The Glass Menagerie Critique - Essay Example

The Glass Menagerie by Thomas Lanier Williams - 1936 This essay will examine 'The Glass Menagerie' by Tennessee Williams (1936), by first summarizing the play, then analyzing the characters and themes, incorporating symbols and literary elements. In particular, the character studies will show how the messages and voice of the playwright emerge, in this powerful portrayal of loss of the American Dream, showing both personal and universal reflection on the human condition. Summary of the Play: Set in St. Louis in the mid-1930s, 'Glass Menagerie' is described as a 'memory' play, that is, the writer has created the work from memories of his life; it truly replicates Williams' own experiences. There is no doubt as to its autobiographical nature, as the three main characters, Tom, Amanda and Laura Wingfield represent himself, his mother Edwina, and his sister Rose, and some of the events in their lives, using Tom Wingfield as narrator. Jim O'Connor, the gentleman caller, bears the same name as the young man who called on Rose Williams, before her descent into insanity. The action takes place in a small apartment in a poor district of the city, crowded outside and in, surrounded by many dark alleys and fire escapes, exploring the illusory lives of the three main characters as they attempt to achieve their dreams, only for it all to end in failure and disappointment. It has been interpreted variously as a psychological drama portraying a dysfunctional family, the tragedy of a fragile psyche (Laura) edging into madness, and a socio-political statement, "his personal testament to the Great Depression" (p.20, Hale, 1998). It is all of these as becomes apparent as the action moves from the past to the present as Tom's recollection are recalled and depicted. In setting Scene 1, Williams suggests his social perceptions thus: '...one of those vast hive-like conglomerations of cellular living-units that flower as warty growths in overcrowded urban centers of lower-middle-class population and are symptomatic of the impulse of this largest and fundamentally enslaved section of American society to avoid fluidity and differentiation and to exist and function as one interfused mass of automatism.' (Williams, 1936, p. 233) Character Analysis - Tom Wingfield: Tom is a poet, working in a boring low paid job in a shoe factory, the main economic support for his mother and sister. Despite his position as the main provider, an adult male, he is denied that status, simply by how his mother perceives things should be, rather than what they are, and by her demands on him to be that provider until another appears (a husband for Laura). He is complex, shy and intelligent, his creativity dismissed and ridiculed by his mother. He seeks escape through the illusions of the movies, but recognizes the reality of the times in which he seeks his dreams: Tom: "Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America, while everybody in America sits in a darkened room and watches them have them! Yes, until there's a war. That's when adventure becomes available to the masses!....Then the people in the dark room come out of the dark room to have some adventure themselves-...." (Williams, 1936, Scene Six, p. 282) Some connection to socialist values appear when Tom paid his dues to the Union of Merchant Seamen, rather than the electric bill - thus highlighting a belief in the unions and socialism, as opposed to capitalism. His relationship with his mother is volatile, as she is the nagging presence preventing his escape and fulfillment. He loves his shy, fragile sister and the most telling example Williams's lyrical language and symbolism which elicit poignant imagery and the emotion of guilt can be found as he reflects on his escape. Tom: " I didn't go to the moon, I went much further - for time is the longest distance between two places...Perhaps I am walking along a street at night, in some strange city, before I have found companions, I pass the lighted window of a shop where perfume is sold. The window is filled with pieces of colored glass, tiny transparent bottles in delicate colors, like bits of shattered rainbow. Then all at once, my sister touches my shoulder, I turn around and look into her eyes....." (Williams, 1936, Scene 7, p. 313) Williams himself explained his depth of feelings in the following statement, almost summing up the character of Tom. 'I have exposed a good many human weaknesses and brutalities and consequently I have them....Guilt is universal. I mean a strong sense of guilt. If there exists any area in which a man can rise above his moral condition, imposed upon him at birth, and long before birth, by the nature of his breed, then I think it is only a willingness to know it, to face its existence in him, and I think that, at least below the conscious level, we all face it. Hence guilty feelings, and hence defiant aggressions, and hence the deep dark of despair that haunts our dreams,..." (Williams, 1959, New York Times, Foreword to plays ) Character Analysis- Amanda Wingfield: She is a brave but dominant woman, trapped by her illusions of her youth as a Southern Belle. On her own for 16 years, she provided for her children, she wants her daughter to be equipped with the skills for self support, and her son to make money and progress in a career. Yet she thinks that a woman needs a man to have a fulfilling life; continually talking about her '17 gentlemen callers', which disturbs Laura, who has none. Amanda's behavior moves from girlish, charming femininity to the masterful, almost male head of the family. She is especially charming with Jim O'Connor, Amanda: "Good for something! [her tone is rhapsodic] You Why, Mr. O'Connor, nobody, nobody's given me this much entertainment in years - as you have!" (Williams, 1936, Scene 7 p.290) Her interactions with Tom show her to be both domineering yet needy, finally driving him away when the dream of a husband for Laura is dispersed. Amanda: "What's the matter with you, you - big - big IDIOT!" Tom: "Look! - I've to no thing, no single thing - Amanda: "Lower your voice!" Tom: "Yesterday you confiscated my books! You had the nerve to -.." (Williams, 1936, Scene 3, p. 250) and again, in their final argument in Scene 7: Amanda: "Just go, go, go - to the movies!" Tom: "All right, I will! The more you shout about my selfishness to me the quicker I'll go, and I won't go to the movies!" Amanda: "Go, then! Then go to the moon - you selfish dreamer!" (Williams, 1936, Scene 7, p. 312) And he leaves. In her dissertation on gender portrayal in American plays, B. B. Copenhaver states that: ' Amanda becomes focused on finding a husband for Laura so as to secure not only