charles S. "The Revision of the Glass Menagerie: The Passing of Good Manners." Modern Critical Interpretations: Tennessee William's the Glass Menagerie. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1988. Pp. 75-78.

Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New York: NewDirections, 1945.

Glass Menagerie: An Uncertain Reality
This essay will examine the ways in which the three main characters in "The Glass Menagerie" soften with harshness of day-to-day living with an insulating blanket of self-deception.

This play is one of Tennessee illiams's earliest and most biographical plays (Patterson, 27).

"The Glass Menagerie" was written by Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" illiams (1911-1983) in 1944, incorporating his short story "Portrait of a Girl in Glass" with the unproduced screenplay "The Gentleman Caller" (illiamson, 184).

It was first presented on December 26, 1944 (illiamson, 141).

The initial ticket sales were so poor that a closing notice was prepared following the early performances.

illiams himself expected it to last for only a few presentations.

E. Influential theatrical critics were impressed by the play, however, and began to champion its virtues in their regular newspaper column.

F. The audiences quickly picked up, so that mid-January of 1945, it was almost impossible to find a ticket for…...

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Works Cited

1. "A Noise Within - Tennessee Williams' 'The Glass Menagerie." Internet:

 http://events.ucsc.edu/presents/noise.html,.Retrieved:05-03-03 .

2. Hale, Allean. (1995). "Tennessee Williams's St. Louis Blues," The Mississippi Quarterly,

Vol. 48, 1995.

In The Glass Menagerie, the self-induced isolation of Laura stands in parallel to the mostly perceived isolation of Tom. These siblings suffer from symbiotic emotional illnesses that, if we are to understand illiams' works taken together, are indicative of a home itself shrouded in an unhealthy blanket of stunted relationships and the chilling void of empathy.
The Glass Menagerie would be the first of his plays to achieve widespread critical and popular success, with a series of Pulitzer Prize and Drama Critic Circle recognitions distinguishing his period of greatest literary achievement. Ultimately though, the text seems through the actions of a character such as Tom, to function as a statement of resistance against the ordinary confines which his family life seemed to have thrust upon illiams. In The Glass Menagerie illiams provides a narrative that is deeply tied to the static moments defining the despairingly mundane lives of its primary…...

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Works Cited:

Holditch, K. & Leavitt, R.F. Tennessee Williams and the South. University Press of Mississippi.

Pagan, N. (1993). Rethinking Literary Biography. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

O'Connor, J. (1997). Dramatizing Dementia: Madness in the Plays of Tennessee Williams. Bowling Green State University Press.

Williams, Tennessee (1944). The Glass Menagerie. New Directions Publishing Corporation.

Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Humankind's destiny has always been driven by fate and circumstances and in dealing with these two, people have ways of changing the outcome while others simply accept what comes their way. Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie is a play that portrays the manners by which the characters handle their situations in life. What they have are not the best of circumstances especially since the play was set during the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s where poverty and despondency were the norms for those living in the era. Thus, with the dismal and squalor surrounding the characters of the play, they each have their way of dealing with them by either not facing reality and living in the past, feeling imprisoned and having difficulty escaping reality, or simply turning one's back and walking away. These same situations or actions have been how the characters…...

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Bibliography:

Frederic, C. (2007). The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Retrieved July 12, 2011 from  http://www2.selu.edu/Academics/Faculty/cfrederic/tennesseewilliams.htm 

Janardanan, D. (2007, November 13). Images of loss in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Marsha Norman's 'night, Mother, and Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive. Retrieved July 12, 2011 from  http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=english_diss 

Williams, Tennessee. (1945). The Glass Menagerie. Retrieved July 12, 2011 from http://mattlally.com/fiction/the_glass_menagerie.pdf

Glass Menagerie
Tennessee illiams, His Mother and the Glass Menagerie

Tennessee illiams is among the most celebrated playwrights of the 20th century. His family portraits, set to the backdrop of a deteriorating Southern tradition, are a window into human foibles like vanity, insecurity, detachment and personal disappointment. All of these themes are in full display with illiams' breakthrough work, 1944's The Glass Menagerie. A peering insight into the unhappy lives of the ingfields, the story is told from son Tom's point-of-view and concerns his relationship with his overbearing mother Amanda and his emotionally introverted and cripplingly shy sister Laura. However, the story is driven almost entirely by the will of Amanda, an aged Southern Belle abandoned by her husband and generally focusing her neuroses on her two adult children. This complex set of relationships is culled directly from illiams' real experiences as a child, with the characters of Amanda and Laura closely…...

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Works Cited:

O'Connor, J. (1997). Dramatizing Dementia: Madness in the Plays of Tennessee Williams. Bowling Green State University Press.

