The action of The Glass Menagerie takes place in the Wingfied's apartment in St. Louis, 1937. This play is framed around the memory of its narrator, Tom Wingfield. Tom's predicament is one of the play's major themes. This theme can be best described as the conflict between responsibility for one's family and the need to live one's own ... is character of true melancholy. Though he longs for freedom, his obligatory feelings toward his family keep him in St. Louis. Despite his feelings of obligation, Amanda's constant nagging and Laura's idiosyncrasies make the apartment oppressive and impris...

• Word Count: 458
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... to fix myself now! You are going to be surprised by your mother's appearance!"(57) Levy believes that Amanda's way of treating Laura is responsible for Laura's "negative self-consciousness" (530). Amanda and Laura never have a truly honest conversation. Laura never responds except in short sentences and phrases. Mr. Wingfield's influence on Laura is also very remarkable. Darryl Darryl Erwin Haley believes that "it is Mr ... . Wingfield, not Amanda, who is ultimately to blame for Laura's seclusion from the world of physically ordinary people.[ ] Laura is forced by the actions of Mr. Wingf...

• Word Count: 3081
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is set in St. Louis in the mid 1930's, during the depression era. There was war in Europe and a struggling economy in America. The Wingfield family, who lived in an apartment building, consisted of Amanda, Laura, and Tom Wingfield. They are all unique individuals sharing the same home but lost in their own imaginary world. As each character attempt to escape reality, we ... will examine the symbols, which gave each character an opportunity for escape. We will first look at Amanda Wingfield. She is the mother of Tom and Laura and is portrayed as a loving but over zealous mother, who at t...

• Word Count: 1620
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... this subject in many of his plays. "Williams expands American stage dialogue in vocabulary, image rhythm, and range". (Cohn 129). In a way Mr. Wingfield is a reflection of Williams" father because both of them treated bad and abandoned their family, they were both Alcohol addicts, and had the same occupation. Another ... really autobiographical character in this play is Tom Wingfield, who represents Tennessee Williams himself. In fact the writer's real name is Tom Lanier Williams. Also the most important theme in the play is the ... visit other states. And since the writer really liked ...

• Word Count: 1469
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... on the streets but they are poor enough. Amanda Wingfield is portrayed as a very pushy mother who always tries to urge on and persuade her two children to do exactly what she says. However, it is this sort of behaviour that I feel has lead her daughter Laura to be terribly timid and shy and reluctant to be ... Jim enters her life again. However we have disappointed expectations as at the end of the play we discover he has a wife. This heavily backfires on Laura, as it is the first time out of her precious seclusion as she retreats back into her bubble and the very end shows how she will ...

• Word Count: 847
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Williams is a stage play set in St. Louis in 1937. " The Glass Menagerie" is a memory play drawn from the narrator, Tom Wingfield played by Michael A. Newcomer. Tom Wingfield who is also a character in this play is an aspiring poet who works in a shoe warehouse to support his mother Amanda played by Darrie Lawrence ... , and his sister Laura played by Christi Craig. Jim O' Connor played by Derek Phillips is the guy from high school who Laura had a devastating crush ... on and who now works with Tom at the warehouse. There is also a fifth character Mr. Wingfield, Tom and Laura's father w...

• Word Count: 746
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... his father, and she fears his departure. Tom is very much paralleled to his father through his desire to escape reality and leave Amanda and Laura. The idea of magic in the play provides more insight into Tom's motives regarding his aspirations to escape. In the beginning of scene four, ... Tom returns home late at night after hours of drinking, explaining to Laura how he was enjoying a magician's show. Tom is fascinated and he recalls that "..the wonderfullest trick of all was the coffin trick. We ... However, he has no patience and he desires adventure immediately, justifying his eag...

• Word Count: 1672
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... four main characters or actors; a mother, brother, sister, and the gentleman caller round out the people. The names given by Williams are; Amanda Wingfield to the mother, Laura the daughter, Tom the brother who narrates the play, and Jim the gentleman caller. The story progresses along the lines of Amanda searching for a ... the great Malvolio the Magician and coming home and telling, Laura all about this man, and how he escaped from inside of a nailed shut box. Everything now seems to be pointing towards the idea of a grand scheme in the workings by the Wingfield women, but Toms" love f...

• Word Count: 1357
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... to be harder. Although Amanda appears to often be stuck in the past, without any idea of reality, she bounces back and forth. She first says to Laura, "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 ... the following discussion regarding the class, the very fact that she lied shows us that she knew there would be unpleasant circumstances for her action (16-18). Laura is associated with her glass figurines. She is very protective of them. She lives in a world of pretty glass. To further ...

• Word Count: 1744
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie In Tennessee William's the Glass Menagerie the Wingfield family- that belongs in the lower middle class- Amanda and her two children, Laura and Tom live in a small apartment somewhere St. Louis. These three main characters live between reality and ... dim, in order to give this non-realistic impression to the audience of the play. As the playwright mentions in his stage directions the interior of Wingfield's small apartment " Is therefore rather dim and poetic". The same "foggy" atmosphere applies to the rest of the setting as well. "The ... of a perso...

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... their endings and then interpret my own feelings about the endings. In the play "The Glass Menagerie", I found the ending to be inappropriate. The symbol of Laura Wingfield blowing out the candles to me is unclear. On the other hand, when her brother Tom Wingfield stops at a shop where perfume is sold, and spots different colored bottles, he automatically thinks of his sister ... Laura. This is correct and he should feel guilty for deserting her, for he knew how emotionally and physically crippled she was. In my opinion, he does not ... ...

• Word Count: 503
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School