Glass Menagerie References And Lesson Walk Around Ideas

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The Glass Menagerie Study Guide

Table of Contents

Characters & Synopsis Tennessee Williams Tom or Tennessee? Symbolism Glossary of Words Vocabulary & Timeline Lesson Plan Ideas Works Cited, etc. 2003-2004

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Amanda Wingfield. The Mother - a woman “of great but confused vitality” whose husband left her with two children to raise. Amanda clings to another time and place. Laura Wingfield. The Daughter – a girl afraid to leave the family’s apartment. She collects glass animal figurines, the menagerie of the play’s title. Tom Wingfield. The Son & Narrator – Tom wants to be a poet but must work in a warehouse to support the family. Jim O’Connor. The Gentlemen Caller – A young man who works with Tom. “Jim is imbued with the American spirit of self-improvement.”

Plot Synopsis

Characters

“The play is memory.” Tom – The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie begins as Tom Wingfield introduces himself and the text as a play told from his memory. He presents its participants, and becomes both the narrator of the story and a main character in the action. Tom is the sole breadwinner for the Wingfield family; his father deserted the family sixteen years earlier. Tom’s mother, Amanda, was left alone to raise him and his impaired sister Laura. Tom joins the action of the play and his mother and sister at dinner. Over the course of the evening, Amanda learns that Laura, afraid of confronting her mother, has been deceiving her and “wasting precious money.” Instead of attending Rubicam's Business College as expected, Laura has been taking walks in the park and visiting museums to avoid school, and the nervous indigestion it gives her. Fraught with frustration, Amanda decides the only course for Laura is to get married. Amanda asks her if there is any boy in particular in which she has interest, and Laura reveals that she used to have a crush on Jim O'Connor, the high school hero; but she does not know what has happened to him. Later that evening, after an argument between Amanda and Tom, Amanda seizes the opportunity and moment alone to ask Tom to bring home some male friends to meet Laura. Tom promises to try his best. A few days later, Tom tells Amanda that a colleague of his, Jim O'Connor, is coming over the next evening for dinner. Amanda is delighted; she makes frenzied, elaborate preparations, and attends to every detail of Laura's appearance. When Laura learns that the guest is Jim O'Connor, she tells her mother that she will not be able to face him. She is so nervous about the young man's arrival that she becomes sick; she begs to be excused before Jim arrives. Amanda, however, will stand no refusals and forces Laura to answer the door when the guest arrives. Laura's debilitating fear becomes so intense that she is unable to join the others for dinner. After dinner, Amanda asks Tom to help her wash the dishes and sends Jim to the living room to be with Laura. Under Jim’s warm and charismatic influence, Laura overcomes her nerves and the two enjoy each other’s company and conversation. There is a mutual attraction and Jim kisses Laura. Whereupon, Jim quickly reveals that he is engaged to be married and apologizes for his hasty actions. When Amanda reenters the scene, Jim discloses his engagement to her, as well. Amanda rashly blames Tom for playing a cruel joke on them by bringing over an engaged man. Tom defends himself, saying that he had no idea that Jim was engaged. At the end of the play, Tom takes on the role of narrator again. He has left home to become a sailor and pursue his dreams of adventure. He wrestles with the guilt of deserting his mother and sister, not unlike his father had done previously. Unable to forgive himself, Glass Menagerie is Tom’s reckoning with his decision and it’s emotional and psychological repercussions.

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“Attempting to find in motion what was lost in space…” Tom – The Glass Menagerie

Tennessee Williams

Thomas Lanier Williams was born on March 26, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi. His father, Cornelius Coffin Williams, was a shoe salesman who spent a great deal of his time away from the family. Williams had one older sister and one younger brother. They spent much of their childhood in the home of their maternal grandfather who was an Episcopal minister. In 1927, at sixteen years old, Williams got his first taste of literary acclaim when he placed third in a national essay contest sponsored by The Smart Set magazine. The essay was entitled “Can a Good Wife Be a Good Sport?” Williams studied for several years at the University of Missouri, but withdrew before completing his degree and took a job in St. Louis at the International Shoe Company where his father worked. Other odd jobs with which he supported himself included waiter, elevator operator, and theater usher. He eventually returned to school and received a degree from the University of Iowa in 1938. Whether in school or working in the factory, Williams was constantly writing. In 1939, Williams moved to New Orleans and formally adopted his college nickname “Tennessee” - which was the state of his father’s birth.

