The Glass Menagerie a Memory Play - 1905 Words

The Glass Menagerie: Memory Play The Glass Menagerie is Tennessee Williams most autobiographical work. However, it is not a true autobiographical work in the sense that there is chronological order and true documented facts to his life. Instead the play is more along the line of an â€Å"emotional† autobiographical piece. At times individuals exhibit selective memory, this is a period whereby we choose to remember certain things the way we would like them to be rather than the way things actually happened. The Glass Menagerie is similar to the author’s life and his biographers often rely on it as a thematic source. The play centers around three family members – Laura, Tom and their mother Amanda. Missing from the family group is the†¦show more content†¦I was valuable to him as someone who could remember his former glory† (Williams 50). But Jim has become ambitious and has definite plans for the future. Jim’s future plans also include a fiancà © which no one, in cluding Tom is made aware of until he is almost ready to leave after his supper visit. This becomes yet another fault of Tom’s for not having informed Amanda that Jim was about to be married. Even though Tom did not know that Jim was already betrothed. We also learn that Laura had had a crush on Jim in high school and that Jim had even given her the name â€Å"Blue Roses†. This just escalates the tensions within the family unit and heightens the frustrations between Tom and Amanda. Earlier in the play during one of the angry confrontations between Tom and Amanda, Amanda yells at Tom, â€Å"Go, then! Go to the moon – you selfish dreamer!† (Williams 96). Near the end of the play their angers yet again converge and Tom leaves and informs us that, â€Å"I didn’t go to the moon, I went much further – for time is the longest distance between two places†¦ I left St. Louis, I descended the steps of the fire escape for a last time and f ollowed, from then on, in my father’s footsteps†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Williams 97). The play then ends with the enormous weight of guilt left upon Tom. There are numerous key themes in The Glass Menagerie. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams985 Words   |  4 Pages  ¨Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going. ¨ This quote by the author of The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams, describes both The Glass Menagerie, a memory play, and the life of Tennessee Williams himself, for whom memories played a large role in his life. Within the play, many parallels can be drawn between the life of Williams and the life of Tom, the main character, such as a disdain for factory work. In addition, several charactersRead MoreAnalysis Of The Play The Glass Menagerie 1281 Words   |  6 PagesDevin Simpson Professor Carusp The Glas Menagerie 4/29/15 Within the play The Glass Menagerie, Amanda, Laura, and Tom Wingfield all of have their own dreams that are continuously destroyed by the harshness of reality. Amanda, stuck in the ease of her youth, tries to relive her life through her daughter Laura. Being crippled both physically and mentally, Laura struggles to escape the bubble she has created around herself that her mother Amanda so strongly tries to force her out of. Tom whom, althoughRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams1547 Words   |  7 PagesThe Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, is a play narrated by Tom Wingfield, one of the three main characters in the play. The story is based on Tom’s memories of his past life while living with his mother Amanda and sister, Laura, during 1937 in St. Louis. These memories are skewed because of his inability to escape from his feelings of entrapment and the abandonment from his sister. The title suggest that the characters are a hodgepodge of fragile, sensit ive, opposite people striving toRead More Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie Essay936 Words   |  4 PagesTennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie If The Glass Menagerie were performed without the effects Williams wrote into the script, then the play would barely have a plot. Williams use of music, lighting and a television screen add depth and meaning to the play. He uses effects to portray the feelings of the characters, rather than their words or actions. In Toms opening speech he states thatThe play is memory. Because it is about his memories of his mother and her memories. They both spend Read MoreSymbolism In The Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams822 Words   |  4 Pages A play based on the power of memory, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a story told from Tom Wingfield’s point of view and depicts Laura’s imaginary world, a place where she can retreat and escape the reality of the present, and live in a â€Å"perfect† world. Laura’s memories from the past shape her personality, such as the name, â€Å"Blue Roses,† which illustrates her fragile nature, much like the fragility of the glass menagerie. In order to symbolize Laura Wingfield’s fragile behavior dueRead MoreEssay about Card Report- The Glass Menagerie1270 Words   |  6 PagesCard Report: â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† Conflict The major conflict in â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† is the feeling of hopelessness that each of the Wingfield’s struggles with. Amanda’s hopelessness comes from the feeling that she isn’t as important as she once was, as though her fame/glory is slowly fading away. It is this fear that causes her to push Laura to become more socially accepted and popular with others. Laura is extremely afraid of seeing Jim O’Connor, and beneath that we can see her insecuritiesRead More Essay on Tom in The Glass Menagerie580 Words   |  3 PagesThe Character of Tom in The Glass Menagerie    Tom Wingfield has a dual role in The Glass Menagerie. The first Tom is the narrator, who introduces his second self, the character. In his fifth soliloquy, Tom the narrator indicates that time has detached him from the drama, for time is the longest distance between two places (Williams 1568). In the closing soliloquy Tom recounts how he lives and re-lives the story in his memory, though he is detached from the participants in the original affairRead More Essay on the Symbolism of the Menagerie in The Glass Menagerie1002 Words   |  5 PagesThe Symbolism of the Menagerie in The Glass Menagerie      Ã‚   Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie, describes three separate characters, their dreams, and the harsh realities they face in a modern world.   The Glass Menagerie exposes the lost dreams of a southern family and their desperate struggle to escape reality. Williams use of symbols adds depth to the play. The glass menagerie itself is a symbol Williams uses to represent the broken lives of Amanda, Laura and Tom Wingfield andRead MoreFragile as Glass in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams1148 Words   |  5 Pages In Tennessee Williams‘ play The Glass Menagerie, the audience believes that the menagerie simply refers to a glass collection owned by Laura Wingfield. Laura lives with her brother Tom and her mother Amanda. Due to her mother‘s desire for her to marry, Jim‘s introduction to the play is one as a gentleman caller. When Laura describes her glass animals to Jim, she uses her mother‘s term ―glass menagerieâ€â€" (Williams 414) for them. All of the figures are glass, but the animals in it varyRead MoreLiterary Analysis of The Glass Menagerie by Tenessee Williams1462 Words   |  6 PagesThe Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams had ordinary people in an ordinary life that closely resembled the influences of Williams’ personal life while having reoccurring themes and motifs throughout the story. The play has been done by many with some variations in the scripts and setting while still clinging to the basic ideas of the original play. Amanda Wingfield was a complex character that encompassed many facets of her personality. She longed to have the life she had as a girl and young

