Modern Play English Language Arts 201 Glass Menagerie What is a glass Menagerie noun 1 a collection of wild or unusual animals especially for exhibition 2 a place where they are kept or exhibited ID: 340815
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Slide1
The Glass Menagerie
Modern Play
English Language Arts 20-1Slide2
Glass Menagerie
What is a glass Menagerie ?
noun
1. a collection of wild or unusual animals, especially for exhibition. 2. a place where they are kept or exhibited. 3. an unusual and varied group of people. Slide3
What is a Memory Play?
The Glass Menagerie consists of a series of episodes presented as flashbacks from Tom, the narrator.
It’s a memory and a dream play, its unrealistic.
Consider, for example, how unrealistic or faulty your own memory can be.Often you might see faults in another persons memory before you see the faults in your own.Tom steps out of the play to address the audience directly on several occasions.The episodes are presented from Tom’s point of view, not Amanda or Laura’s. Slide4
Memory play continued
The separate scenes should be seen as part of Tom’s memory of a crucial time in his life.
They do not function to give us a traditional plot or storyline, instead they are selected to give the audience a slice of life.
Tennessee Williams objective is to present truth through illusion. He wants to say something about his life by recalling certain scenes of his past life. Slide5
Scene 1
Setting is described: old fashion tenement. Tom enters and addresses the audience. Introduces other characters including his dad.
Amanda is lecturing Tom on how to eat, she then explains about her past experience with “Gentlemen Callers”Slide6
Symbolism
Fire escape
A physical symbol used to represent various aspects of being trapped or a method of escape.
“The huge buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation.”Tom is frustrated with his life.For Amanda, escape is seen in terms of the Gentlemen CallersLaura retreats or escapes from the world by retreatingTom wants to escape TO the outer world and Laura FROM the outer world, Slide7
Narration
The use of the narrator is often considered a trick by the artist so that he will not have to conceive of imaginative ways to convey exposition.
William Shakespeare’s Chorus in Romeo and Juliet
Tom, however, is integrated into the play he presents the play as a memory and then steps back into time to become on of the participants in the action. Very Unique for the time. Slide8
Truth in the disguise of illusion
Regular dramas create a dramatic illusion on the stage which the audience takes for truth. But this play, by its techniques, offers itself as illusion.
Williams explains that it is actually truth disguised by illusion
So, the play is not realistic since it is presented from the memory of Tom.Slide9
Amanda
Her very essence is presented in her first speech. She is nagging her children and she is not even aware of it.
Her sense of unreality is caught as she lives in a world of memory with servants and gentlemen callers. Always her language suggests another time or place.
Note that all of her gentlemen callers are either wealthy or became wealthy. Be weary of this because it is highly unlikely. It is almost inconceivable to believe that she had 17 in one afternoon. She now believes this story so strongly that the gentlemen callers have become a reality for her. Slide10
Amanda continued
As the scene ends, Amanda returns to the subject of Laura and her lack of gentlemen callers. She closes her mind to the reality. The question here is whether Amanda wants the callers for Laura or wants to relive her own youth.
Is she thinking of Laura or herself right now?
Discuss. Slide11
Show Scene 1 clip
How does this scene provide exposition to the play? What is omitted and what could be added?Slide12
Scene 2
Laura with the glass menagerie, hides when she hears Amanda.
Deception is revealed. Laura hasn’t been going to school.
Despair and urgency to get Laura married but she explains who would want to marry a cripple?Slide13
Gentlemen Callers and Laura
Amanda sums up Laura’s position saying that,
“I know so well what becomes of unmarried women who aren’t prepared to occupy a position. I’ve seen such pitiful cases in the south – barely tolerated spinsters living upon the grudging patronage of sisters husbands and brothers wives… encouraged by one in-law to visit another.”