The Prolific Tennessee Williams

Considered one of America’s greatest playwrights, Williams drew heavily on his family experiences in his writings. When The Glass Menagerie hit Broadway in 1945, it not only changed Tennessee Williams’ life, it revolutionized American theater. A Streetcar Named Desire, The Night of the Iguana and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are among his other masterpieces. Among his many awards, Williams won two Pulitzer Prizes and four New York Drama Critics Circle Awards. In addition to twenty-five full-length plays, Williams produced dozens of short plays and screenplays, two novels, a novella, sixty short stories, over one hundred poems, and an autobiography. His works have been translated into at least twenty-seven languages, and countless productions of his work have been staged around the world. Williams struggled with depression through out his life. At a young age he suffered a nervous break down, and he lived with the constant fear that he would go insane, as did his sister Rose. For periods of his life, Williams battled with addictions to prescription drugs and alcohol. Most biographers attribute his inner conflicts in part to the social strain placed on Williams as a known homosexual during a hostile period in American history. On February 24, 1983, Tennessee Williams choked to death on a bottle cap at his New York City residence at the Hotel Elysee. He is buried in St. Louis, Missouri. 4

“I am the narrator of the play, and also a character in it.” Tom – The Glass Menagerie

Tom or Tennessee? name: Tom Wingfield

name: Thomas Lanier Williams

mother, Amanda, a vivacious but faded Southern belle, lives in her memories of growing up Mississippi gentility; obsessed with finding a husband for daughter Laura

mother, Edwina, born into Southern gentility; described as “a busy little woman, never stopped talking…exuded Southern charm as she did for all her gentleman callers, especially those she saw as possible suitors for her daughter”

sister, Laura, suffers from debilitating shyness, lives in her own world

sister, Rose, “beautiful and unbalanced”, severely depressed, painfully shy; later confined to a mental institution and lobotomized

sister Laura tends her collection of glass animals known as the glass menagerie

sister Rose had a small collection of glass animals

Laura is crippled from a childhood illness which causes her to limp

Williams suffered a partial paralysis of his legs due to a childhood illness

father, worked for the telephone company and later abandoned his family; referred to as a terrible drunk

father, Cornelius, a traveling shoe salesman and a violent drunk

Tom lives in small tenement apartment in St. Louis, in contrast to his mother’s memories of the genteel South

Williams was born into a socially prominent, pastoral life in Mississippi but later moved to a modest apartment in St. Louis

Tom works in a factory for the Continental Shoemakers

Williams worked for St. Louis International Shoe Company

Tom is a budding poet

Williams was a poet, playwright, and essayist 5

Symbolism

The Glass Menagerie introduces an extensive pattern of symbolism that ranges from the clear-cut to the subtle. Four elements — glass, light, color, and music — constitute the substance of the dominant symbols and motifs, serving to reveal deeper aspects of characters and underlying themes of the play.

