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.