Glass Menagerie and LDJN Comparison

Similarities: Autobiographical, Themes, Characters

The similarities between the two plays is that they are both to a large extent autobiographical and discuss familial strife, emphasizing dysfunctional family relationships. There are parallels between Mary and Laura because in plays the main conflict revolves around Mary's addiction and Laura's inability to overcome her shyness and anxiety respectively. Both families also often bring up the past and encounter communication barriers. A common theme between both plays is also the idea of escape and a disjunction between reality and fantasy. This theme of fantasy or a lack of reality can also be interpreted through ghost motifs because they are haunted by the past and unfulfilled dreams.


Differences: Memory Play vs Cyclical Plot, Family relationship, Use of lighting

What makes GM different from LDJN is that GM is a memory play and it often distorts events in the play by over-emphasizing certain parts through lighting, details, and adding sentimentality with the use of music. Tom is the self-aware narrator who explicitly directs the audience through the components of the play and states that the play is "truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion". On the other hand, LDJN has a cyclical plot where the past is brought up and as the play progresses into the night, the characters delve further into the past which shows how disconnected they are from reality. The progression of the play into the night also reifies the Tyrone family's "descent into darkness", thus the presence or the lack of sunlight shows a cyclical nature of bright hope turning into darkness and despair. Lighting in LDJN is also manipulated through turning off and switching on the chandelier lights. When the lights are turned on, there is usually more clarity and the Tyrones are able to better communicate with each other. In GM, lighting is mostly focused on Laura, giving her a saintly and non-human presence. The lighting also focuses on Laura because she can be seen as the emotional force in the play because her presence is the center of the Wingfield family.

Scene 7 Response

The ending of the play was different from what I expected. I didn't expect the play to end abruptly with Tom going down the fire escape for the last time,  demonstrating Tom inevitably following his father's footsteps and Amanda's fear coming true. I was expecting Laura to shatter into pieces in ultimate despair after Jim tells her he's engaged, but they ended on somewhat good terms. I was expecting a greater climax, but then again, this is not a typical play.

 As Tom already told us from the very beginning, it is a "memory play" that focuses on emotions rather than the plot itself. Since Tom wasn't actually present in most of the scene, it certainly questions the reliability of the narrator. What definitely caught my attention was how Laura's last unicorn glass with its horn attached ultimately shattered as she dances with Jim, turning the mythical into an ordinary horse like the rest of its companions. In hindsight, I wonder why previously Tom also broke Laura's glass and the same event repeats but now with Jim as the unicorn glass breaker. Is this supposed to establish a connection between both events? I find it interesting how when Tom breaks the glass, he is speechless and unable to apologize, whereas Jim promptly apologizes once he realizes Laura's beloved glass creature was broken and seemed genuinely apologetic. However, in scene seven it becomes clearer why Laura is wholly devoted to taking care of her glass menagerie. She describes the glass creatures as like her closest companions, almost like living creatures with human emotions. The unicorn glass, defined by it's single horn, represents abnormalities that isolate the unicorn from the rest of the horses on the same shelf, just like how Laura perceived her crippled leg to alienate her from the rest of society. She is both physically and mentally handicapped by her crippled leg, which was clearly revealed in the intimate conversation between Jim and Laura.

 Speaking of Jim, he wasn't as one-dimensional of a character I had expected him to be. He obviously perceives himself as superior and at times the "all-knower" because he thinks he has the answers to everything as he always finishes Laura's sentences for her. But at the same time he's not exactly hypocritical like the upper-class Victorians in IOBE because he is actively aware of his high self-esteem and in some degree of level understands Laura's low self esteem and lack of agency. He also mentioned that he wished Laura was his sister, which is really awkward because he also decides to dance and kiss her, which also shows this manipulative side of him, even if it's for the right intentions.