Williams, T. (2011). The Glass Menagerie: The Deluxe Edition. New Directions

owards the play's end, om tells his audience/readers: "Oh Laura...I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be! I reach for a cigarette...anything that can blow your candles out!" his passage from the play showed how, in his fear for his sister and attempt to shield her from the harshness of life, om wanted to "blow (Laura's) candles out," an act that symbolizes her eventual lack of hope for life to become better for her and the Wingfields.
his expressed hopelessness for Laura through om's character is reinforced by Laura herself, as influenced by Amanda's and om's perception of her as a weak individual, physically and emotionally. Her mother lacked the courage and love to steadfastly guide and strengthen Laura's character, as Laura believed that, through her mother's perception of her, she is a woman who has lost all hopes of attaining…...

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This expressed hopelessness for Laura through Tom's character is reinforced by Laura herself, as influenced by Amanda's and Tom's perception of her as a weak individual, physically and emotionally. Her mother lacked the courage and love to steadfastly guide and strengthen Laura's character, as Laura believed that, through her mother's perception of her, she is a woman who has lost all hopes of attaining a wonderful life of being a wife and mother, as mirrored in Amanda's worries that Laura will not be able to get married: "Mother's afraid I'm going to be an old maid." While Laura is central to both Tom's and Amanda's motivations and frustrations in life, she was depicted as not having a stronger voice in the play. Tom and Amanda acted as Laura's 'voices' that developed her character throughout the play. By clinging to the fact that she is a cripple and allowing herself to be 'drowned' in her mother's fears, Laura took away from herself the ability to change her life like Tom, further intensifying the level of dysfunction in their family.

Lastly, Amanda, although not a central character of the play, was actually a critical catalyst that prompted Tom to leave the family and for Laura to silently accept her plight as an 'old maid.' She pressured both Tom and Laura to lead 'normal, functional' lives despite the inherent dysfunction that she contributes to her family. In Laura, she only proved that she is a traditional mother who believed that her family has a rightful place in the society, albeit an unrealistic one and directly clashed with real life. This point is expressed by Amanda in Scene 2, where she admonishes her daughter for not living her life to the fullest, and being self-absorbed by her physical defect: "So what are we going to do the rest of our lives?... Amuse ourselves with the glass menagerie?... I know so well what becomes of unmarried women who aren't prepared to occupy a position..." (42). In this instance, Amanda puts pressure into Laura's already dwindling self-confidence, by her reminding her that she has yet to achieve what every woman aspires to be in their society -- becoming a mother and wife. Laura, crippled and hence, physically immobile, is also becoming socially immobile, who had lost opportunities in life because of her physical defect.

Williams, T. (1987). The Glass Menagerie. NY: Signet.

The costumes used in the film production are suitable for the characters in the play, and are not appreciably different from ones that would be seen on Broadway.
3. Idea

William's The Glass Menagerie is a complex tale about relationships, social norms, gender roles, and psychological health. The playwright would have wanted audiences to think hard about each of these issues. Remarkably, the play's main themes are universal. Williams was an American, but the themes he writes about apply equally as well to any other culture. All cultures contend with gender roles and norms, and the overbearing mother is a common stereotype. Tom's masculinity is also called into question throughout the play.

4. Acting styles

John Malkovich emotes without overacting, which is why he is a renowned and well-respected actor. His role as Tom is ideal because of his ability to get angry in a realistic way. Although not as effusive as a…...

Glass Menagerie
Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie, presents the drama of three family members who live in a world whose values and supporting pillars are shaking as a consequence of the disastrous economic times people went through during the Great Depression. The lack of role models in the micro universe of the Wingfield family as well as their dissolution in the macro universe of the whole American society is deeply and irreversibly affecting the three members of the family and their relationship.

Amanda, the mother, the Southern belle type who was raised with the privileges of a class that is no longer enjoying the economic privileges of a wealthy family, is forced to live in a rented apartment with her two children, Laura and Tom, in one of the lower class quarter of the city. Her husband left them when the children were very young and they are financially supported by…...

Experiment with the arts to find your voice and suddenly you will not feel so shy after all. Your creative medium will become the voice you have been seeking for your entire life. Through it you will relate to the outside world and to the special people that inhabit it. You will stop worrying about fitting in, because it will be others who will hope to fit into your world.
Laura, those close to you feel honored to be in your presence. You saw that Jim felt smitten with you, and I believed he helped you to believe in yourself. Despite of what you may think Tom also loves you dearly and misses you deeply. Your family will always be there for you if and when you need them.

You can trust them but more importantly, you can trust yourself. Value your independence, your solitude, and your time alone. Through your…...

