Transcript Glass Menagerie

Glass Menagerie
By
Tennessee Williams
About the Author
 Born Thomas Williams in Mississippi
 Nickname given to him in college
because of his Southern roots
 Average student and social outcast,
Williams turned to writing for comfort
Plot Overview
 Memory play- action is drawn from
memories of the narrator (Tom Wingfield)
Characters
 Tom Wingfield- (narrator), aspiring poet, works
at a shoe store
 Doesn’t like his job and escapes through alcohol,
literature, and movies
 Amanda Wingfield- Tom and Laura’s mother,
clings to memories of her Southern past
 Laura Wingfield- Tom’s sister, has a bad leg,
wears a brace, and walks with a limp, collects
glass figurines
More Characters
 Mr. Wingfield- Tom’s father, worked for a
telephone company, abandoned the
family years ago and never appears on
stage- only a picture in the living room
remains
 Jim O’Connor- friend of Tom and Laura,
works with Tom at shoe store, devoted to
personal success and achievement
Themes
 Difficulty of accepting reality
 Impossibility of true escape
 Power of Memory
Symbols
 Laura’s Glass Menagerie (collection):
represents Laura’s personality- fragile, oldfashioned, delicate
 Glass Unicorn: Laura’s favorite piece,
represents her strangeness (unicorns are not
real)
 Blue roses: Jim’s nickname for Laura,
represents Laura’s strangeness, yet allure
 Fire escape: escape from the frustrations and
dysfunctions of family