The Glass Menagerie is one of Tennessee Williams' most eminent works and no doubt qualifies as a classic of the modern theatre.
The Glass Menagerie is one of Tennessee Williams' most eminent works and no doubt qualifies as a classic of the modern theatre. Often referred to as a 'memory play', both the style and content of The Glass Menagerie are shaped and inspired by the memory of the play's narrator, Tom Wingfield. According to Tom, due to the play's origins in memory, 'it is sentimental, it is not realistic' and may be presented with unusual freedom from convention. Consequently, the play is subject to numerous peculiarities, such as dim lighting, frequent use of music and symbolism. Most fictional works are products of the imagination, which attempt to convince the audience of its realism, through realistic conflict, drama and setting. The Glass Menagerie, however, although drawn from memory, is not 'attempting to escape its responsibility of dealing with reality', but rather, is drawn from real experience and does not need to be constrained by the conventions of realism to convey truth. The Glass Menagerie is essentially reality presented in an unrealistic way, through memory. In order to evaluate the degree to which the play is realistic rather than memory or vice versa, and how the two interact in the ultimate aim of 'interpreting experience', we must examine the various realistic aspects of the play, such as the characters, the setting, and the situation presented to us, as well as the memory
Escape There was no time. The only way out was the window. He ran to it, hotly persued by a thick dust cloud
Imaginative Writing Coursework - Seth Stahl Escape There was no time. The only way out was the window. He ran to it, hotly persued by a thick dust cloud. It was a long drop, too long. There was an explosion behind him. Craig knew he couldn't survive and thoughts of himself being another number on the death toll, began to flash through his mind. He fell back, feeling dizzy as the drop began to look further and further away. He knew that what he was going to do was suicide, but there was no other choice. He began to think soothing thoughts of his family back at home. But, forcing a decision, the floor that seemed so stable began to crack, as the aftershocks began. Craig's bones jolted and shuddered as the piece of floor he was now sat on crashed through each floor of the building with ease. He caught glimpses of what he thought were bodies, crushed under the joists and strange pieces of wire, that were twisted in unbelievable ways; heavy framework that he didn't know existed inside the walls that now jutted out at awkward angles. The chaos came to a sudden stop. Craig's body tried to carry on, forcing his head into what was left of the piece of floor that was now ceiling. He rubbed his neck as he looked up at the four floors that he had fallen through, amazed that he was still alive. He worked out that he was on the ground floor. He looked again at the piece of floor that had
Using the opening Stage Directions of Scene Three
Using the opening Stage Directions of Scene Three as your starting point, explore the variety of William's dramatic uses of colour and symbolism in the play as a whole. In scene three Tennessee Williams immediately centres the focus, on the poker night while initiating a vivid description of "Van Gogh's of a billiard-parlour at night". William's dramatic uses of rich, "raw colours of children's spectrum" indicates the importance of colour. The reference to "raw colours" reveals the attitude and behaviour of Stanley, Steve, Mitch and Pablo, as reflected that they are wearing "coloured shirts, solid blue, a purple, a red and white check," and "a light green". Moreover, Williams states that these men are "as coarse and direct and powerful as the primary colours." This motif of colour has appeared in scene one, when describing the sky is "a peculiarly tender blue, almost turquoise", a contrast from the harsh "primary colours" as well as a reference made in scene four, "dangles a book of coloured comics" implying a child-like, naïve behaviour. In addition this supports Stanley behaviour as primitive and "ape-like" Blanche often speaks of Stanley as "like an animal" and "sub human". The humorous metaphor, "Stanley Kowalski- survivor of the stone age!" represents Stanley as a very unrefined manhood, a romantic idea of man untouched by civilization and its effeminizing influences,
The Glass Menagerie - How Far Do You Agree That The Father Is The Most Important Character In The Play?