Antigone (833 words) Essay Example For Students

Antigone (833 words) Essay AntigoneAnd KreonIn Antigone, both Antigone and Kreon could be considered the tragic heroof the play. A tragic hero, defined by A Dictionary of Literary, Dramatic andCinematic Terms, is someone who suffers due to a tragic flaw, or hamartia. ThisGreek word is variously translated as tragic flaw or error orweakness. Kreons hamartia, like in many plays, is hybris ? Greek foroverweening pride, arrogance, or excessive confidence. Kreons hybris causeshim to attempt to violate the laws of order or human rights, another main partof a tragic hero. Also, like all tragic heroes, Kreon suffers because of hishamartia and then realizes his flaw. The belief that Antigone is the hero is astrong one, but there is a stronger belief that Kreon, the Ruler of Thebes, isthe true protagonist. Kreons main and foremost hamartia was his hybris, orhis extreme pride. Kreon was a new king, and he would never let anyone prove himwrong or let anyone change his mind once it was made. One main event that showedKreon s hamartia and also caused the catastrophe was when he asked his sonHaimon, who was engaged to marry Antigone, if he still loves his father. Haimonsays he respects Kreons ruling, but he feels, in this case, that Kreon waswrong. Haimon asks his father to take his advice and not have Antigone executed,but, because of Kreons hybris, Kreon gets furious and makes the situationworse then it already was. He was way too proud to take advice from someoneyounger, and in his anger he decided to kill Antigone right away in front ofHaimons eyes. Just understand: You dont insult me and go offlaughing. Bring her here! Let him see her. Kill her here, beside herbridegroom' (Sophocles 919-921). This was too much for Haimon to take, andhe runs out of the room, yelling, her death will destroy others' (Sophocles908). Blinded by his pride and arrogance, Kreon takes that remark as a threat tohimself, unknowing that it wasnt directed to himself, but was a suicidethreat by his own son. Another example of Kr eons tragic pride is when theprophet, Teiresias, travels all the way to Thebes to tell Kreon very importantnews, but Kreon pride makes him ignore it and he accuses Teiresias of beingbribed. Teiresias tells Kreon that the gods are angered by Kreons disregardfor their laws, and that Kreon should release Antigone and bury Polyneices. After Teiresias tells Kreon that he, the King of Thebes, has made a wrongdecision, Kreons tragic pride is shown again. Teiresias: ?Doesnt anyoneknow, wont anyone consider.. Kreon: ?Consider what? What universaltruths are you going to proclaim? Teiresias: ?how much more valuablethan money good advice is? Kreon: ?Or how much worse losing your judgementis? (Sophocles 1210-1214) Teiresias, a blind prophet from Delphi whom hasnever been proven wrong, tells Kreon, All mankind is subject to error. Once a mistake is made it is wise of him to make amends and not be unbending. Stubbornness is stupidity' (Sophocles 1180-1184), but Kreon remainsstubborn. Teiresias: ?And tyrants love to have their own way regardless ofright and wrong. Kreon: ?Do you know who youre talking to? Were yourrulers' (Sophocles 1225-1228). Like all tragic heroes, Kreon must sufferbecause of his hamartia. After his anagnorisis, Greek for recognition, herealizes that he was filled with too much pride and that the prophetsprediction must be true. Kreon attempts to set things right, but unfortunately,does not in time. In a very ironic peripereia, Greek for reversal, his soncommits suicide, as does his wife. This is all because of Kreons tragic flaw:Pride. Kreon realizes this, and suffers, like all tragic heroes. Suffering isone of the main parts a tragic hero: realizing his or her tragic flaw whenits too late and suffering because of it. Kreons realization of his flawis very obviously shown when he says I was wrong, not you' (Sophocles1464), and I have learned, I am ruined. It was a god. Then, right then!Hit me, held me, heaped heavy on my head' (Sophocles 1468-1469). Hissuffering is also obviously shown. Has someone a sword? I and grief areblended. I am grief' (Sophocles 1502), Hurry, take me out of the way,Im nobody. Im nothing' (Sophocles 1510-1511). Kreon is tragic herobecause his actions follow the typical tragic hero outline. He had ahamartia, a tragic flaw, which was his pride and stubbornness, or hybris. Herealized his hamartia, but unfortunately just too late, and suffered because ofit. Now, Suffering is his teacher. He has learned the hard way, but likeall tragic heroes, he has learned. Kreons character followed the basicoutline of a tragic hero. Critics to this day still argue about who is thetragic hero of Antigone, Antigone herself, or Kreon. From what I have found,Kreon seems like the perfect Tragic Hero because he fits all therequirements of a tragic hero. Antigone, on the other hand, does not. She doesnot realize her hamartia, and while Kreon must l ive with what he has done,Antigone is dead. Death, which ceases her suffering, letting her rest forinfinity.