Running Head: A Literary of the play ‘The Glass of Menagerie’

Running Head: A Literary of the play ‘The Glass of Menagerie’

A Literary of the play ‘The Glass Menagerie’

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Abstract

This play was authored by Tennessee Williams, and is based on the decline of the South to address sensitive and nostalgic issues surrounding individuals who attempt to lead spiritual, imaginative worlds characterized by tenderness in a world dominated by passion, greed and animal instincts. This document therefore gives a general overview of the play, and discusses the different items incorporated thereby formulating a comprehensive review of its literature.

The first scene of the play sets off with the appearance of Tom Wingfield, a future poet who appears from the fire escape of his family’s St. Louis Apartment and informs the audience that the play is going to be about his family which includes his mother, Amanda Wingfield,  his crippled sister, Laura Wingfield and his father, Mr. Wingfield,  an employee with a telephone company who absconded his marital responsibility due to long distance travels and therefore only appears in a photograph as well as a gentle mans caller (Meyer & Downs, 2008)

The activities in this scene entail Tom entering the apartment where his mother and sister are having dinner with Mrs. Wingfield advising his daughter to remain ‘fresh and pretty’ for the purpose of securing gentlemen callers. This leads to Amanda’s memory of when she entertained gentlemen callers in her youth, a comment doubted by her son. Her nostalgia ends with the confirmation from her daughter that there would be no callers.

The developments in scene two create a continuous flow through to scene four. The scene begins with Laura polishing her glass figurines and suddenly hides them on hearing Amanda’s footsteps. This follows by her mother asking her why she does not attend school and gives the reason that she vomited due to nervousness while taking the school test. Her mother gets obsessed with the idea of finding Laura a husband to save her from poverty and loneliness as she realizes that her daughter would be unable to undertake any job. To do this, she knows that she has to find enough money and the only option available is to sell subscriptions to a local magazine. On the other hand, Tom struggles with job dissatisfaction and her mother’s questioning of his night escapades.  This results in a heated exchange of words where he calls his mother an ‘ugly witch’ and accidentally knocks Laura’s figurines while exiting. At five in the morning, he gets back home and apologizes to his mother for his rude behavior, then he tells her of his desire to leave town in search of adventure. The mother requests him to find a husband for his sister before traveling. Despite being skeptical, Tom agrees to find a suitor from his workplace.

Tom, at the onset of scene five, narrates of a possible war that is about to provide an adventure for those who enjoy themselves at the Paradise Dance Hall located close to their apartment. He then informs his mother about a friendly visit by a Jim O’Connor during dinner. Both the Mother and the sister are overjoyed at the news and description of the visitor. To neutralize his mother’s enthusiasm, Tom notifies Amanda that Jim may not be attracted to Laura. The Mother ignores him and instead encourages Laura to ‘wish for Happiness and Good Fortune (Meyer & Downs, 2008)

In his narration in scene six, Tom describes the gentleman caller’s, previous life of being a former hero in basketball and the presidential post he held in senior class and the glee club. He also describes Jim’s current profile as being less successful after graduating and working with him in the same company. The arrival of Tom and Jim frightens Laura who dashes off after the introduction and leaves the three of them having dinner. Since Tom had used the funds for paying the electricity bill for his seaman’s card, he offers to help Amanda do the dishes while Jim serves Laura with a glass of wine. The two interact lengthily till they kiss. Jim then confesses of his engagement and leaves. Laura and Amanda are devastated on finding out about Jim’s attachment to another woman. Later, Tom narrates of his escape from St. Louis, traveling the world in search of adventure. However, he was still pursued by his sister’s eyes wherever he went.

Several themes can be drawn from the play ‘the glass menagerie. The first being the differences that lie between illusion and reality. The Wingfield’s family is immersed in deep illusion as a defense mechanism of shielding from the harsh realities of life. Williams portrays Laura as a character who escapes from the reality because of her s.............