Comparing the Life of Tennessee Williams and Glass Menagerie

Parallels in the Life of Tennessee Williams and The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams is one the major writers of the mid-twentieth century. His work includes the plays, The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire. One theme of The Glass Menagerie is that hopeful aspirations are followed by inevitable disappointments. This theme is common throughout all of Williams work and throughout his own life as well. It is shown through the use of symbols and characters. I have only one major theme for my work, which is the destructive impact of society on the sensitive non-conformist individual (Williams Netscape). Symbols help to show the dreams and desires that the characters long for and also the restrictions that†¦show more content†¦Irony is a device that protects him (the artist) from the pain of his experience so that he may use it objectively in his art(Susquehanna. New Critical). In The Glass Menagerie, it is ironic how Tom speaks badly of his father and his leaving home but in the end he leaves home just like his father, the man in love with long distances (Williams 30). The fact that Amanda wants what is best for her children is ironic because she worries so much over it that she doesnt realize what is best for them. The characters that come alive in Williams works represent people from his life. Amanda Wingfield from The Glass Menagerie holds strong resemblance to Tennessees mother Edwina Williams. Williams described his mother as a woman whose endurance and once fine qualities continued to flourished alongside a narrowness of perception and only the dimmest awareness of human feeling (Susquehanna. Biographical Criticism). Amanda easily mirrors this description of Edwina because of her selfishness concerning Lauras being unattached; Edwina was much like Amanda, getting numerous gentlemen callers as a young woman. Laura Windfield in The Glass Menagerie is very much like Williams sister Rose Williams. Rose was institutionalized for having schizophrenia and was not able to interact with the outside world. Having pleurisy, Laura was also kept from being a part of the world she longed for. By using examples of people from his own life inShow MoreRelatedDeath Of A Salesman And The Glass Menagerie1452 Words   |  6 Pagesis an intriguing concept. Arthur Millers (1949) Death of a Salesman and Tennessee Williams (1945) The Glass Menagerie both implement these concepts in different ways. Death of a Salesman is told through a man who is imagining his memories, while at the same time, living his everyday life. The Glass Menagerie similarly is being told through the narrator, Tom Wingfields memories, but not while he is living his present life. The characters in both stories similarly reminisce of the past because ofRead More The Glass Menagerie: Existentialist Responsibilities Conveyed Through the Character Tom1655 Words   |  7 PagesThe story of a young Tennessee Williams is poetically portrayed through a 1945 Broadway Play, The Glass Menagerie. The main character, Tom Wingfield, lives in his family’s apartment with his mother, Amanda Wingfield, and sister, Laura Wingfield. Their father left the family, and he remains a silent character appearing as a portrait on the apartment wall. Throughout the seven scenes, the immaturity of each family member is revealed. In search of adventure, Tom has dreams of being a writer andRead More Comparing the Mothers in The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun770 Words   |  4 PagesComparing the Mothers in The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plays, The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun, deal with the love, honor, and respect of family. In The Glass Menagerie, Amanda, the caring but overbearing and over protective mother, wants to be taken care of, but in A Raisin in the Sun, Mama, as she is known, is the overseer of the family. The prospective of the plays identify that we have family members, like Amanda, as overprotective, or like Mama, as overseersRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams1540 Words   |  7 PagesIt is easy to read through â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† by Tennessee Williams and quickly dismiss it has a play of a nagging mother, disheartened son, and socially incapable, whimsical sister. The three seem completely caught up in their own narrow mindedness they are blind to the reality around them. While these may all be true, the characters exhibit far more complications than the surface analysis proves. In Tennessee Williams play, the characters are full of c omplexities and contradictions. One ofRead MoreTheme Of Illusion In The Glass Menagerie1293 Words   |  6 Pagesillusion† (Williams) with this expression, Tennessee Williams begins the â€Å"Best American Play† of 1945 (drama critics). Here, the narrator and protagonist of The Glass Menagerie presents the audience immediately with the notion that the play in which the audience is about to watch is actually truth disguised as illusion. As the audience later finds out, The Glass Menagerie is actually Tom’s memory of the events leading up to his departure from his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. As The Glass MenagerieRead MoreEssay on Relationships in Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie3790 Words   |  16 PagesRelationships in Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie Throughout the Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams concentrates a lot on family relationships. There are the Wingfields at the start of the play and they experience different interactionsRead MoreMany Elements of Tragedy in Streetcar Names Desire by Tennessee Williams2554 Words   |  11 Pagesthe production to the Warner Bros. The play was written by Tennessee Williams. Williams is considered the greatest Southern playwright and one of the greatest playwrights in the history of American Drama. Williams first play was ‘The Glass Menagerie† it was produced in 1945. Williams plays have been adapted to film starring screen greats like Marlon Brando who played Stanley and Elizabeth Taylor who appeared in the on screen play. William described his childhood as pleasant and happy. But when heRead MoreBusiness and Management2600 Words   |  11 Pages| | | | |Misery, Anton Chekhov (pp. 83-87) | | | | |â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† William Faulkner (pp. 236-251) | | | | |Boys and Girls, Alice Munro (pp. 772-781) | |