The Glass
Menagerie
By: Joe M., Emanuel M.,
Adrian M., Graham O.
Choices of the Author
Hubris
Symbolism
Character Foil
Hubris
Hubris: A great or foolish amount of pride or confidence
Amanda Wingfield
Euphoria for the past
17 Gentleman Callers
Scene I
Unrealistic Expectations for Children
Symbolism
Glass
Symbol for Laura: brittle, fragile representing sensitivity
Amanda and Tom arguments always end with glass breaking
Scene 3: Tom hits shelf of glass with overcoat
“Laura cries out as if wounded” (24)
Scene 7: Tom smashes his glass on the floor
“Laura screams in fright” (96)
Character Foil
Foil: A foil is another character in a story who contrasts with the main
character, usually to highlight one of their attributes
Jim to Tom
That really good friend that does everything better and your parents are like why you can’t be
like them.
Tom: Lacks ambition and goes to movies
Jim: Big dreams and public speaking classes
Literary Lenses
Marxist
Psychoanalytic
New Historicism
Marxist
The Wingfields, members middle class, function under the brutal economic laws of capitalist society
during the Great Depression of the 1930's.
Tom Wingfield is “a poet in a warehouse”
I go to the movies because I like adventure. Adventure is something I don't have much
at work, so I go to the movies. (Williams, 39).
The temper of work in the warehouse does not satisfy Tom’s poetic ambitions
This foreshadows Tom’s to escape from his life of hard labor and to enroll in The Union of
Merchant Seamen
Marxist (Contd.)
Theme 1: Alienation within the workforce
ambitions do not lie in the warehouse
Theme 2: Limitations of Capitalism
Inequality, visible in Tom’s dependency on unfulfilling manual labor
Psychoanalytic
Motif: Escape and Imprisonment
Tom Wingfield
“Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a
stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you
truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” (Scene 1)
The Fire escape
Laura
The Glass Menagerie
Psychoanalytic (Contd.)
Theme 1: Escape is only a dream that cannot be obtained.
Fake realities
Laura ---> Glass Menagerie
Tom ---> Fire Escape and Movie Theaters
Theme 2: Because of financial instability the family is imprisoned to each
other.
Tom’s income
New Historicism
Great Depression
Drafted men into military for WWII
Increased number of women in the workforce
Laura sent to secretarial college to learn skills for finding employment
Amanda worked to support her family
Amanda decides to find Laura a husband to support her instead of continue finding
employment
New Historicism (Contd.)
Cinema
Entertainment as a form of escapism in the 1930s
Tom going to the movies to escape his own life at home
Certain industries (oil, gas, cigarettes, and movie tickets) began to make a profit
“The Golden Age of Hollywood” - silent period ended
Travel
Methods of travel expanded during the 1930s
New Historicism (Contd.)
Theme 1: Age difference results in contrasting working expectations due to
financial needs.
Amanda’s desire to find Laura a gentleman caller
Theme 2: Movies and other forms of entertainment give people a false sense
of reality or something to strive for.
Tom going to the movies and wanting to travel
Videos for Discussion: Motherly Love
Video for Discussion: That Awkward Moment...When the
Unicorn Needs a New Change of Scenery
Discussion Questions
In what ways does music play a role in the development of the play?
Does the play follow specifically as Tennessee Williams wanted?
Themes/Motifs?
Movie compared to the book?
Other inquiries?
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND
ATTENTION!!!