As I began the first six scenes of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, I was reminded by his vivid use of symbols and everyday occurrences that his audience can definitely relate to, but definitely find something to learn from and take as a life lesson away from this reading. I have read this production before in the fall of 2006 and truly loved it and the rich nature of the literature.
Starting with just the title, there can be inference made by how the the story will begin. A menagerie by definition is, "a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition." The part of this definition that is of grave value is "captivity." I feel like all three of the main characters, Amanda, Laura, and Tom, all feel in some way held back from their true dreams. Amanda is held in captivity by her past and all the dreams she had for her future that were unfulfilled. Laura is held back by her false world of her class ornaments and victrola. She refuses to stay in reality, and the one time she tried to live in reality was by going to school which proved to be too much for her and she vomited in front of the class. Finally, Tom feels simply restless. In fact Amanda says to him, "But why--why? Tom--you are always so restless." (page 33). Tom is thirsting for adventure but is held back by the reality that he must provide for his mother and sister because his father left many years ago.
This family is a classic case of a strained relationship and broken home. Amanda is controlling. She has to control everything from what everybody wears, to when the eat, and how they eat it. Amanda says to Tom, "Honey, don't push with your fingers. If you have to push it with something, the thing to push with is a crust of bread. And chew--chew!..."(page 6). She is so discontent with the life she now lives that she must constantly bring up her past and how popular she was, "There was young Champ Laughlin who later became vice-president of the Delta Planters Bank. Hadley Stevenson who was drowned in Moon Lake and left his widow one hundred and fifty thousand in Government bonds..." (page 9). She can't seem to understand how her life turned out the way it has in my opinion. One of her flaws is that she fail to recognize reality, which I guess is exactly what Tom meant in the beginning of the play when he said they were somehow "set apart from reality." She does not recognize that Laura is crippled, doesn't even let other people say she is, and doesn't realize that Laura is a little bit odd.
All three of these characters go about conflict in different ways, yet almost the same. Laura is a recluse and simply goes and shines her collection of glass animals while dreaming of a different day. Tom drinks away his sorrows or goes to the movies where there too is a false reality. The movies are a getaway, a place where he can forget his job doesn't fulfill him and his life is in shambles. Amanda, she just returns to her past and the hope that was in abundance then. So far, these family members don't face their problems head on and that is going to be their downfall.
There seem to be many symbolic figures in the story. Starting off with the glass menagerie. For Laura, I believe this represents hope and something constant. She enjoys getting away and escaping by cleaning these glass figurines. The fire escape seems to signify something as well. I think it's the dangerous life their living and some kind of escape. Tom stands here in order to watch the swing dancers down the street at the club as well, so this too represents hope and longing. Also, music and the legend screen seem to play a pivotal role in the play. There are words that reflect the mood of a character or foreshadow and event and the music choice usually goes right along with the character's mood. The father's picture also is brought up a lot during these first six scenes. His picture is above the hearth (which ironically is a sign for family/home) and he is smiling down upon the family. I feel like this is quite an ironic place for him to be, smiling nonetheless. He was a traveling salesman who one day decided to never return to his family and left them destitute. But, for some reason he is still sitting there, reminding the characters of the past they cannot escape. Also, Guernica in Spain is mentioned a few times throughout...which maybe represents something terrible yet also adventurous and out of the norm. Tom brings up how at least Spain has Guernica. Now I think think is a little bit repulsive, but it was a revolution and I think he looks to this as adventure.
So finally I think I'm going to end my commentary with some quotes from the story I found quite good.
1. "Old maids are better off than wives of drunkards." p. 44
2. "You are the only young man that I know of who ignores the fact that the future becomes the present, the present the past, and the past turns into everlasting regret if you don't plan for it!" p. 45
3. "All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be." p. 52
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