The menagerie of glass, Laura’s collection of animal figurines, represents the fragile relationships among all the characters. The glass unicorn is most obviously a symbol of Laura—delicate, sadly different, an anomaly in the modern world. But, like Laura and like the shining perfume bottles in the lighted shop windows Tom passes, the unicorn is a beautiful object. The glass motif recurs throughout the play in other forms. Laura visits the conservatory at the zoo, a glass house of tropical flowers that are as vulnerable as she is. A glass sphere that hangs from the ceiling of the Paradise Dance Hall reflects rainbow colors and represents the dreams of the dancers. Laura is spoken of as “translucent glass,” while the practical and prosaic gentleman caller protests before dancing with Laura, “I’m not made out of glass.” Lighting in the play is significant for several reasons. In the play’s original production notes, Williams describes the lighting as “dim and poetic”. The lighting, along with the “gauze curtains”, lends an unreal aura to the set, suggesting that this family functions in a world of dreams. Like the tricks Tom professes to have up his sleeve. Lighting gives truth “the pleasant disguise of illusion.” In another function, lighting serves to punctuate scenes focusing on absent characters. Several times with the lighting of the original production, we are reminded of the “fifth character” in the play, Mr. Wingfield, who appears only through a photograph. color in the play, most notably blue, is associated with Laura, and yellow, is commonly linked with Amanda. Jim’s nickname for Laura, Blue Roses, suggests a phenomenon that is contrary to nature. There is an opposition between these strange, different flowers and the natural, gay jonquils associated with Amanda. In the original version of the play, Amanda’s party dress was described as “a girlish frock of yellowed voile” and the light that surrounds her as “lemony.” The color comes to suggest Amanda’s outgoing and optimistic attitude just as blue denotes the melancholy outlook of Laura. Music is used throughout to evoke mood and haunt memory, reinforcing the symbolism of the play. Williams once described the recurring glass menagerie theme as a tune that is light, delicate, and sad, fragile as spun glass. He added, “It is primarily Laura’s music and therefore comes out most clearly when the play focuses upon her and the lovely fragility of glass which is her image.” These elements of glass, light, color, and music are drawn together in the ending scenes of the play. The final appearance of Amanda and Laura is played “as though viewed through soundproof glass.” Thus the viewer, like Tom, is repeatedly lured back by familiar bits of music, by a piece of transparent glass, or by tiny bottles in delicate colors that suggest “bits of a shattered rainbow.” We are drawn back to scenes and characters in the play, settings and people who refuse to be left behind. 6

Glossary of Words

“It wasn’t enough for a girl to be possessed of a pretty face and a graceful figure…she also needed to have a nimble wit and a tongue to meet all occasions.”

Ash pits: large mounds of ash left over from coal furnaces. “You could see them behind ash pits and telephone poles.” Tom Scene 5.

Amanda – The Glass Menagerie

Hogan Gang: an infamous crime family from St. Louis. “I’ve joined the Hogan Gang, I’m a hired assassin…” Tom Scene 3.

Berchtesgaden: an area of southeastern Germany, now a national park, known for breathtaking views of the German Alps. “Suspended in the mist over Berchtesgaden…” Tom Scene 5.

Jonquils: a species of narcissus having a small yellow flower. “That was the Spring I had the craze for jonquils.” Amanda Scene 6.

Blanc mange: a sweet, molded gelatin dessert made with milk. “I’ll bring in the blanc mange.” Laura Scene 1.

Jolly Roger: the black flag with skull and crossbones associated with pirates. “Image on screen: A sailing vessel with Jolly Roger.” SD Scene 4.

Blue Mountain: the small town in northern Mississippi where Amanda grew up. “One Sunday afternoon in Blue Mountain – your mother received – seventeen! – gentlemen callers!” Amanda Scene 1. Cakewalk: a dance with a strutting step based on a promenade. “Won the cakewalk twice at Sunset Hill…” Amanda Scene 6. Celotex:a type of fiber board used for building insulation. “You think I want to spend fifty-five years in that - celotex interior!” Tom Scene 3. Century of Progress: an international faire held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934, the theme of which was science and industry. “…I saw it when I went up to the Century of Progress.” Jim Scene 7. Cotillion: a formal ball where debutantes are presented. “This is the dress in which I lead the cotillion.” Amanda Scene 6. D.A.R.: Daughters of the American Revolution; national women’s organization of descendents of patriots of the American Revolution. “Didn’t you go to the D.A.R. meeting, Mother.” Laura Scene 1. Daumier: French painter, sculptor and caricaturist, known in his lifetime chiefly as a social and political satirist. “Its light on her face with its aged but childish features is cruelly sharp, satirical as a Daumier print.” SD Scene 4. Doughboy: a nickname for WWI infantrymen. “It is the face of a very handsome young man in a doughboy’s First World War cap.” SD Scene 1. Franco: (1892-1975) general during the Spanish Civil War who eventually became the ruler of Spain. “Tom slouches on the sofa with the evening paper. Its enormous headline reads: ‘Franco Triumphs’.” SD Scene 5. Guernica: a town in the Basque region of Spain that was the site of a massive and brutal attack during the Spanish Civil War. “In Spain there was Guernica.” Tom Scene 1.