Laura's future, but her own as well.' (Copenhaver, 2002, p. 127) She also makes the valid point that Amanda's planning and plotting to achieve this demonstrate the "male characteristics of logic and planning." (Copenhaver, 2002, p. 126) The brilliant 'Crust of Humility' speech when she has failed to make Laura self sufficient, equipped with skills to support herself till a husband appears, sum up Amanda's character, fears and beliefs thus: Amanda: "...What is there left but dependency all our lives I know so well what becomes of unmarried women who aren't prepared to occupy a position. I've seen such pitiful cases in the South - barely tolerated spinsters living upon the grudging patronage of sister's husband or brother's wife!...little birdlike women without any nest - eating the crust of humility all their life." (Williams, 1936, Scene 2, p. 245) Character Analysis - Laura Wingfield: Laura has none of the strength and drive of her mother. She is happy in caring for her glass animals and playing old records on the victrola; they are her security. Laura's character is more suited to that quiet, spinsterish role which Amanda fears her daughter would adopt. Laura seems to have little illusions, (though later events prove otherwise) when she utters the dreaded words: Laura: " I'm crippled,' (Williams, 1936, Scene 2, p. 246) in response to her mother's pronouncement that if she cannot have a business career, then she must marry some 'nice man.' Laura has little opportunity to communicate real feelings and desires to her mother, and when upset, turns for comfort to her glass animals or old records. In fact, most of the dialog in the play is between Tom and Amanda, and it is only when Jim O'Connor spends a little time alone with her, that she blooms momentarily and we get a glimpse of the fragile, sensitive nature of Laura. Though seeming subservient to him, she relaxes enough to actually tell him about her menagerie. In dancing with Jim, receiving a kiss, her dreams may stand a chance for realization. Nevertheless, there is a poignant pathos in their exchanges regarding the little unicorn, soon to become broken. Does it signify Laura as an unusual anachronism, like the unicorn, when whole, and Jim, one of the herd when it loses its horn Laura: "I shouldn't be partial, but he is my favorite one." Jim: "What kind of a thing is this one supposed to be" Laura: "Haven't you noticed the single horn on his forehead" Jim: "A unicorn, huh" Laura: "Mmmm - humm!" Jim: "Unicorns, aren't they extinct in the modern world" Laura: "I know!" (Williams, 1936, Scene 7, p. 301) Williams has told us what Laura thinks of herself, the differences between her and other people, her distance from the reality of life and the futility of trying to change her. The unicorn symbolizes Laura's essence, while all the animals in reflecting light and rainbows of color, stand for the illusions of dreams. Loss of her illusions are the symbol of inevitable tragedy; she is driven further from reality, into her lonely self, after her hopes are raised by a dance and a kiss, and dashed by Jim's admission to his engagement to Betty. Character Analysis - Jim O'Connor: He is a nice enough young man, full of ambition and his own abilities, he is kind and thoughtful to Laura, and somewhat embarrassed by Amanda's flirtatious attention. He is also honest; he has to tell of his engagement. While he has worked hard to improve himself, Williams' suggestion here is that he too is deprived of achieving the American Dream and his adventures will soon be happening as the world goes to war, people like Jim are expendable. He symbolizes the American Dream unfulfilled. Themes: The main themes are illusion, escape, failure, loss and disappointment. For the playwright, guilt too is a major theme, in retrospect. All the characters are living under the illusion that good things can happen to them, they use this to help them deal with the harsh reality of their lives. In particular, Tom wants to escape, he uses the movies for this,and indeed his poetry. Amanda's illusion is the belief that Laura can have a business career, that Jim will be the husband she wants for her daughter. He will also be the means by which she can escape poverty and hard reality. Laura loses herself in the music and beauty of her glass menagerie, they are an illusory compensation for her disability and loneliness. They also symbolize security, they cannot perceive her weaknesses nor hurt her in any way. Jim's illusion is that he will achieve material success by hard work. As seen in the character studies, all these are doomed to loss and disappointment, nothing ends with the desired dream coming true, all are doomed to failure by the circumstances of society at the time and the place in it that these people hold. As Tom showed, the rainbow fractured, there was little point in searching for it. Conclusion: The Glass Menagerie not only portrayed the loss of the American Dream, at least for the people living and working in the conditions Williams experienced and depicted. It goes deeper in that it explored the impact of such circumstances on the very different individuals in the play, and would seem to reflect the wider issues of that society. Light and dark, dreams and harsh reality, all are poetically combined to provide an insight and understanding of the human condition, and the universal truth that everybody hurts. But such is its power, that we are left with the unforgettable emotions of loss and disillusionment, yet entranced by the skills and imagination of a great creative mind. As a play, Menagerie is a great piece of art, touching the onlooker physically, emotionally visually and psychologically. Works Cited Copenhaver, B. B., 2002. The Portrayal of Gender Roles in Selected American Modern and Post- modern Plays. 10 December 2006 http://etd-submit.etsu-edu/etd/theses/available/etd-0212102-095131/unrestricted/copenhaver Hale, A. 1998. Tom Williams, Proletarian Playwright. The Tennessee Williams Annual Review 1998. 11 December 2006. http://www.tennesseewilliamstudies.org/archives/contributors.htm Moschovakis, N., 2003. Taking the Personal Politically. Theater Review: A Review of, and Response to, Michael Wilson's ' 8 by Tenn' Hartford Stage 2003. 10 December 2006 http://www.tennesseewilliamstudies.org/archives/2003/8moschovakis.htm Stylistics of Drama: Week 3 (Section 1) n.d. Section 1 Activity: Stylistics within a range of other approaches. http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elltank/theatree/week3.htm. 10 December 2006 Williams, T, 1936. A Streetcar Named Desire and Other Plays, The Glass Menagerie, p.228 - 313 and Foreward - p. 9 - 13. Published by Penguin Classics, London, England, 2000. Read More