The Glass Menagerie. How does Amanda's Southern Background affect her present life and her relationship with her children?
The Glass Menagerie. How does Amanda's Southern Background affect her present life and her relationship with her children? In the play 'The Glass Menagerie' written by Tenessee Williams there are four characters that appear onstage. Amanda a single mother of two children Tom and Laura and A gentleman caller called Jim O'Conner. I will firstly look at how Amanda's traditional Southern background affects her present life. You first get the impression that Amanda is a traditionalist of the Deep South of America when she refers to Laura as sister 'No sister, no sister - you be the lady this time and I'll be the darkey'. This was a common word traditionally for females to call each other and was popular in the very South of America. Another cultural difference shown in the quotation is the term 'darkey'. This was one of the common slang words used by Southerners refering to their black servants. 'Gentleman Caller' is another Southern term used by Amanda throughout the play. It was a phrased used for a courting man visiting an unmarried woman. In the play Amanda often boasts about how many gentleman callers she recieved. Amanda also refers to herself as a Southern Belle. This was the old fashioned term for the higher class woman in the South of America. She is also a member of D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Republic) which are a group of Southern
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams
The character of Laura Wingfield definitely showed an obvious increase of maturity level in the play, The Glass Menagerie. Laura was an extremely shy girl, it was a kind of sickness she had. Her mother sent her to Rubicam's Business College in hopes that Laura would be able to hold a job and not have to depend on a husband. The class terrified her to the point of making her physically ill so Laura stopped going to the class. She did not have the maturity level of an adult and was not able to handle a simple situation such as that one. Another sign of a low maturity level was Laura's collection of "glass menagerie". A girl in her late 20's owning a collection of glass menagerie is quite particular, and not very common, but Laura had one! Laura found out that there was to be a gentleman caller one night and she became extremely nervous, but when she then found out this gentleman caller was Jim O'Connor and old high-school crush she couldn't handle it. She could barely even open the door for Jim and Tom when they were trying to enter the house. While Tom, Jim, and Amanda ate dinner together, Laura laid on the couch because seeing her old crush made her feel ill. Soon, after dinner, Jim joined Laura for a little conversation and which in the beginning she was incredibly quiet but then loosened up to him. She began talking and soon enough they kissed! Laura
How does Tennessee Williams create sympathy for Tom, both as an individual, and as a representative of his milieu? To what extent does Williams' creation of suspense help to convey this sympathy for his audience?
How does Tennessee Williams create sympathy for Tom, both as an individual, and as a representative of his milieu? To what extent does Williams' creation of suspense help to convey this sympathy for his audience? 'The Glass Menagerie' was originally named 'Portrait of a girl in glass'. Tennessee Williams wrote the play. The play is very convincing because Williams uses many symbols, which represent many different things. Many of the symbols used in the play symbolize some form of escape or difference between reality and illusion. The play is written in the point of view of the character Tom. Tennessee Williams was born as Thomas Lamier Williams in 1911. Tom is a symbol of Williams in his early life. The play is clearly autobiographical; it reflects the life of Tennessee Williams. Tom Wingfield lives with his Pressurising mother who is trapped in the past, which effects both Tom and Laura. Amanda reflects Williams' mother 'Miss Edwina' and Laura reflects Williams' sister 'Rose'. Tom, Laura and Amanda live on there own in a house, which symbolises a trap. Its trapping all of them especially Tom. Tom and Laura's father deserted the family and went away to another place. The audience may feel that the father moving away from the family was more of an escape. The only image the audience has of Tom's father is a picture hanging on the wall in the living room. The picture takes
High Fidelity - Critical Essay.
Alison Wood High Fidelity-Critical Essay "High Fidelity", by Nick Hornby, is a humorous contemporary novel dealing with the themes of love, work, and relationships with friends and lovers. The thirty-something owner of a minor record shop, Rob, deals with every day trials and challenges in his relationships with colleagues, family and girlfriends. This essay will explore how Rob's character progresses throughout the novel. The novel begins with an amusing account of Rob's former girlfriends. During the first stage of the novel, Rob's partner moves out as they split up. Whilst Rob thinks about days gone by and former broken down relationships, an obvious bitterness is apparent. "These were the ones that really hurt. Can you see your name in that lot, Laura?" Although Rob is bitter about past events and partly about his current split, his mood appears to be more regretful than angry from this quote. Rob believes that he is already past the stage of caring enough about his relationships to become very depressed when they end. This is illustrated in him saying, "we're too old to make each other miserable," which appears a strange remark for a man in his thirties to make. This makes Rob appear very pessimistic about the chances of finding a relationship that will make him eternally content. The reader gains the impression that Rob and Laura's relationship is in such a
Silence on the Stage.
Silence on the Stage. In drama, a character on stage always serves a purpose. The space is far too valuable to waste with a useless character. Most often, a character's purpose is to deliver lines, whether they are dialogue, soliloquy, narration, or other forms of dramatic speech. These lines may advance the plot, reveal character, establish a setting and countless other possibilities. However, characters on the stage do not always speak. This does not mean that they are without purpose. A silent character can be used by the playwright in many of the same ways as one that dominates a scene. Often these characters make more of an impression than those who are speaking. In the plays Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, and The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, the playwrights have characters on the stage that speak very little in scenes of the plays. The effect of these characters is very strong in both to establish the setting and atmosphere of the play. Trifles is set in the house of a murdered man and his wife, suspected as the killer. Entering are the County Attorney, the Sheriff, Lewis Hale, who found the dead body, the Sheriff's wife and Hale's wife. The County Attorney and the Sheriff are looking for clues to help solve the mystery. The play can be divided into three sections, the beginning, when the men and the women are all downstairs, the middle, when the
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?
