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The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie. a play by Tennessee Williams. m enagerie: a collection of animals. Tennessee Williams. Born Thomas Lanier Williams in Columbus, Mississippi in 1911 His family moved frequently but most of his school years were spent in Missouri near St. Louis

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The Glass Menagerie

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  1. The Glass Menagerie a play by Tennessee Williams menagerie: a collection of animals

  2. Tennessee Williams • Born Thomas Lanier Williams in Columbus, Mississippi in 1911 • His family moved frequently but most of his school years were spent in Missouri near St. Louis • Williams did not get along with his father, a traveling salesman • His mother was overbearing and somewhat hysterical, but supported Williams’ desire to write

  3. Rose Williams • Williams had a younger brother, Dakin, but it was his older sister, Rose, that he was close to • Rose was beautiful, sweet and intelligent, but suffered from schizophrenia which worsened as she got older • In 1937, a devastating event occurred. Tennessee Williams’ parents authorized a prefrontal lobotomy for Rose, who was growing more troubled and paranoid

  4. Rose Williams -Continued • A prefrontal lobotomy is a procedure that involved inserting an ice pick through the patient’s eye socket to sever nerves that joined the prefrontal cortex to the rest of the brain-it was suppose to relieve psychiatric strain • This procedure completely destroyed Rose mentally and she was never able to care for herself again. This broke Williams' heart and caused him to suffer his own mental collapse

  5. Williams-The Glass Menagerie • To deal with his fragile mental state Tennessee Williams would write • He turned Rose’s suffering into a short story and then a play, The Glass Menagerie • Laura=Rose • The Glass Menagerie made Williams famous! It premiered in 1944 and received excellent reviews and won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award

  6. Williams -continued • He had difficulty dealing with his success and moved to Mexico to escape the spotlight and to write • In the 1960s, Williams suffered a mental breakdown • Few of his later works received critical praise, nevertheless he continued to write • Tennessee Williams died in New York City in 1983

  7. The Glass Menagerie • Tennessee Williams called The Glass Menagerie a “memory play.” • It is a dramatic rendering of the memories of the narrator, Tom Wingfield. • He is not an objective director or narrator, thus the play unfolds in an impressionistic, highly symbolic fashion. • Though not autobiographical, the play contains characters drawn from his own life. • Williams seeks to show how any artist can engage mental and emotional pain through the process of art itself

  8. The Glass Menagerie- continued • Social and Historical Background • Play takes place in 1937 • The Great Depression-The New Deal-Labor Disputes-the plight of workers and the trend towards unionism • The Little Steel Strike –May 30,1937-protesting steelworkers marched in Chicago and were fired upon by police. Ten of them were killed.

  9. continued • The Flint Sit-Down Strike-1936 & 1937-The General Motors Corporation was crippled by the strike, which was orchestrated by the United Auto Workers (UAW) • The bombing of Guernica in Spain-April 26, 1937-bombed by German and Spanish forces during the Spanish Civil War. Revolutionaries were trying to overthrow the leftist coalition that had won the 1936 elections (leftist groups generally support worker’s rights and the organization of labor)

  10. Themes and Motifs • Theme- a central idea or main themes of a work • Motif- a reoccurring theme, element, or dramatic situation • The Absent Father • The Artistic Temperament • The Decline of the Old South • The Importance of Words, Books, and Art • Magic and Illusions • Difficulty of Accepting Reality • The Power of Memory • Abandonment

  11. Symbolism and Imagery • Symbolism-an object, person, or event that represents something beyond itself such as an idea, belief, or value • Imagery-the use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses • The Glass Menagerie • Religious Imagery • The Victrola (Music) • The Fire Escape • Flowers • The Glass Unicorn

  12. The Glass Menagerie Characters • Amanda Wingfield • the mother • clings to another time and place • part tenderness, part cruelty

  13. Characters Continued • Laura Wingfield • daughter, sister • childhood illness left her crippled, one leg slightly shorter than the other, and held in a brace • lives in a world of illusions

  14. Characters Continued • Tom Wingfield • son, brother • narrator of the play • poet that works in a warehouse • desire to escape his reality

  15. Characters continued • Jim O’Connor (the gentleman caller) • a nice, ordinary, young man • coworker of Tom • went to high school with Laura

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