Last but not least, the stage directions at the very end were put together like a movie set, showing both the present and the future happening at the same time. The audience observes the Amanda comforting Laura as Tom leaves the house which is then followed by Tom speaking to the audience in the future. Well technically the play began from the future, which is actually Tom's present, therefore the events in the play involving the Gentleman Caller can also be perceived as Tom recalling the past. This use of multiple tenses makes the play fragmented, but at the same time the stage directions, screen device, music, and lighting make all of the events in the play flow together with ease, ultimately creating fluidity within the structure of the play. The breaking of the fourth wall is what I think allows for a greater fluidity and deeper connection with Tom as the narrator and his intentions. Near the end of Tom's ending monologue, he says "Oh Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be." (97) I think this shows how writing this play was a way for him to express his guilt or leaving his sister and how his past, just like in LDJIN, ultimately haunts him wherever he goes.

The Glass Menagerie: Scene 6 Stage Directions

The arrangement of Laura's hair is changed; it is softer and more becoming. A fragile, unearthly prettiness has come out in Laura: she is like a piece of translucent glass touched by light; given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting. (51)

In the beginning of the scene, as Amanda crouches to put on Laura's dress, it is obvious that Laura is uncomfortable with her mother's attempt to over-beautify her for Jim's arrival. This scene emphasizes Laura's fragility that is doll-like and non-human through describing her appearance as "unearthly prettiness". Not only is she unearthly, but she is also "like a piece of translucent glass" which emphasizes her vulnerability because she's like a piece of glass that is about to be shattered. Her beauty is also described as giving off the effect of a "momentary radiance" that is "not actual, not lasting", highlighting the artificiality of Amanda's attempt to beautify her daughter. The imagery of "translucent glass touched by light" gives a sense of purity because "light' usually connotes a pure and untainted entity but since the light only reflects through glass, the appearance of purity is temporary and artificial.

Laura moves slowly to the long mirror and stares solemnly at herself. A wind blows the white curtains inwards in a slow, graceful motion and with a faint, sorrowful sighing. (53)

When Laura stares at herself "solemnly" in the mirror, the personification of the wind mimics Laura's emotions through the "slow, graceful motion" and "faint, sorrowful sighing". The comparison of Laura to the wind emphasizes Laura's emotional presence rather than physical presence. Like the wind, she is almost invisible and her presence can only be felt through her feeble movements and her passive inner sorrow.

Outside a summer storm is coming on abruptly. The white curtains billow inward at the windows and there is a sorrowful murmur from the deep blue dusk. (65)

Nature continues to play an important role in the scene as Laura attempts to join the dinner table with Jim and her family. The "summer storm" foreshadows an ominous event that will shatter the Wingfields' hopes of finding Laura a suitor. It also leads to Laura physically getting hurt as she "stumbles" with "a faint moan". The faint moan also paralells the "sorrowful murmur" which I interpret to also be the sound of the wind. The wind progressed from "faint, sorrowful sighing" to a "sorrowful murmur" which both reflects Laura's feebleness and overwhelmed feeling by the whole prospect of facing Jim. Afterwards, the stage direction read:

[There is a clap of thunder.]

Hence, the weather is a reification of Laura's emotional state in the scene as she struggles with confronting Jim (or reality in general) to please Amanda.

Glass Menagerie: Scene 4 & 5

In both scenes four and five, the plot primarily revolves around bringing a gentleman caller and then preparing for his arrival. Once again, Amanda is very persuasive and Tom nonchalantly tells her that he has invited once of his warehouse friends to his house. Laura is absent from their conversation and reinforces her lack of agency, yet she is still the center of the play because the main conflict revolves around her. I also noticed that the father is constantly mentioned, usually through his smiling portrait and Amanda's recollection of his behavior. His back-story seems more developed in the play than the other characters and in these two scenes it's obvious that Amanda's relationship with her husband did not end in good terms. She worries every time she notices that Tom is becoming more like his father because of his drunk habits and how he bailed out on their family. Tom obviously has a drinking problem and his mother and sister are dependent on his salary and the only think keep him in the house is his pity for Laura. I also found it interesting how Amanda didn't want the Laura's suitor to be "too handsome" because Amanda regrets falling for her husband's looks which led her to overlook his negative behavior.