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
Show how Tennessee Williams uses expressionistic effects to highlight the themes of the play.
Show how Tennessee Williams uses expressionistic effects to highlight the themes of the play. There are a number of expressionistic features used by Williams throughout the novel The Difficult of Accepting Reality The Impossibility of True Escape The Unrelenting Power of Memory The Difficult of Accepting Reality - Among the most prominent and urgent themes of The Glass Menagerie is the difficulty the characters have in accepting and relating to reality. Each member of the Wingfield family is unable to overcome this difficulty, and each, as a result, withdraws into a private world of illusion where he or she finds the comfort and meaning that the real world does not seem to offer. Of the three Wingfields, reality has by far the weakest grasp on Laura. The private world in which she lives is populated by glass animals-objects that, like Laura's inner life, are incredibly fanciful and dangerously delicate. Unlike his sister, Tom is capable of functioning in the real world, as we see in his holding down a job and talking to strangers. But, in the end, he has no more motivation than Laura does to pursue professional success, romantic relationships, or even ordinary friendships, and he prefers to retreat into the fantasies provided by literature and movies and the stupor provided by drunkenness. Amanda's relationship to reality is the most complicated in the play. Unlike her
The importance of theatrical devices in the staging of 'The Glass Menagerie'
The importance of theatrical devices in the staging of 'The Glass Menagerie' 'The Glass Menagerie' is a memory play, and its plots are drawn from the memories of the narrator, Tom Wingfield. Tom is a character in the play, which has a setting in St. Louis in 1937. He is an aspiring poet who toils in a shoe warehouse to support his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. Mr. Wingfield, their father, ran off years ago and, except for one postcard, has not been heard of since then. Amanda regales her children frequently with tales of her idyllic youth and the scores of suitors who once pursued her. She is disappointed that Laura is painfully shy, does not attract any gentleman callers. Amanda decides that Laura's last hope must lie in marriage. Meanwhile, Tom, who loathes his warehouse job, finds escape in liquor, movies, and literature, much to his mother's chagrin. Amanda and Tom discuss Laura's prospects, and Amanda asks Tom to keep an eye out for potential suitors at the warehouse. Tom selects Jim O'Connor, a casual friend, and invites him to dinner. At the last minute, Laura learns the name of her caller; as it turns out, she had a devastating crush on Jim in high school. Laura is at first paralyzed by Jim's presence, but his warm and open behaviour soon draws her out of her shell. They had a long serious talk but Jim must leave because of an appointment with his fiancée.
Mr. Mullock's Flowers
Mr. Mullock's Flowers She looked at the car as it disappeared in a cloud of dust, and knew that things would never be the same again. She thought to herself 'don't cry Laura, please not here.' She stood rigidly by the patio of her house and gazed expressionlessly as the dust settled back on the road. She looked straight ahead of the street at the garden. The Mulloks' had taken good care of their garden. Since the past five months she had moved into the neighborhood, Mr. Mullok, though his arthritis got him bad, religiously made sure he pruned the hedges every week, and watered his flowers every afternoon. The trees gently swayed. It would be a rainy Sunday night she thought gazing at the sky. " 'afternoon Mrs. Sanders - rain comin' in tonight, I reckon." It was Mr. Mullok dressed in his familiar light blue shirt tucked into his neatly pressed grey trousers. For a man of 50, he was in amazing shape. His grey hair neatly combed to the side in an old fashion and his white moustache impeccably trimmed. "Looks like it," Laura hollered across. "Got a parcel?" Mr. Mullock yelled out shifting his gaze to her arms. She had momentarily forgotten about what she was clutching so tightly to her chest. "Just an envelope," she responded waving the slightly crumpled brown envelope in the air. "Won't keep you then. My regards to Mr. Sanders. Heard his car a while ago. Good day
The "Glass Menagerie" is a heavily symbolic play. Discuss Williams's use of symbolic reference.
The "Glass Menagerie" is a heavily symbolic play. Discuss Williams's use of symbolic reference. Tennessee William's wrote "The Glass Menagerie" basing it on himself and his life, although not always in detail. Tennessee's life was not one of perfection. It had a lot of downs causing the play to be a very sentimental, dimly lighted and emotionally play. Although this play has a very basic story line Tennessee use of symbolism crates a much more meaningful story of the Wingfild family. Symbolism is used in almost every object, character and in the language used throughout the play. There are not very many props used on stage, apart from basic necessary props such as the settee and table. Other props are much more significant to the meaning of the play, the most obvious is the glass menagerie itself. The fire escape is the Wingfild's most commonly used entrance and exit to their apartment. Only once throughout the play do we see the apartment blocks main staircase actually used. This is when Tom leaves through the main entrance instead of the fire exit. This symbolises that this is his final departure it shows escape. Although this is the most symbolic aspect of the fire escape it is also where Tom tries to have brief moments to himself, away from his nagging mother Amanda. Laura is not a very open character, but from the symbolism William's uses, such as the glass menagerie