How Far Do You Agree That The Father Is The Most Important Character In The Play? In "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams the father is not a proper character, he is instead, portrayed by a ' larger-than-life-size photograph over the mantel' in the Wingfield household. Even though he is not a real character, he still has an influence on the other characters in the play because of the actions he had taken in the past. He is mentioned very little in the play yet his presence can still be felt in the actions and words of some characters. The play is a memory play and memory is an imaginative tool, which can be used to express the truth. Things in this play, may be exaggerated in order to put the message across. In the beginning of the play, Williams shows Amanda as being bitter about the fathers abandonment when she says 'I could have been Mrs. Duncan J. Fitzhugh, mind you! But-I picked your father!' this also shows that Amanda's character is stuck in the past and she regrets choosing the father in the first place because she believes that she could have done better. She also doesn't seem to want to talk about Mr Wingfield much because every reference she does make to him is punctuated by an exclamation mark - 'One thing your father had plenty of - was charm!' - or trails off - 'And then I - (she stops in front of the picture) met your father! Malaria fever and
The Depiction of Patriarchy in "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams
Feminist reading: The play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams was written in the late in the late 1940’s in New Orleans, Louisiana. In literature, the patriarchy is said to oppress all women and most men. This can be seen as true during the journey of characters such as Blanche, Stella, and Mitch. On the other hand, the text also conveys how the patriarchy can empower men, through the representation of the character of Stanley. In the play, Stella can be seen as the usual oppression of the feminine by the representation of the patriarchy in Stanley. It is made obvious throughout the play that Stanley holds some ownership or authority over his wife. This is evident in scene three when Stanley ‘gives a loud whack of his hand on Stella’s thigh’ with Stella replying “That’s not fun, Stanley” which is greeted with laughter by the other men at the poker table. This is a sign of Stanley’s believed sexual ownership over his wife, and an example of how Stella is oppressed within the marriage. Stella’s response also reinforces the idea that the women are the ‘passive’ within the hegemonic idea of what marriage ought to be. Further on in the scene, Stanley’s acts of violence towards Stella escalate. “Drunk – drunk – animal thing, you! … You lay your hands on me and I’ll-.” This portrays Stella’s reaction to the threat of Stanley’s
Tom's closing speech in The Glass Menagerie
Tom's closing speech in The Glass Menagerie is very emotional and ironic. However, this monologue is somewhat ambiguous and doesn't implicitly state whether Tom found the adventure he sought. It seems as though he never returned to St. Louis, and spent the remainder of his life wandering from place to place. This is inferred when he says," I didn't go to the moon, I went much further-for time is the longest distance between two places..." Throughout the play, the fire escape has been a symbol of Tom's entrance and exit into both his reality and his dream world. He tells us that his departure marked the last time he "descended the steps of this fire-escape", thus permanently embarking on his journey of solitude into what was once only a part of his dream world. From the statement, "(I) followed, from then on, in my father's footsteps.." the reader can see that Tom acknowledges that he has chosen a path which is very similar to that of his father's. In recognising this fact, Tom also admits that he abandoned his family just like Mr. Wingfield did. Tom's journey does not seem to bring the escape and excitement that he had always longed for. He says, "The cities swept about me like dead leaves.." This description does not sound as though it comes from a traveller who is ecstatic about visiting different parts of the world. Cities are anything but dead; on the contrary, they
The Charles Hamilton story - creative writing.
Chapter 1 Joy Ferguson 11B Charles Hamilton sat in his office chair gazing out his office chair window. A dull blanket of grey covered the sky. He looked out at all the different people scurrying like mice to get to work in time for 9am. His eyes no longer sparkled, his blonde locks no longer shined. Charles himself had never been home the previous night. His fiancée had been calling him but he ignored the buzzing sound that had been giving him a headache for the last twelve hours. It was four weeks before the wedding to the woman he didn't even love. Charles walked out of his office, head high in the air. He couldn't let his colleagues see he was upset. He reached the coffee machine. He poured himself a large cup. He was wondering what to tell his fiancée, when he dropped his cup. The coffee went everywhere. He was about to go and get one of those cleaners he always seen walking around: - face caked with orange make up, fag hanging out of their mouth, wandering around pretending to work. Then he noticed a small frail blonde woman already cleaning his spilt coffee. He reached down to help her, his hand brushed against her knee and she glanced up at him with her bright blue eyes. He looked at her wondering whether she had one of those name tag things but she didn't.
