The Glass Menagerie Research Paper

Impressions of The Glass Menagerie

Tennessee Willams' The Glass Menagerie is a classic play that was written in the mid-forties, shortly after the close of World War II. In a time when people were beginning to become more interested in material wealth, Williams focused on the human soul and condition. He showed that many people are trapped in a fantasy world, and some find it so attractive that they cannot deal with reality.

The Glass Menagerie is a story of a family of three: a mother and two grown children, who live in a St. Louis apartment (xvii). The daughter, Laura, is slightly crippled, very shy, and spends most of her time cleaning her collection of small glass figures. The mother, Amanda, constantly reminisces about her life in the south, where she was called upon by many young men and enjoyed an active social life. She eventually married a man who deserted her to travel the world. She is worried that her daughter will never be married, and that she will not be able to take care of herself. Tom, the son, is described as a poet working in a warehouse (xviii), who wants to get away from his family and start a new life. The play is about the efforts of Amanda to get a "gentleman caller" (Williams 10) for Laura. Amanda tries to get Tom to bring one home from work, and when he does, it turns out to be someone Laura knew in high school. Eventually, Laura gets over her shyness, and becomes romantically interested in the gentleman caller, Jim. However, her hopes of a relationship with Jim are crushed when she finds that he is engaged to be married. Soon after, Tom signs on with the merchant marines, and leaves his family behind, much like his father.

The Glass Menagerie was an interesting play, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Tennessee Williams had the ability to craft a story that lays somewhat beneath the writing itself. This was especially prevalent in the Glass Menagerie. At some points, however, this lack of obvious story line made the play hard to follow. For example, there were many things that went on in the family that were not obviously stated. Also, Tom never really speaks of his job, but it is obviously a major point of his life. The whole play has a surrealistic effect, which is what Williams was going for, I think. This surrealism made the play difficult to follow at times, because the setting could suddenly jump forward a few hours, days, or even months without warning. I say all of this without having actually seen the play. Had I actually seen it, I may have been able to better understand the script. The format of the book is really inconvenient. Reading each person's line individually is very confusing, and the story doesn't flow well in this manner. Perhaps as a novel, it would be more understandable.

As I said before, Willams does a great job of telling a story without actually coming right out and saying what he means. Most of the play, especially the past, is implied or only mentioned in passing. Although it has its downfalls, it works well since the play itself only occupies a relatively small part of the character's lives. The use of Tom as a narrator is also brilliant. Since he speaks directly to the audience, he allows them to be drawn into the character's lives because they feel like they have had contact with one of the characters. Also, when the author needs to say something, he can do so using Tom. Overall, I enjoyed the creativity of The Glass Menagerie.

I am an avid reader, and I would recommend The Glass Menagerie to anyone looking for an interesting story told by a capable author. One caveat: You may find yourself re-reading some passages just to understand the story. The extra effort is, in my opinion, well worth it.