THE GLASS MENAGERIE BOOK [Paperback]

 

 

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Amanda Wingfield always tells her daughter, Laura, she should look nice and pretty for gentleman callers, even though Laura has never had any callers at their St. Louis apartment. Laura, who limps because of a slight physical deformity, would rather spend her time playing with the animals in her glass menagerie and listening to old phonograph records instead of learning shorthand and typing so she can be employable. When she learns Laura has only been pretending to go to secretarial school, Amanda decides Laura must have a real gentleman caller and insists her son Tom, who works at a shoe factory, find one immediately. After a few days, Tom tells Amanda he has invited a young man named Jim O'Connor home for dinner.

The night of the dinner Amanda takes charge personally to make sure Laura looks more attractive. However when Laura realizes that the Jim O'Connor who is visiting is possibly the same Jim on whom she had a crush in high school, she does not want to go through with the dinner. Although she has to be excused from the dinner because she has made herself physically ill, Laura is able to impress Jim with her quiet charm when the two of them keep company in the living room and she finally loses some of her shyness. When Jim gives Laura her first kiss, it looks as if Amanda's plans for Laura's happiness might actually come true.

THE GLASS MENAGERIE is the first big success in the long and storied career of playwright Tennessee Williams. This "memory" play tells of a family trapped in destructive patterns. After being abandoned by her husband, Amanda Wingfield has become trapped between worlds of illusion and reality. She says she wants what is best for her children, but seems incapable of acknowledging what that would be or actually providing it for them. Tom, tired of only watching adventure at the movies, is determined to break away from his dominating mother, but stays only for the sake of his sister. Laura may not be the dominating belle of the ball her mothers wants, but she has her own inner charm and when confronted with Jim, a visitor from the normal world, there is the chance that she will finally claim her life as her own. A poignant drama on the importance of love.

This drama of the Wingfield family is one of the twentieth century's great American plays, and it is no surprise that it is still taught throughout the country as an example of fine theater. The characters are psychologically true for their 1930's setting, and they reveal themselves brilliantly through their dialogue. The story is simple, the symbolism is obvious and readily understandable, the claustrophobic and depressing atmosphere is heightened by the fact that all the action takes place in a small apartment, and the line between reality and dream world, while clear to the audience, is tragically unclear to the players on stage.

Though the play may be structurally and aesthetically satisfying to an older audience familiar with this period, it may be less successful, after sixty years, to a contemporary audience. Amanda is so meddlesome that her good heart, her dreams for her family, and her control over Tom are unrealistic by today's standards. Tom, with his sense of obligation toward the family, sometimes appears personally weak. Most difficult, however, is Laura, so pathologically shy and introverted that she is happy to stay indoors all day, polishing her glass animals and remaining completely dependent on her brother and mother to support and protect her.

This has always been one of my favorite plays, but reading or watching it now feels a bit like watching a costume drama. Though it is brilliantly written, its characters and dramatic situations are so different from our twenty-first century lives, that the play and characters really come alive only when analyzed in conjunction with the social context in which they were originally presented. For a modern audience, Laura may be more pathetic than tragic. Mary Whipple

This timeless play has been studies and performed around the world since 1945. Tennessee Williams', "The Glass Menagerie" has been classified as legendary for decades and will continue to appear in classrooms and theaters for decades to come. This play is still so popular today because it can still be related to today. It has effective description, realistic characters, and modern language so it is easily understood.
This play seems ageless although it was written over a half of a century ago. There are several similarities with today's society. In the play, tom, the narrator and main character is less than satisfied with his life. He works as a shoemaker but has big dreams for himself. He complains about his job and life when he says, "Listen! You think I'm crazy about the warehouse? You think I'm in love with the Continental Shoemakers? You think I want with-fluorescent-tubes! Look! I'd rather somebody picked up a crowbar and battered out my brains-than go back mornings"(page 23). Tom wants to be a poet and experience adventure. We can all relate to this. At times we are not satisfied with life and it's good to dream a little and have goals for yourself.
Another good aspect of this play is how realistic the characters are. The main characters Tom, Amanda, and Laura don't lead a perfect life. They all have weaknesses. Tom hates his job; Amanda has problems raising and supporting Laura and Tom; Laura has a physical disability. The family goes through real life situations and problems.
The description and overall narration of the play is a key role in its effectiveness. The characters and plot are described so you can get a picture in your mind of the people and the apartment they lie in. The narrator being a character helped a lot with getting a visual of things. This description of the Wingfield's apartment is an example of the detailed description in the play. "The Wingfield apartment is in the rear of the building, one of those vast hive-like conglomerations of cellular living-units that flower as warty growths in overcrowded urban centers of lower middle-class population and are symptomatic of the impulse of this largest and fundamentally enslaved section of American society to avoid fluidity and differentiation and to exist and function as one interfused mass of automatism"(page 3).
Sometimes when reading plays it can be difficult to fully grasp a good sense of the plot. However, it is not the case in "The Glass Menagerie". The plot is fully developed through the characters actions and dialogues. Also, the vivid description Tom gives is very helpful. It is easy to understand because Tom comes right out and tells you what to expect like when he tells us, "I am the narrator of the play, and also a character in it. The other characters are my mother, Amanda, my sister, Laura, and a gentleman caller who appears in the final scenes"(page 5).
Not only is this a well written play, but also it is an easy read. It uses everyday language. It's not difficult to comprehend as it uses modern speaking and dialogues. It's a short play that will grasp you attention and be over before you know it. "The Glass Menagerie" is so popular for a reason. It's a classic play that will be studied and referenced for years to come. It's amazing how a play written so long ago is not obsolete and still relates to today's society.

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4.0 out of 5 stars The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams has many things I found you can relate to your own life. Even if you don't have an annoying mother crippled sister or lives in St... Read more

Published on Mar 29 2004 by jessfrye

4.0 out of 5 stars Overview of The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennesse Williams is a tale of desperation and a longing for something more. Read more

Published on Mar 29 2004 by AlaynaGates

4.0 out of 5 stars The Glass Menagerie
I read the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. I really enjoyed reading this book because it was easy to follow, and it was very interesting. Read more

Published on Mar 29 2004 by Jason

4.0 out of 5 stars The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, is truely a book you can't put down. Each charachter is so different from another, and somehow you connect with each one, whether you... Read more

Published on Mar 28 2004 by Brandy

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie is a gripping tale of three family members trying to make it through life. Amanda, the mother of the family, is a caring mother that, in her days of youth,... Read more

Published on Mar 28 2004 by Jason Krieg

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Quite simply, The Glass Menagerie is the very reason you read a book. For the passion, the pain, the happiness, that indescribable feeling you get when you've finished the very... Read more

Published on Mar 16 2004 by Connie

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Golden Age of American Drama
THE GLASS MANAGERIE, written in 1944, is a painfully poignant drama about a crippled girl, Laura Wingfield, who is so shy and insecure that she spends her days in her mother's... Read more

Published on Feb 25 2004

3.0 out of 5 stars Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee William has three main characters. Amanda is the mother, Laura is the daughter, and Tom is the son. Amanda was married but her husband died. Read more

Published on Jan 16 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars "Charm....Vivacity.....and...CHARM!!!!"
For my theatre class we were split up into groups of two and told to pick a scene from a play, so my partner and i picked Scene two from Glass Menagerie. Read more

Published on Jan 13 2004 by Eimi Star

5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing, realistic, intriguing.
"The Glass Menagerie" is an excellent play but also disturbing. It opens ones eyes to how pathetic we are, and some people may have a hard time dealing with that - also... Read more

Published on Nov 1 2003 by MAB

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