The Glass Menagerie
Themes and symbols in The Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie is written by Tennessee Williams and it is an incredible play where symbolism plays a very important role. Many different symbols are used in the play and almost all of them can be connected to what according to me is the biggest theme of the play, escape. Tennessee Williams describes in The Glass Menagerie the three main characters, their dreams and their escapes, from reality and from the family. The play takes place in the apartment of the Wingfield family, an apartment where none of the members of the family really wants to live. Poverty is what is keeping them there. However on the other hand they can escape reality through staying at home, but they cannot escape their own family within the apartment. Tom Wingfield is the narrator of the play, but also the son of the family. Tom hates the apartment, his mother and the fact that he is the one who has to work at the warehouse to take care of the family since his father left. Tom's escapes from the family can be related to the fire escape, the movies, and last but not least Tom's expected departure. The other two main characters of the play are Tom's sister Laura and their mother, Amanda. Laura is both physically and emotionally crippled and the only one in the play who never does anything to hurt anyone else. Her physically and emotionally state makes her as
Examine the Plays Success As a Piece of Drama - streetcar named desire , Tennessee Williams
EXAMINE THE PLAYS SUCCESS AS A PIECE OF DRAMA Streetcar Named Desire was written to be performed. It was written to be watched. Tennessee Williams wrote it as a piece of theatre to deal with and convey contemporary ideas at that were profound at the time. Ideas of homosexuality and mental disorders were among the ones dealt with in this play. Evidently audiences were moved and touched by the play as critics later wrote that it was "a searing drama of love and passion, life and death, truth and honesty." Audiences were said to have come away "moved yet elated after having been sitting in the presence of truth." So it must have had some sort of effect. The techniques used must have done something to win over the hearts of both audiences and critics alike. Tennessee Williams was not only an amazing playwright but also theatrically brilliant. His use of theatrical symbols, stage directions and attention to close details makes an evident difference in the quality of his plays and their successes as dramatic pieces. One thing Tennessee employs often in this play is music. Some of this music has a symbolic use such as the polka tune 'Varsouviana" which plays as we enter the thoughts and the past of the main character Blanche DuBois. This tune not only serves to differentiate the present day world from her thoughts but also may serve to unsettle the audience and hint
What does the symbol of the glass menagerie mean?
What does the symbol of the glass menagerie mean? The glass menagerie, in the play of the same name, is a powerful symbol in the play. It is almost a character in its own right (Hence the title of the play). The glass menagerie is not simply a stage prop; this questionably, adds a subtle fantastic element to the play. The reason I use the word 'subtle' is because the menagerie is not referred too, as being anything other than a glass menagerie, or collection of glass animals parse. The clever thing Tennessee Williams did though was use "The Glass Menagerie" as the title. This subconsciously makes you more aware of any slight mention of the glass menagerie. Making you speculate about the significance of this ordinary, but unusual, stage prop. The first mention of the glass menagerie is in the opening description of the stage. This is not of enormous significance, but is oddly described as an "Old-fashioned whatnot". This is an interesting choice of words. <Very particular.> Could this be an early indication to the importance of the menagerie? One could argue that Williams used these words, so that one would interpret the menagerie, as a mother like figure. The words are warmly, and could almost portray security. (Not that one would ever refer to their mother as an old fashioned whatnot.) Yet still there is that tenuous link, alluring almost. Especially when you consider the
Discuss the parallels between Mitch and Blanche that seem to draw them together
Discuss how Blanche is presented by Williams in scene one- seven In A Street Car Named Desire Tennessee Williams presents the dying of the gentile southern class of America in the form of Blanche Dubois a fading "southern belle" Williams uses the symbol of a moth to present Blanches vulnerability and mortality. Williams deliberate stage directions are highly detailed and lengthy they are of fundamental importance. His use of colour and body language creates a complicated and iconic character in Blanche. Williams uses carefully constructed speech and accents, in Blanche this reveals her idealistic mind set through her long poetic speeches. Her language reinforces what we are told about her such as her class and educated background, and this depth of characterisation makes her very real to the audience. The symbol of the moth in the play is used to represent Blanche's, and her class', vulnerability in the modern world of New Orleans. From the first stage directions, Williams presents us with this image, of 'white clothes that suggest a moth'. Her 'delicate beauty' must avoid 'strong light'. This is referring to both her age and again reinforces the moth like imagery. Another symbol depicting blanches nature is that of the paper lantern and how she cannot 'stand a naked light bulb'. This has a double meaning, typical to Williams' style. Blanche hates her aging beauty, and
Explore the uses Williams makes of setting, dialogue, stage direction and effects in scene 6
Explore the uses Williams makes of setting, dialogue, stage direction and effects in scene 6 Tennessee Williams is well known for his use of extensive stage directions to set the mood for a scene, and in A Streetcar Named Desire this is particularly obvious in scene six. As most playwrights do, Tennessee Williams introduces the scene with a short description of the area and surroundings of the characters and their positions. His description of the characters goes beyond simple descriptions, suggesting aspects of their personality as well as their moods. For example, he describes Blanche as having 'the utter exhaustion which only a neurasthenic personality can know', this adds to the audiences view of Blanche as it adds to the idea that Blanche's psyche is slowly deteriorating. Williams suggests this from an early stage within the play; on Blanche's arrival in New Orleans she is described as 'daintily dressed' and that 'her delicate beauty must avoid strong light', suggesting that she is fragile and easily broken, perhaps on the verge of falling apart. Her instability is suggested through her erratic actions and mood swings, in particular is her use of French when she speaks to Mitch. This could be Williams' way of telling us that she either feels or is misunderstood, and to show the difference between her flair and intellect compared with Mitch. She voices her true
Is conflict a key aspect of family life?