Lawrence, D.H.: (1885-1930) English novelist and poet best known at that time for Sons and Lovers. “That hideous book buy that insane Mr. Lawrence.” Amanda Scene 3. Malaria: an infectious disease transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. It is characterized by fever and severe chills. “I had malaria fever all that Spring.” Amanda Scene 6. Mazda lamp: first lighted lamp invented by Thomas Edison. “…before Mr. Edison made the Mazda lamp.” Amanda Scene 7. Metropolitan star: a star in New York’s Metropolitan Opera, one of the foremost opera companies in the world. “Temperament like a Metropolitan star!” Amanda Scene 1. Merchant Marine: the fleet of US ships that carried imports and exports during peacetime and became a naval auxiliary during wartime to deliver troops and war materials. “I saw that letter you got from the Merchant Marine.s” Amanda Scene 4.

Ou sont les neiges?: French - Where are the snows? “Legend on screen: Ou sont les neiges?” SD Scene 1. Ou sont les neiges d’antan?: French – Where are the snows of yesteryear? “Screen legend: Ou sont les neiges d’antan?” SD Scene 1. The Pirates of Penzance: 19th century operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan. “Here he is in the Pirates of Penzance.” Laura Scene 2. Pleurosis: an inflammation of the lungs, characterized by chills, fever, painful breathing and coughing. “I said pleurosis – he thought that I said Blue Roses!” Laura Scene 2. Portiere: a heavy curtain hung across a doorway. “Tom divides the portieres and enters the dining room.” SD Scene 1. Purina: a hot multi-grain breakfast cereal made from oats, wheat, and millet. “Eat a bowl of Purina!” Amanda Scene 4. Quinine: a bitter extract from cinchona bark used as a tonic to treat malaria. “I took quinine, but kept on going, going!” Amanda Scene 6.

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Vocabulary Terms

“I understood the art of conversation! Girls in those days knew how to talk, I can tell you.”

Amanda – The Glass Menagerie

allusion archetype automatism conglomeration czar debutante emissary emulate fiasco imminent implacable impudence incredulous indolent mastication

Timeline

matriculate menagerie negligence paragon querulous rejuvenate sensuous supercilious tenement translucent tribulations tumult ulterior vestige vivacity

“This is the social background of the play.” Tom – The Glass Menagerie

U.S. Events First transatlantic flight 1927 “Talkies” end silent films 1929 The Great Depression begins Franklin D. Roosevelt elected president under the New Deal campaign 21st Amendment added to Constitution repealing Prohibition Century of Progress International Exhibition in Chicago Works Progress Administration set up to create jobs Margaret Mitchell writes Gone With the Wind Steel strike in Chicago Pearl Harbor is bombed and US enters into WWII

World Events

1930 1931

Planet Pluto is discovered Spanish Republic established

1933

1933

Nazi Revolution in Germany

1934

1934

1935 1936 1937

Communists establish People’s Republic of China

1936 1937

Spanish Civil War Guernica bombed, Spain Hindenberg airship disaster World War II begins