I also noticed in scene five that music was a prominent literary device to emphasize a change in atmosphere. When Tom delivers his monologue to the audience about the Dance Hall across the alley, he notes that "the orchestra played a waltz or a tango, something that had a slow and sensuous rhythm". (39) The music gives a dreamlike and enjoyable atmosphere, similar to in Master Harold when Sam and Willie dance to the jukebox music at the end of the play.  Also when Tom announces that he has brought a gentleman caller for Laura, the stage direction states that "the annunciation is celebrated with music", which I imagine is like in the movies where the problem is resolved and the characters celebrate the victory, thus dramatizing the annunciation of the gentleman caller into a grand moment they've all been waiting for. However, when Tom warns his mother that Laura "is very different from other girls" and "a little peculiar to people outside the house", the dance hall music suddenly "changes to a tango that has a minor and somewhat ominous tone", thus giving a darker atmosphere as Tom pulls his mother back into reality. I also found it interesting how at the end of the play, "the sound of violin rises and the stage dims out" because a rise in the violin could indicate a rise in tension as they prepare for the arrival of the gentleman caller.

The Glass Menagerie: Extra-literary elements

Extra-literary elements such a screen device, music, and lighting play a key role in the first three scenes of the play. These tools accentuate the events in the play by emphasizing the sentimentality of the atmosphere and highlighting the emotions rather than factual evidence. Since this is a "memory play", the extra-literary elements help give more fluidity to memory-recall because humans often omit certain details and overemphasize on one particular detail of a memory because you have a stronger emotional connection with it.

Two instances where the screen device was used was when Laura admits that she hasn't been attending her typewriting class but instead wanders off outside and when she confesses to her mom about a guy she fell in love with who called her "Blue Roses".

The screen image of a "winter scene in a park" allows the audience to delve into Laura's mind as she is speaking to her mother. She's not really focusing on her mother because her mind wanders off to that moment where she was walking in the park and enjoying her freedom outside without any feeling of anxiety. It also highlights the sentimentality of her walk in the park as Laura recalls that memory, and it also shows how our mind focuses on an image that often gives nostalgia.

The screen image of blue roses is also important because it begins scene two with "on the dark stage the screen is lighted with the image of blue roses. Gradually Laura's figure becomes apparent and the screen goes out. The music subsides."  The literary device of screen images is interconnected with light and music. The screen image lights up the dark stage with the blue roses, which I think also adds to the sentimentality of the image because it is the focus of the stage. It then gradually fades out with Laura's figure, implying to the audience an association between the blue roses and Laura, essentially connecting Laura and the blue roses as one entity. It foreshadows Laura's lack of romantic experience because instead of the typical red roses, her lack of romantic experience is represented through an unusual blue-colored rose.

Music is also playing in the background along with the display of the blue roses, which complements the Laura's emotional connection with the blue roses. It also subsides as Laura's figure becomes more apparent, which effectively transitions the play into "reality" as Laura faces her mother's presence.

The Glass Menagerie: Intro and Production Notes

Similarities between Glass Menageries and texts that we've read that I immediately noticed was the significant role of the past and how it shapes characters in the present. Often people carry baggage from the past or they are imprisoned by past hopes and dreams that have yet to be transformed into reality. Although the plot of The Glass Menagerie seems incredibly similar to Long Day's Journey Into the Night since they both revolve on domestic warfare and familial strife, I think Tenesse Williams focuses more on stylistic tools and aesthetics to structure his play. In his production notes, he states that the use of conventional techniques allow a "closer approach to truth". I find the statement particularly interesting because gaining a 'realistic' portrayal usually means the elimination of fantasy and imagination, thus often making the play somewhat rigid and restricted. Furthermore, he explains that unconventional techniques such as music and lighting serve to accentuate the characters in the play and thus creating more fluidity, rather than a static environment. This is especially significant because the play takes place in a confined space and helps create depth in the emotional inner struggles of the characters in the play.

The introduction of the play explains that the character have their personal demons, thus showing that the conflict in the play is largely internalized and not always directly manifested. However, physical objects can also externally manifest inner struggles seen because Williams uses glass to convey a symbolic meaning. The use of glass sculptures as representation of Laura's fragile vulnerability shows an artistic component while also emphasizing a dark and "broken" aspect of her character. I think it's amazing how Williams carefully construct an artistic play through so many unconventional techniques in order to approach closer to reality, ultimately transcending traditional boundaries and reaching a greater depth of meaning in theater arts.