Glass_Menagerie_Literary_Notebook

Literary Notebook The Glass Menagerie Author: Tennessee Williams: Tennessee Williams was originally born as Thomas Lanier Williams. He was a very famous playwright. He wrote many other plays such as A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He was born in Columbus, Mississippi. His father was a hard drinking traveling salesman. His mother was slightly hysterical. Tennessee found inspiration for his writing from his family’s problems. Point of View: The narrator of the play was also the main character. Tom tells the story many years after the play occurs. Tennessee Williams wants to make people feel like they are going back in time. He would like the audience to take a little trip down “memory lane”. Since the story is only narrated by one person who is also the main character so it is just portrayed from his point of view and his “opinion” of the story. Form, Structure, and Plot The organizational structure of this play is consisted of a prologue, and then followed by a listing of the cast, characters, scenes, etc. There are scenes to the play and then lastly the “Catastrophe of Success”. The “Catastrophe of Success” was an opinionated essay written by Tennessee Williams. Williams uses many different techniques within the play to bring people back in time. Tom comments on everything that happens in the play. He is the son of Amanda Wingfield and the brother to Laura. He just came back from fighting in World War I and now he’s back at his apartment in St. Louis. The first incident was when Amanda came home and found out that Laura dropped out of business school and hasn’t been going ever since it started. She got sick to the stomach when they tried to give her a typing test. After that she was too embarrassed to go back. Tennessee forms a simple plot there but puts in a very complex idea behind that. Amanda released her true feelings to Laura about worries for her future and trying to find her a man. After that she goes to talk to Tom about finding her a gentleman caller. Tom does exactly what she asks of him. One of Tom’s co-workers at the warehouse is coming over to have dinner with them. when Amanda finds out se rushes around to “feather the nest and plume the bird” or in other words she went to go make money to fix up the house a little bit and make Laura’s appearance better. The man’s name is Jim O’Connor and then there’s a slight problem that emerges out of that. Laura and Tom were friends with the same guy in high school and Laura liked him. She got really nervous after she found out about it. When Jim comes over, him and Laura wind up alone together in the living room and end up getting into a deep conversation and then kissing. After that Jim said he thinks of her more as a sister and he is engaged to someone. Jim leaves the house to go on a date with his fiancé. When Amanda finds out she blames Tom for not knowing. Tom later leaves the family forever and goes off like his father to travel, but doesn’t leave the thought of his precious sister Laura leave his mind. Characters: Tom: Tom Wingfield is the main character in the play. He supplies everything for his family at home. He works at the Continental Shoes warehouse. Tom hates working there, but it is the only job that he can do right now to support his family. He is a very aspiring writer and poet. Tom sis sacrificing everything to successfully support his family so they can get by. His mother takes total advantage of his hard work and still treats him like he’s a little kid. This eventually leads to him leaving his family and going to travel. Amanda: Amanda is the mother of Tom and Laura. She was raised in the old south and follows every single tradition and believes in every single wives tale. She is obsessed about getting Laura a gentleman caller. She treats Tom in a way like he’s a little kid. She wants to keep Tom around and doesn’t want him to leave like his father, but the way she treats him leads to him leaving. Laura: Laura is the daughter of Amanda and sister to Tom. She is a very unique character. Laura spends all of her time taking care of her collection of glass animals or “glass menagerie. She isn’t very worried about finding a gentleman caller. Laura wants to focus on playing her vitrola and taking care of her glass menagerie. She is not much of a success in her mother’s eyes. Jim: Jim is the old friend of Tom and Laura from high school. He used to be Laura’s crush and later came back into her life but was already taken by someone and engaged. Jim worked with Tom at the warehouse and called him “Shakespeare”. Tom didn’t want to be at the warehouse either. He wanted to be a public speaker and try to succeed in that. Father: The father of Tom and Laura and Amanda’s husband. He left unexpectedly to go travel and do other things. Mr. Mendoza: Toms boss at the warehouse and communicated with Jim to tell Tom that if he didn’t put in more work than he was going to be fired. Setting: The setting of this play was in the Wingfields apartment in St. Louis. Williams very well describes the apartment. It is important because it is the only place where it shows that Tom feels trapped inside and is trying to find his way out. The fire escape is supposed to symbolize his escape from the house. Anyone who goes on the fire escape eventually ends up leaving the apartment. Themes: There are many themes that were presented in the work. One message is escape. Tom went to a magic show when he was drunk and enjoyed watching the magician get out of his coffin without moving a nail. That symbolizes the same thing he wants to do with his life. He wants to escape from his family without removing a nail in his family. Even though Tom has left and is gone there is still a piece of his family that will follow him forever no matter where he ends up. Style: The style used in this story was very unique and original. Tom played three different characters in this play. He played the narrator, main character, and stage director. The glass menagerie is a symbol for how delicate Laura is. The vitrola is a symbol for the private little world that Laura lives in. The book that Amanda found by D.H Lawrence symbolized filth in Amanda’s eyes. Diction: The play is written in a very simple yet very complex way. All the characters have their own voice and accent to symbolize something different about them all. At times Williams changes his diction to emphasize something and make it more noticeable at that time. In the story he changed his diction to focus on the magazine and totally went into a full PG-13 description of the magazines that Amanda was selling. He also gave Amanda a deep southern accent to emphasize that she was from the old south. Memorable Quotes: “All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be.” (pg. 52, Scene 6) Amanda says this when she is trying to enhance Laura as much as she can. This is significant to the play because it proves how much Amanda is really trying to find Laura a perfect man to marry. “You are the only young man that I know of who ignores the fact that the future becomes the present, the present the past and the past turns into everlasting regret if you don't plan for it!” (pg. 45, scene 3) Amanda says this to Tom. It is very important to the play because it relates to the theme in terms of how Amanda is constantly living in the path and is trying to plant the seed in her son's head that the past leads to regret if you aren't constantly careful.” "She lives in a world of her own-a world of-little glass ornaments." (pg. 48, Scene 5) This is what Tom says to his mother about Laura; it shows that Laura is very isolated from the outside world and lives in a place that has no activity with human beings only glass. “I'm going to the movies” This is a quote Tom uses multiple times throughout the play towards his mother. He uses this as an excuse when he doesn't want to deal with her, and it was to do a great deal with the theme of escape. Additional Comments: My view of this book at the beginning of it was a feeling that it was going to be very boring. As we got farther into the play I got really interested into what was going to happen and what kind of surprise was coming up next. I kinda predicted Laura and Jim not ending out good because I figured that it would be the same story as before that he was going to be taken. When Jim first came over this part of the play really got on my nerves because Amanda was being all showy and definitely not herself. She got so full of herself when Jim came over, but overall I thought it was a great play.