glass menagerie

A detailed Summary of glass menagerie


The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams reflects upon personal experiences he and

his family encountered during the Depression of the 1930's. As a lower class family, the

characters are placed in the slums of St. Louis in 1935. The protagonist, Tom Wingfield, is the

narrator . Living with his mother and sister, Tom supports them by working in a shoe

manufacturing warehouse. He should feel lucky to have this job; however, he despises his work

and dreams of leaving to become a Merchant Marine. Unhappy with what life has dealt him,

Tom strives for adventure and longs to turn his back on his responsibilities. His mother, Amanda

Wingfield, abandoned by her husband almost sixteen years ago, tries to keep her family together

through tough times. Although her love and hopes for her children are sincere, her overbearing

and outspoken nature often hurts them. Laura, Tom's sister, suffers from neuroses. She has

trouble separating fantasy from reality. Without the ability to function in the outside world,

Laura becomes a liability to both Tom and Amanda. The gentleman caller, Jim O'Connor, is a

friend of Tom's from the warehouse. He is an ambitious young man, who strives for the


smiling father, or the pictures and phrases lit from behind through silhouettes that are supposed

story Tom and Laura have heard countless times. The importance of having her daughter gain a

love for his fragile sister. Just as the picture of Mr. Wingfield, Malvolio's coffin trick represents

escape it. He is trapped as breadwinner for his mother and sister in a job that he detests. He tells

about her Southern charm. Amanda had seventeen gentlemen callers one Sunday afternoon, a

to represent things in the characters' minds. The stage is set very sparsely to suggest what is

was able to see right through Laura and recognize her glaring psychological problems. However,

Laura only made it to the first test. As the test began, she vomited on the floor and had to be



Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1920
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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