tConsidering the opening two scenes of 'The Glass Menagerie', how effectively does Tennessee Williams use imagery and dramatic devices to suggest the themes of the play to his audience?

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Considering the opening two scenes of ‘The Glass Menagerie’, how effectively does Tennessee Williams use imagery and dramatic devices to suggest the themes of the play to his audience?

The opening two scenes of ‘The Glass Menagerie’ by Tennessee Williams show a range of different dramatic devices and imagery. Williams used his writing as a way to escape the reality of the world and became renowned as one of the greatest expressionist playwrights of America. His expressionist style enhances the viewing for the audience by not rejecting realism but looking at reality from a different perspective for an emotional effect. This gives the audience a more emotional and thought provoking play rather than a natural and realistic one. Expressionism is first discussed by Williams in the production notes where he explains the importance and use of dramatic devices such as music, projection and lighting which have one aim to bring a ‘closer approach to truth’ and avoid the mundane trappings of conventional stage realism. The dramatic devices used are common to films and this gives the plays cinematic qualities which help to show the themes to the audience. Tennessee Williams asserts control over the play through the production notes and stage direction, as he is specific in how he wants the play to be presented. Furthermore, the production notes heighten the expectation of the audience for a stylised play full of ‘unconventional techniques’. Also the themes of memory and reality are already highlighted.

The stage directions at the beginning of scene one portray the house to be simply and claustrophobic next to an alleyway surrounded by fire escapes. Williams doesn’t show the apartment to be desirable but ‘dim, grim’ and ‘ murky’ with rubbish on the ground. The imagery of the ‘dark’, sad and ‘sinister’ unwelcoming apartment suggests the theme of disappointment and the overall unhappiness of each character with their lives. The image he creates is not photographic but a more ‘ vivid penetrating’ expession of what should be there. The apartment is realistic compared to the dreams that they each have. Certain staging such as the fire escape represents an underlying theme too. Williams uses the fire escape as an ‘accidental poetic truth’ which represents the literal escape from the frustration and dysfunction of the Wingfield household. Williams suggest the theme of family relationships through the large ‘blown-up photograph’ of the father mentioned in the stage directions. The picture gives us an impression of a ‘gallant’ man with admiral qualities yet throughout the play the father is seen as evil, and his first positive qualities are seen as negative. The ‘larger-than-life-size photograph’ is mentioned by Tom is his opening speech where Tom remembers his fathers departure and memory.

The theme of memory is prominent in ‘The Glass Menagerie’ as it is ‘a memory play’ told through the memory of the narrator Tom. He speaks in the past tense in his opening speech when he ‘turns back time’. This means that the play is ‘therefore non realistic’ and ‘omits some details’ and exaggerate others. Tennessee Williams uses the idea that a memory is a product of a real experience and hence the character can create and twist with the parts of the memory but still remain confident of the substance and reality. At the end of the opening scene, Amanda reminisces of her youth in the Old South as a Southern belle. She remembers the time of having ‘seventeen gentleman callers’ one Sunday afternoon. This memory shows Amanda in a positive light as she exaggerates the looks, intelligence and wealth of each of her gentleman callers as well as her own ‘nimble wit’, ‘pretty face and graceful figure’. Tom is increasingly irritated by Amanda’s memory, as he knows it is far from reality. Through stage directions Williams shows his frustration by Tom throwing’ down the paper’ and ‘jumping up with a groan’. This is effective to suggest the theme of memory to be personal and have different meanings to different people, but also that memory is faulty. Amanda becomes increasingly defensive towards her memory of ‘Blue Mountain’ when Tom begins to highlights the flaws. However, this again shows the audience the theme of memory being individual. In addition, when Amanda talks of her horrific trip to the ‘Rubicam’s Business College’ her hyperbolic nature is inconsiderate towards Laura’s gentle nature, bringing up the traumatic memory of her being sick. She also ‘absently’ listens to Laura’s memory of her first love at high school when for the first time Laura opens up to her mother about her feelings. Williams shows how the theme of memory can link to the understanding of others and suggest that the relationship between the characters is weak.

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Tennessee Williams uses imagery to suggest the theme of relationships, which is instantly shown through the picture of the father. The postcard sent to Tom shows that the relationship between the father and the family was weak and resulted in Amanda’s failed marriage. Williams makes it clear through the language and gestures the relationship between Tom and Amanda. She treats Tom as if he were q child telling him to ‘chew-chew’ his food.  The tension is recognised immediately through the stage direction when Tom ’deliberately’ ‘pushes his chair back from the table’. Williams shows Tom’s frustration by sending him ...

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