The Glass Menagerie Essay

In his essay “Irony and Distance in ‘The Glass Menagerie’”, Thomas L. King writes, “…for they are the world that the Wingfields were somehow set apart from, they are the ones who shattered the rainbow.” (King 214) Speaking on how the audience relates to the ending of Tennessee William’s most well-known work, King believes that such an act as that of Tom Wingfield abandoning his family represents the ultimate trick – a truth surrounded by subjective memory that can only be upheld from one point…

Symbolism plays a major part in Tennessee William 's famous play, "The Glass Menagerie." Tom Wingfield is the narrator and a major character in “The Glass Menagerie”. Through the Tom’s perception, the reader gets a glance into the life of his family; his mother, a Southern belle clinging to the past; his sister, a young woman who’s too fragile to function in normal society; and himself, a struggling, young poet working at a warehouse to provide for his family. Williams has managed to create a…

In the play The Glass Menagerie. by Tennessee Williams there are many aspects of his life that mimic the life of the characters in the play. Williams grew up with his family: mother Edwina, sister Rose and his alcoholic dad, Cornelius. He had a very unfortunate childhood because of his disease and became really close to his sister Rose for the same reason. In the play, the people in his family are represented by the characters of Laura, Rose and Tom (himself). This play is autobiographical…

The Glass Menagerie is a tragic play where the dreams of the characters are put on the line. Characters are faced with choices that will have a huge impact on those around them. They enter a power struggle in order to realize their ambitions with their differing personalities playing a important role in how they negotiate their ambitions with each other. For us to understand the severity of choices that have to be made, we need to look into the major event occurring during this time period that…

“The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams is a play with references to his own life concerning his sister and mother. During the play there are many reoccurring symbols, each symbol is crucial to the play in order to understand the idea of escape. Through the narrator's perspective, we are able to witness the mainstream family during a war depression era. We see a single mother, unable to accept change and retaining to the past; a sister, who has trouble dealing with reality and lives in a…

Manipulation in both situation and personality is a recurring theme in the Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Amanda often tries to manipulate Tom in order to prevent him from becoming like his father. Amanda also tried to change Laura to keep her from being a lonely, old maid. On a few occasions, Jim tried to alter Laura’s personality. The theme of alteration to change fate in the Glass Menagerie can be determined through Amanda, Tom, and Jim. After her husband left, Amanda tried many…

The Glass Menagerie is one of Tennessee Williams most famous and successful works. In his play Williams uses a series of characters and symbols to show people and moments in his own life. The mother figure in the Glass Menagerie Amanda is an example. As you read the play you will see how Amanda represents the stress, strictness, and the self-centered nature off Williams mother and father. Amanda is the mother figure of Tom and Laura in The Glass Menagerie. Tom works at a warehouse and…

A Southern Belle Imagined It’s been said that Tennessee Williams was very well known for the complexity of his characters in his writings. The Glass Menagerie is an intricate example of the effort that Williams puts into bringing his characters to life. Amanda Wingfield is a perfect example of Williams’s complexity. Amanda has a psychological battle within herself. Once a Southern Belle in her youth, Amanda refuses to see the realism of what her life has become. She constantly badgers at her son…

the theater, I noticed that it was almost full. This made me believe that people were interested in watching the play even though we did not have the best weather conditions. Luckily, I was able to get front row seat tickets to see the play The Glass Menagerie performs by PCPA. When I went inside the theater the first thing that I noticed was that the majority of the audience was mature people and I thought that this might have an impact on the performance. I was disappointed because I…

In the play by Tennessee Williams, “The Glass Menagerie”, the character of Laura Wingfield does not have a lot of self confidence due to a small physical disability. One of her legs is shorter than the other and she’s forced to wear a brace and she feels judged and different from other people causing her to be extremely shy. She gets advice towards the end of the play that she needs to believe in herself more which really helped emphasize the theme of being confident in yourself and not…