The Glass Menagerie

1
The Glass Menagerie

• Tennessee Williams

2
Themes

• Reality versus Illusion
• Tom
• Laura
• Amanda
• Loneliness
• Amandas loquacious nature
• Power of Memory
• Fathers picture
• Laura blowing out the candles

3
Symbols

• Fire Escape
• Represents the only place where the character can
  escape the painful world
• Characters use to exit apt. (literal and
  figurative escape)
• Blue Roses
• Describes Lauras mood and beauty
• Glass Menagerie
• Lauras isolation and fragility
• Fathers portrait
• Missing link b/n family members. He is gone, but
  not forgotten.
• Very important character in the play
• Moon
• Hope

4
Conflicts

• Amanda versus her children
• Amanda versus Tom
• Amanda versus Laura
• Toms inner conflict
• Lauras inner conflict
• Amandas inner conflict

5

• The play is set during the Depression
• Tom is the narrator and a character
• The play is a memory
• The initial fight b/n Amanda and Tom shows us the
  tension in the family
• The father was a telephone man who fell in love
  with long distances meaning?
• How does Amanda escape reality?

6

• Laura has a slight limp
• Amanda accuses Laura of deception when she
  dropped out of class
• Amanda is worried about Lauras ability to take
  care of herself
• Blue Roses came from
• They symbolize Lauras beauty and difference
• Tom dreams of becoming a sailor.
• Reading and writing, going to the movies, and
  joining the merchant marines are all escapes for
  Tom

7

• Why is Tom nicknamed Shakespeare?
• The music from PDH is in contrast to the
  Wingfields existence
• Tom enjoys the magicians coffin trick, why?
• Amanda sells magazine subscriptions to help pay
  rent
• Amanda dislikes Tom reading D.H. Lawrence, why?
• During the worst argument Tom and Amanda have,
  what insult does he say to her?
• Amanda believe Christian adults should want love
  of family
• Laura is petrified when she finds out Jim is
  coming for dinner
• Jim ruins the night when he tells them about
  Betty

8
Open-Ended

• Compare Williams life to The Glass Menagerie.
• How do Amanda, Laura, and Tom deal with
  loneliness? How do they each escape? Explain in
  terms of symbols and themes.