Is conflict a key aspect of family life? Conflict is indeed a key aspect of family life. It happens on a daily basis in almost every home in the country; even the Waltons had conflict with each other. I have the view that conflict is a corner stone of our life; it can help bring us together, not just drive us apart. During Flight this is particularly apparent, but in Your shoes conflict seems to have a negative effect. At the beginning of Flight the 'old man' seems to be looking for conflict; "'Hey!' he shouted; saw her jump...'Waiting for Steven, hey?' he said, his fingers curling like claws into his palm." Within thirty lines Lessing had set the scene for the family tension and demonised the old man. As Flight progresses we find out that the old man only causes the conflict in an effort to retain his last granddaughter, which removes most of the negative feeling. The turning point, the point where the old man's conflict is lost, is central to the story; "On the wrist of the post master's son balanced a young pigeon, the light gleaming on its breast. 'For me?' said the old man, letting the drops shake of his chin. 'For me?'" The relationship brought the granddaughter and her mother together because they were both united against the old man, but when the post master's son gives him the bird as a peace offering he lets go of his anger and is drawn closer to his
The glass menagerie
The glass menagerie Religious symbolism There is a religious theme running throughout the play. Amanda is portrayed as being a woman who practices religious rituals; yet she fails to live out Christian beliefs by treating her children with a lack of respect and ignoring their individual needs. Tom and Laura obviously sense the hypocrisy of their mother's religious overtures and are not at all religious themselves. Tom uses Christian terms only in blasphemous ways, saying things like, "What in Christ's name." Amanda always denounces his curses. At both meal times, when Amanda demands that Grace be said, the prayer is interrupted, first by Tom in Scene One and then by Laura in Scene Six. There are additional small religious images to be found in the play. Amanda tells an impatient Laura to "possess your soul in patience." She also fears that if Laura does not marry, she will have to eat "the crust of humility" all her life. Amanda denounces Tom's philosophy of living by instincts and tells him "Christian adults don't want it". The music played for Amanda is "Ave Maria", and there is a martyred look on her face when Laura admits she has stopped attending business school. In Tom's speech from the fire escape in Scene 5, the symbolic name of Paradise Dance Hall can be read in a number of ways. "Paradise" is an allusion to the lost Garden of Eden, and here the allusion
Analyse the relationship between Blanche and Stanley in Scene 2-A Streetcar Named Desire.
Analyse the relationship between Blanche and Stanley in Scene 2- A Streetcar Named Desire. In this play there are three main characters - Blanche, Stanley and Stella. The play is set in New Orleans in a place named Elysian Fields which runs between L & N tracks and the river. Stella and Stanley are married and living together as man and wife in their little apartment. Blanche is Stella's sister. Blanche and Stella both used to live in Belle Reve. Blanche turns up on Stella's door step having lost Belle Reve and her job as a teacher. She has no money and no place to go. She is relying on her sister and her husband to support her. On her arrival she insulted Stella's husband and Stella herself but still expects them to look after her as if it were their duty. Blanche takes them both for granted and in scene one says "I'm not going to be put up at a hotel. I want to be near you". As soon as Blanche sees Stanley she finds something strangely attractive, she doesn't know why or what it is, he is distant towards her, does not pay her compliments like she is used to and she finds this attractive, he is quite a challenge to her even if he is her brother in law but there is something there that she finds irresistible, the first time they meet he is very blunt in the way he talks and brash, he has no respect for women of any kind, he does what he wants,
"A streetcar named Desire" written by Tennessee Williams.
"A streetcar named Desire" written by Tennessee Williams. It was set at Elysian Fields, a district of New Orleans. This play was published in November 1947. In this exceptional story the readers are introduced to the main character named Blanche DuBois. This hypercritical women with dishonest manners moves to New Orleans intending to move in with her younger sister Stella Kowalski and her husband Stanley. In Scene 1, Blanche DuBois arrives from Belle Reve (claiming to have lost their mansion) to New Orleans, where her younger sister Stella is living with her husband Stanley who are living in a small apartment. She comes intending to stay with Stella without giving Stella notice of her arrival. She comes dressed extravagantly and wearing attractive jewellery. Stella, having not seen Blanche for a while and without the faintest idea of her arrival, is surprised to see her older sister Blanche after several years. Straightaway Blanche tells Stella about her poor lifestyle and how things have completely changed since Stella left. In Scene 2, Stella's husband Stanley starts to not like Blanche in this scene, as he demands for some proof of the loss of the old mansion in Belle Reve. "I'm talking of legal papers. Connected with the plantation". Stanley thinks that Blanche has obscured all of the wealth. Later on during the play Blanche comes across one of Stanley's good friends,
'Holes' by Louis Sacher. A Character Study.
'Holes' by Louis Sacher A Character Study At the begining of the story is big, soft and overweight. He is bullied by a smaller boy at school, he had no friends and din't feel good about himself. It wasn't just the pupils who he was bullied by, Mrs Bell his maths teacher was teaching ratio's, for an example she chose two people out of the class to come and stand in front of the class, she chose the heaviest child and the lightest child in the class(Stanley was the haeviest), she weighed them both, Stanley was three times bigger than the lighter child, Mrs Bell wrote on the board that Stanley was 3:1 to the light child not knowing how much embarresment she has just caused them both. I think Stanley used to get bullied on at school because he was seen as a natural victim, people could see that he was soft so he was bullied. Stanley's happiest thoughts are about about his life at home and also about his mother and father, he never has had much money in his life, he has never been to camp before, he used to pretend he was at camp with stuffed animals and things like that, he got on well with his father, when he was on the bus going to camp green lake all he could hear was the sound of his dads voice singing to him before he went to sleep, I know that he cares about his mother because when he writes home he lies to her so she stays
