How Does Tennessee Williams Create Identity In The Glass Menagerie

Cloud 9 by phenomenal playwright Carol Churchill, 1979, is a dynamic play that confuses the gender and sexuality normal at the time. Featuring two acts, split apart by time, the play presents what happens when you disregard your identity to conform to society and what happens when you continue to push, and explore your identity. Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie, 1944, is somewhat autobiographical as he reimagines his family members as characters in the play. The play is a recount of the main characters experiences with his, dysfunctional family, and the struggle the characters make to fit in to the society painted by their mother. Although both plays are focused on the theme of identity, specifically the conflict between individuality

In Cloud 9 we see characters in the first act disregarding their identities to confirm and compromise with each other and ultimately society. The Glass Menagerie is almost completely different as Williams uses the relationships, especially with the mother, to establish and enforce the restrictions of society at the time. Churchill loosely employs Clive, in the first act, (the ‘head of the house figure, Edwards father) as the embodiment of social expectations at the time. This allowed her to create dialogue and contrast with the other characters, in turn portraying a situation where characters conform to society instead of expressing their identity. Harry is a homosexual who is ashamed of his sexuality and Ellen is a lesbian who is interested in Clive’s wife, the two end up engaged as they are both unmarried and in their society man and women marry each other. This is a key relationship in the play and, depending on the director can be portrayed with a lack of love or with a great deal or remorse. However, directed the marriage of two homosexual characters just to fit within the social expectations, creates an immense loss of identity. Similarly, William employs a character to represent the social expectations of the time. However, Amanda is much more starch in her approach to regulate these expectations. She insistently badgers her children to do things this her way. Again, William chooses to be upfront and portrays this as early as the first scene with Amanda telling Tom (the son) how to eat properly. Although her dialogue explores how she is doing this because she thinks it’s best for her children the harsh and dominating role she plays in the relationships between characters is arguably the strongest and most significant element of Society overpowering one’s individual identity in this play. Both playwrights create powerful