“At the age of fourteen, I discovered writing as an escape from a world of reality in which I felt acutely uncomfortable. It immediatly became my place of retreat, my cave, my refuge.“1
This quotation by Tennessee Williams mirrors his inability to cope with the challenges and strokes of fate of his real life. For example, he felt responsible for the lobotomie of his sister Rose although he had no knowledge about this operation. Furthermore, he could not cope with his social environment, especially with his father`s incapability to handle his introvert son.
With his first success, the play “The Glass Menagerie“ (1944), Williams holds up the mirror to the Broadway audience of the 1950`s who is not willing to face the reality of the postwar period or to digest it`s experiences with the Second World War. In the same way as this generation flies from their war recollections into a problem repressing fictious world and as Williams escapes from his personal reality through writing, the figures of the drama fly from an unsatisfying life into their dreamworlds.
The play deals with the Wingfield family (Amanda, Tom and Laura), who “share[s] a small apartment in a poor section of St. Louis.“2 The family members have, through the visit of a gentlemen caller for Laura (Jim), the chance to realize their dreams. But “the friend Tom brings home to meet Laura [...], although he happens to be the boy she secretly admired in high school, turns out, unfortunately, to be already engaged.“3
Tennessee Williams`s breakthrough “The Glass Menagerie“ is respected to be one of his best plays, with Broadway performances exceeded only by “A Streetcar named Desire“
In this paper it is to point out the character presentation and character constellation in Tennessee Williams`s “The Glass Menagerie“. Firstly, I am going to analyse the character and then comment on his or her relationship to the other characters and so on. The first character to analyse is Amanda, then follow Tom, Jim, and last but not least, Laura.
At a glance
- Grade: 1.3 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Examines Tom’s dual role as narrator and participant in the memory play
- Examines Christian imagery surrounding Jim’s visit to the Wingfield family
- 11 sources in the bibliography
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Mainpart
2.1 Amanda
2.1.1 Amanda´s Relationship to her absent Husband
2.1.2 Amanda`s Relationship to Laura
2.1.3 The Relationship between Amanda and Tom
2.2 Tom
2.2.1 Tom`s Relationship to his Father
2.2.2 Tom`s Relationship to Laura
2.2.3 Tom`s Relationship to Jim
2.3 Jim
2.3.1 The Relationship between Amanda and Jim
2.4 Laura
2.4.1 Laura`s Relationship to Amanda
2.4.2 The Relationship between Laura and Jim
3. Conclusion
Aim and Topics
This paper examines character presentation and relationships in Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie. It asks how Amanda, Tom, Jim and Laura are portrayed and how their relationships shape the play’s conflicts.
- Characterization of the four principal characters
- Family obligations and the desire for escape
- Memory, dreams and reality
- Tom’s role as narrator and participant
- Laura’s isolation and the significance of her glass collection
- Jim’s visit and its meaning for the Wingfield family
Excerpt from the Book
2.2.3 Tom`s Relationship to Jim
Tom knew Jim slightly from high school.Only just at the warehouse where they work together they get closer acquainted. “He was the only one at the warehouse with whom I was on friendly terms. I was valuable to him as someone who could remember his former glory, who had seen him win the basketball games and the silver cup in debating.“ [74,8-12], Tom says in the sixth scene. That means that Jim needs his acquaintance only for regarding himself as superior to the other workers and for escaping his reality as clerk who earns not more than eighty-five dollars a month. Through Jim`s “humerous attitude towards Tom“ [74,17], he calls him Shakespeare because of Tom`s writing poetry in a “cabinet of the washroom“ [74,13], the other worker`s hostility against Tom wears off and they accept him as a somewhat strange person. The two men do not kwow each other privatly. So Jim, for instance, knows nothing about Tom`s family [75,5-6] and Tom does not know that his acquaintance is already engaged - until this Friday evening when Jim is guest at the Wingfield`s apartment. But this evening on the terrace they allow each other to look at their dreams and plans. So Jim tells Tom that he takes courses “in public speaking“ because he, as well as Tom, is “not the warehouse type“ [84,17-20] and it “fits him“ for “executive positions.“ [84,23]. Tom, on the other hand, takes Jim into his confidence concerning his plan to leave St. Louis and to become a merchant sailor [87,8;87,25-27]. Jim thinks more realistically about his future and therefore tries to convince Tom that he will make a mistake [87,28;88,6-7], if he realizes his dreams. But before he can reach his aim, Amanda interrupts their conversation [88,8-12].
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: The introduction presents the play, its family setting and the paper’s aim of examining characterization and relationships. It also outlines the order in which the characters will be discussed.
2. Mainpart: The main chapter analyzes Amanda, Tom, Jim and Laura individually and in relation to one another. It considers family pressures, escape, memory, isolation and the significance of Jim’s visit.
3. Conclusion: The conclusion returns to the paper’s aim and closes with a critical quotation on the play’s characterization, setting and dramatic techniques.
Keywords
Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie, characterization, character relationships, Amanda Wingfield, Tom Wingfield, Laura Wingfield, Jim O’Connor, memory play, family conflict, escape, illusion and reality, symbolism
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the paper about?
It analyzes character presentation and relationships in Tennessee Williams’s play The Glass Menagerie.
What are its central themes?
The paper considers family obligation, escape, memory, isolation, dreams and the tension between illusion and reality.
What is the paper’s primary aim?
Its aim is to show how the play’s principal characters are portrayed and how they relate to one another.
What research method does the author use?
The author uses literary character analysis, interpreting passages from the play alongside published critical commentary.
What does the main chapter cover?
It examines Amanda, Tom, Jim and Laura in turn, including their relationships with other characters.
Which keywords characterize the paper?
Key terms include characterization, family conflict, memory play, escape, isolation and symbolism.
How does the paper approach Tom’s role in the play?
It discusses Tom as both a character in the action and the narrator through whose memories the story is presented.
What is the significance of Laura’s glass collection in the analysis?
The paper examines the collection, especially the unicorn, in relation to Laura’s fragility, isolation and encounter with Jim.
How is Jim’s visit examined?
The author considers what the visit means to Amanda and Laura and discusses the Christian imagery associated with the gentleman caller.
- Citar trabajo
- Maria Fernkorn (Autor), 1999, Character constellation and characterization in Tennessee Williams "The Glass Menagerie", Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/76501