Amanda’s knowledge of this is first hand because she became one of those pitiful cases who cannot ‘occupy a position’. It is thus imperative that Amanda finds Laura a husband to take care of her. Slide14
Cont…
Even though a few seconds earlier Amanda was able to face the facts enough to discuss what happens to unmarried women, now with the thought that a gentleman caller is coming, she resorts back to a world of illusion and refuses to allow Laura to refer to herself as crippled.
Laura is expected to develop “charm” when in reality we have seen or been presented how shy and introverted Laura is.
Charm is impossible for Laura to develop. The type of charm that Amanda wants her to develop would destroy what innocent appeal Laura now possesses. Slide15
Show clip of scene 2 Slide16
Scene 3
Tom explains that his mother was very determined to receive a gentleman caller for his sister, Laura.
Tom and his mother are arguing about a book and get into a fight about where Tom goes every night. He throws his coat against the wall and shatters Laura’s glass menagerie. Slide17
Amanda
One of her admirable qualities is her determination. Once she has set her mind to a task, she goes about it with a determination that neither of her children possess.
This is, however, what makes her appear hateful to her children. It is as though both, Tom especially, were still youths whose every action had to be supervised. Slide18
The book
D.H. Lawrence
Amanda sees this book as ‘filth’ and refuses to have it in the house
She has taken the book back to the library.If Amanda is the type to look upon the novels of D.H. Lawrence as “filth” then there is little chance for Tom to find understanding and sympathy for his own creative efforts Slide19
Tom
During the fight we find out that Tom hates his job at the warehouse and that he goes every night to the movies in order to find some form of escape.
Tom, like Tennessee Williams, thinks of the warehouse job as destructive to his creative endeavors.
After he shatters the glass menagerie he is unable to speak, symbolizing Laura’s inner feelings.Slide20
Laura
Although she has nothing to say in this scene, the lighting is always focused on her, because during these scenes, it is Laura who suffers the most.
She senses that much of the antagonism between Tom and Amanda stems from her position.
Laura knows that she is a burden on Tom and that he feels responsible for her. Laura understands that her mother constantly worries about her. The shattered glass symbolically represents Laura’s inner feelings. Slide21
Scene 4
Tom is returning from the movies and explains them to Laura mentioning the theme of escape.
The scene cuts out and then fades into Amanda calling for Tom to wake.
Laura asks Tom to apologize for the fight last night. He does. Amanda sends Laura to the store to get butter but they need to charge it and Laura is unsure about this. Tom explains that he likes adventure and Amanda says that a man finds adventure in his work.She also explains that she has seen the letter from the Merchant Marine and knows that he is planning to leave but that he needs to see that Laura is provided for first.
She asks him to find a nice young man for her. Slide22
Escape
The discussion of the movie with Laura Tom emphasizes his desire to escape by talking about the magician who is nailed in the coffin and got out. He then compares his apartment and his situation in life to that of the magician climbing into a coffin – now the only question is how can he get out of
his
coffin?Laura trips on the fire escape, symbolizing her inner escape and fear of the outer world. Slide23
Instinct
Tennessee Williams uses this seen to show direct contrast between Amanda and Tom, and how they both view ‘instinct’.
He feels that he is being destroyed as an individual
bu being forced to live all cramped up in the apartment and in the city. He seeks love, adventure and romance.Amanda’s husband possessed these qualities and she does not value them. She views them as vulgar and bestial.She refuses to acknowledge that her children have different views then her about life. Slide24
Scene Five
Amanda is nagging Tom again about smoking and how to comb his hair.
In an aside, Tom turns to the audience and mentions escape.
He then informs Amanda of a Gentleman Caller for Laura.Tom tries to explain that Laura is different from other people and refers to her as a ‘cripple’ . He also explains that she lives in a world of her own.Slide25
Gentleman Callers
Amanda begins immediately to make plans for the gentleman caller.
She gives Tom a hard time after all he has done for Laura and for Amanda because he doesn’t know a lot about Mr. O’Connor.
Tom tells her there is no need to make a fuss about Mr. O’Connor. He also emphasizes that he doesn’t know about his private life and so Amanda’s accusations for later on in the play are falsely made. Slide26
Tom and Amanda
Pay attention to Tom’s futile attempt to make Amanda look at Laura realistically. She willfully ignores all of Tom’s efforts to evaluate Laura realistically.