1939 1941

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Lesson Plan Ideas THE AMERICAN DREAM Consider the fulfillment of the American Dream from the perspective of each character in Glass Menagerie. Define each character’s interpretation of their dream, citing examples from the text to support your definition. Where does each character succeed or fail in their pursuit of this dream? Write, journal, paint, sculpt, etc. your response to one of the following…. How has the American Dream evolved since the 1930s? Who embodies the spirit of the American Dream? What is your dream? SMOKE & MIRRORS Tom presents Glass Menagerie as “the truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” What does he mean? How are the characters illusions? Whose illusion are they? What are the characters’ illusions – about themselves, their relationships or their circumstances? Contemporary American culture creates and promotes many societal illusions – the possibility of eternal youth & beauty, unlimited wealth and conspicuous consumption without consequences. What kind of illusions does the media promote? Locate newspaper and/or magazine articles, cartoons, or ads that support your choices. How do they promote or criticize these or other illusions in our society. WHAT DO YOU COLLECT? Laura has a collection of glass animals. What does her collection mean to her? Why do people have collections? Research how people are still involved in collecting – what is the most unusual collection you discover? the most expensive? the most rare? Delve into one particular collection that you find most interesting. Start or bring in a collection of your own. How/why is it important or special? THE GREAT DEPRESSION Glass Menagerie takes place during Great Depression. Many areas of the world are currently experiencing economic recession or depressions. Find news articles or research on the web that describes conditions in those places. What effect do those global conditions have on your life? HOLD THE GLASS UP TO NATURE Glass Menagerie was a reflection of Tennessee Williams’ own family life; it was autobiographical in nature. Do you know of a family story – whether your own or one that you’ve read about in the paper or on the web -- that you think could be developed into a play? Write a character breakdown, outline and summary of your play. WHOSE PLAY IS IT ANYWAY? Who is the protagonist in Glass Menagerie? Tom, Laura or Amanda? Why? Tom tells the story -- Would the story be different if told from Amanda or Laura’s point of view? How? Choose one scene and rewrite it from Amanda or Laura’s POV. 9

Lesson Plan Ideas Continued… TEN YEAR PLAN Imagine Amanda, Tom, Laura or Jim ten years into the future. Select one character and write a letter as if that character, discussing and reflecting on the events of your life. TELL IT LIKE IT IS Compare/contrast the Stage Manager in Our Town and Tom in Glass Menagerie. What purpose does the role of narrator serve in a play? How does it affect the experience of an audience member? SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE SIGNs… Writers often use objects, events or even colors to represent and emphasize complicated ideas. These symbols often get the attention of the reader better than an explanation of that idea. Discuss the following symbols in Glass Menagerie: fire escape, Laura’s limp, light, glass unicorn, the candles Laura blows out at the end of the play… What other symbols can you find? Who do they relate to? What do they represent? PICASSO & TENNESSEE Picasso, like Williams, created autobiographical work. Study Picasso’s work from the 1930s – the same time period in which Glass Menagerie takes place. How was the painting “Guernica” reflective of Picasso’s life? Why does Williams mention “Guernica” in Glass Menagerie? FANTASY ISLAND Each of the characters in Glass Menagerie, including Jim, has a private world in which they escape from unpleasant realities. Describe each character’s fantasy world. Where do you go to “escape” when you need to? Create a travel brochure advertising your perfect escape location/destination. SEEMS, MADAM? I KNOW NOT SEEMS… Compare Hamlet and The Glass Menagerie. How do the themes of seems versus is and illusion versus reality play out in each text? in each character? LEGENDS & PROJECTIONS Williams employs the conventions of projections and legends in the original script of Glass Menagerie. Why? What purpose(s) are they meant to serve? Are they effective or distracting? Create a series of images and/or titles to represent “chapters” in your life.

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Works Cited or Referenced:    Tennessee Williams biography (page 4): www.lambda.net Symbolism (page 6): www.bolles.org / AP English Study Guide Lesson Plan Ideas (pages 9 & 10): Alive & Loud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom. The Glass Menagerie. A program of L.A. Theatre works, 1996. Seaside Music Theater. Studyguide by Gary Cadwallader. 2003. Jackson, Esther Merle. The Broken World of Tennessee Williams. London: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1966. Jacobus, Lee A., Ed. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Fourth Edition. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2001. Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New York: New Directions Publishing Corp., 1999.

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The Glass Menagerie STUDY GUIDE

Researched & compiled by: Dana Tanner, Lisa Holland, Patti Kirkpatrick, & Vicki Haller Layout by: Patti Kirkpatrick Images contributed by: Amy Lacy & Dana Tanner Special thanks: Claudia Zelevansky & Julie Boehm-Turley

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