One of the biggest slaps to the face for America was The Great Depression. This time period served greatly as a reality format due to the dream-like era that was the roaring 20’s. The play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is the perfect example of realistically showing how people lived during the time of The Great Depression. Not only does this play about Tom’s memories elucidate the time period, but also how him, his mother, and his sister have gone forth with their father withdrawn from their lives. Before The Glass Menagerie, plays were consisted mostly of kings, queens, and the rich, however, this story displays realistic lives with the help of spectacle: lighting, music, clothing/costumes, images, and legends. Mood is easily
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Oh, - yeah. AMANDA. You didn’t neglect to pay it by any chance? (The Glass Menagerie Scene 7)
On the other hand, music is used to brighten a room unlike the lights. Tom, Laura, and Amanda tend to listen to jazz music over the radio to give them hope throughout a difficult period of time in American history. Lighting and music are brilliantly portrayed with a sense of how mood is affected, and the clothing gives a strong visual support to connect the character to the reader. Amanda wears a younger fashion of clothing because of the intense nerve she has to be young again. This is huge for her character because the entire play is based around Amanda living vicariously through Laura and trying to get her a gentleman caller. Tom wears normal factory working clothes that are not always clean in order to symbolize how hard Tom works. Both characters are shown greatly through their clothing due to what they represent as a whole. Finally, the images and legends that pop up on the screen are very important to reveal the aspects of the play that are funny, sad, or sarcastic. The stage directions show how characters feel or reveal what is happening during the scene. At points, legends will pop up that say “Terror!” or “A door opens” this is important to show how the people feel real life emotions and do everyday things. However, one of the main duties of the stage directions in this play is to foreshadow events in Tom’s …show more content…
All of the legends and images are important in showing the emphasis on small things that make up that family’s everyday life. The use of spectacle in the play The Glass Menagerie show how realistic this story is compared to grandfather plays that consist of the unrealistic lifestyles of the rich. Tennessee Williams depicts a family living in The Great Depression, and shows their troubles beautifully through not only his words, but also things like lights, music, and images. Small details would have been missed if they were not portrayed the way Williams did in the play with the use of spectacle. It would be challenging to try and conduct a realistic play without the help of backgrounds, costumes, and legends. People need to write more like Mr. Williams by means of writing about real life people in real life situations, especially because we live in a world of closed minded audiences who only want to read and watch what is fascinating and glamorous. As Tennessee Williams stated, “We are all sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for
Oh, - yeah. AMANDA. You didn’t neglect to pay it by any chance? (The Glass Menagerie Scene 7)
On the other hand, music is used to brighten a room unlike the lights. Tom, Laura, and Amanda tend to listen to jazz music over the radio to give them hope throughout a difficult period of time in American history. Lighting and music are brilliantly portrayed with a sense of how mood is affected, and the clothing gives a strong visual support to connect the character to the reader. Amanda wears a younger fashion of clothing because of the intense nerve she has to be young again. This is huge for her character because the entire play is based around Amanda living vicariously through Laura and trying to get her a gentleman caller. Tom wears normal factory working clothes that are not always clean in order to symbolize how hard Tom works. Both characters are shown greatly through their clothing due to what they represent as a whole. Finally, the images and legends that pop up on the screen are very important to reveal the aspects of the play that are funny, sad, or sarcastic. The stage directions show how characters feel or reveal what is happening during the scene. At points, legends will pop up that say “Terror!” or “A door opens” this is important to show how the people feel real life emotions and do everyday things. However, one of the main duties of the stage directions in this play is to foreshadow events in Tom’s …show more content…
All of the legends and images are important in showing the emphasis on small things that make up that family’s everyday life. The use of spectacle in the play The Glass Menagerie show how realistic this story is compared to grandfather plays that consist of the unrealistic lifestyles of the rich. Tennessee Williams depicts a family living in The Great Depression, and shows their troubles beautifully through not only his words, but also things like lights, music, and images. Small details would have been missed if they were not portrayed the way Williams did in the play with the use of spectacle. It would be challenging to try and conduct a realistic play without the help of backgrounds, costumes, and legends. People need to write more like Mr. Williams by means of writing about real life people in real life situations, especially because we live in a world of closed minded audiences who only want to read and watch what is fascinating and glamorous. As Tennessee Williams stated, “We are all sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for