She refuses to allow Tom to refer to Laura as a cripple.
Tom points out that Laura is more than crippled; she is a girl who lives in her own world made of glass ornaments and the like.Amanda refuses to recognize this and thinks only that this will be the gentleman caller who will marry Laura. Slide27
Scene 6
Tom, in the chorus, explains about Jim O’Connor – Jock in HS
Tom explains that Jim was his only friend at the warehouse because Tom boosted Jim’s ego as a person who could remember his “High School Greatness”
Amanda and Laura are preparing for the gentleman caller. Nervousness because of all the fuss Amanda is making. Finds out his name! And this makes her sick!Boy talk. Tom’s plans are revealed.Amanda bombard’s Jim with questions .
Laura is legitimately sick and needs to rest. Laura lies shuddering on the couch as the others enjoy their meal. Slide28
Laura and Tom’s description of Jim
Tom sees him as a plain and ordinary individual, kind of a blundering idiot.
Idealized him (go back to scene 2) Slide29
Conformity
Laura wants nothing to do with Amanda’s plan for a gentleman caller and refuses to participate in the ‘silliness’.
Amanda forces her to conform to her wishes rather than letting Laura assert her own personality.
Forced ‘charm” by Amanda on Jim. Ignoring Laura’s feelings forces her to join them at the table, she [Laura] almost faints and is actually sick. Slide30
Escape
Escaping to the phonograph once she allows Jim in the doorway.
Laura relies on her own world rather than meeting with the new world represented by the gentleman caller.
Tom – first mention outside the prologue that he plans on ‘escaping’ from the current situation with the merchant seamans union. Slide31
Jim O’Connor
Prosaic Character – Lacking poetic beauty – He’s just an ordinary guy.
Notice when he is explaining the course in public speaking. By this point it is apparent that he is no great hero except to Laura.Slide32
Scene Seven
Laura lies huddled on the sofa, lights go out.
Jim checks fuses and Tom helps with the dishes.
Amanda asks Jim to take Laura a little wine to drink. He sits on the floor, she is visibly nervous he calls her an “old-fashion girl”She asks him questions about his talents and he remembers her from high school, she demonstrates her lack of self-confidence. Shows him the glass menagerie. Introduction into her world. Laura and Jim Dance they stumble and break the unicorn which is now like the other horses.
Jim tries to tell Laura how different she is – he leans over and kisses her. Slide33
Scene Seven
He instantly regrets it. Explains that he is engaged and that he hasn’t told anybody yet.
Amanda accuses Tom of making a mockery out of Laura and Herself.
Amanda refuses to believe him calls him a selfish dreamer who never thinks about his “mother deserted and an unmarried sister who is crippled and has no job.”Tom leaves and announces that he has never forgotten his sister and thinks about her often. Slide34
Amanda
Does know how to entertain
Amanda’s sudden attack on
Tom for allowing them to make fools of themselves. – Tom tried to get Amanda to not make a fuss – Tom didn’t know he was engaged.Amanda cannot take the blame, realizing her own mistake. Her charm leaves her and we see her as just a nagging woman who cannot face reality. Here also her illusions leave her, and she refers to Laura as a cripple. Slide35
Tom’s memory play
There is no possible way that Tom could know what took place in this scene between Laura and Jim. Remember that!Slide36
Jim and the unicorn
Symbolism – variously interpreted.
Broken Unicorn – Laura's broken hopes
Broken Unicorn – no longer unique like Laura but is instead ordinary like JimBroken Unicorn – broken hopes for love and romance and she gives it to Jim to take away since he has broken her as well as the unicorn. Broken Unicorn – broken love. Slide37
Epigraph
An epigraph is a quotation set at the beginning of a literary work or a division of it to suggest its theme.
Williams placed the last line of the poem below on the title page of “The Glass Menagerie”.Slide38