Examples of compelling and powerful moments in 'A Street Car Named Desire'.
Examples of compelling and powerful moments in 'A Street Car Named Desire' Stanley Kowalski displays his brutality in many ways during the course of the play; he is the character who provides the most tension and uproar amongst the other characters. Stanley Kowalski is a very brutal and barbaric person who always has to feel that no one is better than him. He shows this when he cruelly reminds Stella that he is 'the King' of their home. His brutish and ferocious actions during the play leave the reader with a bad taste in their mouths. Stanley's brutality is shown in several places during the duration of the play. For example, his first array of brutality is evident at the poker night when he gets so angry and throws the radio out the window. Another example of his brutality is displayed when he beats his wife, Stella so hard that she 'cries out'. Lastly, his arrogance and ferocious actions are most apparent when he rapes Blanche, while his wife is in labour in the hospital. Stanley Kowalski's first exhibition of his brutal actions occurs at poker night. Blanche turns on the radio, but Stanley demands her to turn it off. Blanche refuses and so Stanley gets up himself and turns it off him self. When Stanley's friend, Mitch, drops out of the game to talk to Blanche, Stanley gets upset and he even gets more upset when Blanche flicks on the radio. Due to the music being
How is tension conveyed between Stella and Blanche in Scene 1 of A street car named desire.
How is tension conveyed between Stella and Blanche in Scene 1? During the conversation between Blanche and Stella, there is a lot of tension, which is conveyed in various ways. The reason there is tension there is because Blanche had to tell her sister that she has lost their old family home, Belle Reve, and there is a gradual build up of tension before Stella is finally told. This scene shows us how nervous and anxious Blanche is. Before Stella arrives, Blanche is sitting 'very stiffly' in a chair. The body language described to us shows that she is on edge and obviously nervous about something. When she notices some whiskey in a cupboard she has some without thinking, but is then very careful to put everything back. The word tosses is used to describe how she drinks it, suggesting that she is used to drinking strong alcohol quickly. When Stella arrives we are told Blanche starts to speak with 'feverish vivacity as if she feared for either of them to stop and think.' She then starts t speak at Stella, to which Stella can only have time to reply with a laugh. She tells Stella not to look at her, and does not give her the opportunity to speak, and even when Blanche tells Stella to speak, she still keeps talking. Blanche pretends to look for some liquor, knowing where it is already. Again, we see how nervous she is; 'She is shaking all over and panting for breath as she
What is the effect of the images and phrases that appear on screen throughout the play,
What is the effect of the images and phrases that appear on screen throughout the play? The effect of the images and phrases that appear on screen throughout the play was primarily to make the play more suitable to "being a memory play". This was the most prominent characteristic the play "the glass menagerie" had which was different from many other plays. Also other effects such as drawing audience's attention to Laura and having "an emotional appeal" were achieved by using these images and phrases throughout the play. The images and phrases highlighted the fact that "the glass menagerie" was a "memory play". The audience were informed from the beginning that "the play is memory" by the narrator, Tom. The images, which come up on the screen, helped the audience to realize that it was a "memory play". When Amanda babbled about her glorious memory of living in "Blue Mountain" the image on the screen showed "Amanda as a girl on a porch, greeting callers." This would have helped the audience to visualize what Amanda's life was like in the "Blue Mountain" thus helping the audience to connect with Amanda easily as they could see what she had experienced in the past. Also when Laura told Amanda about a boy she liked in high school the image on the screen showed "Jim as high school hero bearing a silver cup." Once again showing someone's dazzling past memory. The audience saw Jim