Glass Menagerie
Response to a Reading of "The Glass Menagerie"

The story by Tennessee illiams (1973) is one that seems to confuse a lot of people. The story itself seemed pretty simple, but there could be many different interpretations made of the characters and events that took place. It seems that for the most part the characters could not accept reality and that they built figurative walls to protect themselves. Another point to be examined in the story was who the main characters were. From the reading, it seems that "The Glass Menagerie" is about personal discovery and that Jim O'Connor can actually be said to be one of the main characters if not the main character even though he enters the action late.

The scene that dominates the play is that of the apartment rented by the ingfield family. A dance hall across the street, a warehouse and movie house, and a…...

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Work Cited

Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New York: Random House, 1973. Print.

She also knows her own personal reasons for doing this. For instance, at the end of the play she admits to Tom that she understands self-control and what dreams and escaping are all about, "Go then. Go to the moon -- you selfish dreamer!" Did she once say these words to her husband as well when he disappeared?
Laura, because of her disability, also disappears into a fantasy world as a way to deal with her personal stress. It consists of the clear, shining world of her glass animals. These glass figurines also give her something to love and to fondle that is missing in her present life. The here and now only offers her fragile hopes that she know will break like her glass, as when Jim comes for dinner. The broken unicorn represents her shattered life, because she does not considers herself physically whole with her limp. Yet…...

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References

Eakambaram, (ed) a. Glass Managerie. Tennessee Williams. New Delhi: S. Chand, 2005

Glass Menagerie  http://pagesperso-orange.fr/absolutenglish-972/notes/uscivi/glassmenagerie/ressourcepage.htm

Tom's monologue is also highly important, as it shows him actively justifying his actions and feeling guilty over them, too.
The critical approach used in this paper will be psychoanalysis and biographical criticism. An understanding of Tennessee Williams' relationship with his real-life sister Rose sheds some light on the origins of the play's story. The psychoanalysis of Tom's character will reveal the guilt he feels towards his sister and how it is tied to his relationship with his mother. All of these are also tremendously important in regards to Tom's (and Tennessee's) sexuality.

Nicholas Pagan's book Rethinking Literary Biography: A Postmodern Approach to Tennessee Williams is an interesting look at the author's life and how it intersects with his literary work. There are portions of the book that would help support my thesis, as well as some conclusions that Pagan draws that disagree. Both of these would be useful in clarifying…...

Her expectation is anything but realistic. To deal with her mother's insurmountable expectations, Laura disappears into her own fantasy world with the sparkling, clear world of the glass animals. These unique glass figurines give her something positive and of value, which is lacking in her present life.
nfortunately, Laura, like her mother, cannot always stay in this fantasy world. She has a more difficult time staying in an unrealistic world freeing herself from the pain of her present one. The broken unicorn represents her fractured life; she is not physically whole with her limp and emotional fragility. She clearly recognizes the truth about herself, as she says to her mother: "I'm crippled!" (Williams xx) That is, she cannot complete Amanda's expectation; she cannot be "as popular" as her mother. Every once and a while, she forgets who she is. She forgets that she cannot live up to her mother's or…...

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Unfortunately, Laura, like her mother, cannot always stay in this fantasy world. She has a more difficult time staying in an unrealistic world freeing herself from the pain of her present one. The broken unicorn represents her fractured life; she is not physically whole with her limp and emotional fragility. She clearly recognizes the truth about herself, as she says to her mother: "I'm crippled!" (Williams xx) That is, she cannot complete Amanda's expectation; she cannot be "as popular" as her mother. Every once and a while, she forgets who she is. She forgets that she cannot live up to her mother's or even her own personal expectations. For example, she has fragile hopes that she will shine liker her glass and be something special when Jim comes for dinner. She is instead resigned to her continually despondent and lonely future. It is Jim, the representative of reality, who makes both Laura and Amanda see the world for what it is.

When the play comes to an end, the Wingfields are more in touch with reality as they were previously. Amanda says she has put aside her "silliness" and realizes more fully that she cannot change Laura. She blames Tom for his selfish dreaming, but actually it has been her selfish dreaming all along that caused such problems. People cannot be changed from who they are, even loved ones.

Williams, Tennessee. "Glass Menagerie" Literature, an Introduction to Reading and Writing. Eds. Edgar Roberts and Henry Jacobs. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007, xx-xx

Laura is mortified by Amanda's attempt to make her seem sexual and attractive because she is so shy. She had a crush on Jim when she was in high school but is convinced that no man can love her because of her physical disability. Laura, unlike Amanda, is not focused on the future and what she will do to make a living. When Jim tells her that he is engaged to be married, Laura's brief hopes for love and normalcy are shattered and she seems to withdraw from the world. Amanda is also shocked, but the event enables her to see Laura clearly -- after Jim leaves Amanda says that Laura is crippled for the first time in the play. But she is unable to understand her own role in Laura's tragedy and instead blames Tom for the evening and the fact that he did not know that Jim…...