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Tennessee Williams and The Glass Menagerie Introduction Notes

Tennessee Williams and The Glass Menagerie Introduction Notes. Thomas Lanier Williams. Born March 26, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi. Thomas Lanier Williams. Lived for several years in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Moved to St. Louis in 1918. Family Life. Mother was a controlling woman.

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Tennessee Williams and The Glass Menagerie Introduction Notes

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  1. Tennessee Williams and The Glass Menagerie Introduction Notes

  2. Thomas Lanier Williams • Born March 26, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi

  3. Thomas Lanier Williams Lived for several years in Clarksdale, Mississippi Moved to St. Louis in 1918

  4. Family Life • Mother was a controlling woman • Father was abusive and hard on him

  5. Family Life • Father assumed he was raising a homosexual • Williams always felt rejected by his father

  6. Family Life • His sister Rose became mentally ill and was lobotomized and committed to a mental institution • Williams remained close to his sister

  7. Education Attended the University of Missouri, but his father pulled him out and put him to work

  8. Education Eventually went back to school and graduated from the University of Iowa

  9. A Legend Begins • Changed his name to “Tennessee” and began to write controversial plays

  10. A Legend Begins • First hit was Glass Menagerie • Originally titled The Gentleman Caller • Story based partially on William’s home life

  11. A Legend Begins • Glass Menagerie was an instant success and the pressure began to surmount for Williams

  12. The Legend Continues • Williams found that New Orleans was an inspirational city to write in • He also spent time in Key West and New York

  13. The Legend Continues • Williams won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for A Streetcar Named Desire • It was made into a movie in 1951

  14. The Legend Continues • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof gave Williams his second Pulitzer Prize in 1955

  15. The Legend Continues • The Rose Tattoo Other instant successes were: • Baby Doll • Sweet Bird of Youth • The Night of the Iguana

  16. The Legend Continues • All of William’s plays touched on some controversial issue that had never been introduced in plays/movies before

  17. The Legend Continues • Homosexuality • Sexual frustration • Mental illness • Emasculation • Cannibalism • Nymphomania • Alcohol abuse

  18. The Legend Changes • Williams began to drink and take pills more frequently

  19. The Legend Changes • His partner died in 1963 and this event was the true turning point for Williams

  20. The Legend Changes • His drinking and drug use quickly heightened

  21. The Legend Changes • His work in New York/ Hollywood began to receive poor reviews

  22. The Legend Changes • Just like he had been rejected by his father years before, critics were now rejecting him

  23. The Legend Changes • Williams’ alcoholism took control and he became paranoid

  24. The Legend Changes • Tennessee’s brother Dakin had him committed in 1969 to a mental institution because he suffered from alcohol poisoning and paranoia

  25. The Legend Changes • He began to drink and pop pills again after his three-month stay

  26. The Legend Changes • Throughout these difficult times, Tennessee remained true to himself and never lost faith in his ability to write decent plays (despite the reviews)

  27. The Legend Ends • Eventually Tennessee’s abusive behavior caught up with him and he died a lonely death at the age of 71 in a New York hotel room

  28. The Legend Ends • The coroner’s report revealed that Williams died of asphyxia by choking on a top from a medicine bottle

  29. The Legend Ends • In 1996, Rose Williams died in the mental institution that had become her home • Her tombstone read “Blow out your candle, Laura”, a famous line from The Glass Menagerie

  30. The Legend Lives On • Williams’ plays continue to awe audiences everywhere both on stage and the big screen

  31. The Glass Menagerie Originally titled A Gentleman Caller Had a successful run in 1944 in Chicago Debuted on Broadway in 1945

  32. The Glass Menagerie Williams’ first popular success Williams received the New York Drama Critics’ Circle award as the best play of the season Was called play of the century

  33. The Glass Menagerie It has become one of the most performed plays in the repertory of American community theaters

  34. The Glass Menagerie The movie version of the 1950’s starred the unknown actor, Marlon Brando

  35. The Glass Menagerie An updated version was filmed in 1987 and directed by Paul Newman

  36. The Glass Menagerie Play largely based on William’s own family - in particular his sister, Rose

  37. The Glass Menagerie One act play with seven scenes and only four characters

  38. The Glass Menagerie Play is full of negative emotion

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