The Glass Menagerie

1
The Glass Menagerie

• Efforts, Failure and Grace
• Scenes VI-VII

2
Outline

• Review of the Issues Covered
• Starting Questions
• Efforts Doomed
• Amandas Efforts and Responses to Failure
• Lauras Fears and Responses
• Tom and Jim
• Jims Efforts and Failures
• Toms Escape
• Conclusion

3
Review

• Scenes 1-II Memory, Dream and Family Relations
• The Setting vs. Dreams (fire escape vs. porch),
• The narrator as a magician
• Amandas past vs. Lauras.
• The first fiasco
• Scenes III-V Escape, Pressure, and Efforts
• Toms escape from and conflicts with Amanda
• Lauras efforts in keeping peace.
• Amandas efforts

4
Scenes VI and VII Questions

• Amanda's efforts
• Describe what she has done--to the house, to
  herself and to Laura. Does she do all for Laura?
  (1463-65)
• How does she behave in front of Jim? (1469-70)
  When the electricity is cut? (1471-72) When
  knowing about Jim's engagement with Betty? ()
• Why is she afraid of Jim at one moment? (1470)
• Laura
• Why is she so afraid of Jim at first?
• What does the unicorn glass figurine signify?
  How does Laura look at "him"? And the breaking
  of its horn? Why does Laura give it to Jim at
  the end?

5
Scenes VI and VII Questions (2)

• Jim
• Why is he called a "high school hero"? Is he
  still a hero?
• Is he successful in helping Laura overcome her
  "inferiority complex"? Or in overcoming his own?
  What drives Jim to kiss Laura?
• Is Jim right to say that democracy is built on
  Money, Power and Knowledge?
• Tom
• How is Jim a contrast to Tom? What does Tom
  reveal to him? And him to Tom? Are they good
  friends?
• Is he irresponsible?

6
Ending

• 1. Laura's and Amanda's responses How does
  Amanda, like Laura, maintain her dignity when
  realizing the truth about Jim?
• 2. What do you think about Amanda's scolding of
  Tom? Is Amanda the one to drive away Tom?
• 3. Ending Does Tom escape successfully? What do
  you think about Tom's concluding speech? What
  does "blowing out" the candles mean?

7
Efforts Doomed to Fail

• Laura cannot fit in this society
• Tom does not have any friend in the warehouse
• Amanda limited understanding
• Jim not really a hero

8
Sound DevelopmentMerry Music to Doom

• Music Ou sont les neiges 'ALL THE WORLD IS
  WAITING FOR THE SUNRISE !'
• Music to accompany the Annunciation
• When Tom says that Laura is peculiar THE
  DANCE-HALL MUSIC CHANGES TO A TANGO THAT HAS A
  MINOR AND SOMEWHAT OMINOUS TONE.
• When Laura knows Jim is the caller MUSIC
  OMINOUS. (1463)
• End of Scene 6 (Laura sick) A clap of thunder
  (1470)
• Lauras walking clumping like thunder for her
• When Amanda hears about Betty There is an
  ominous cracking sound in the sky ? The sky
  falls. (1482)
• Ending nowadays the world is lit by lightning!
  Blow out your candles, Laura.

9
Amanda Her Efforts

• (1463-65)
• New pieces of furniture
• Gay deceiver for Laura (Laura as a a pretty
  trap)
• (1464) Relives her past She wears a girlish
  frock of yellowed voile with a blue silk sash.
  She carries a bunch of jonquils - the legend of
  her youth is nearly revived.

10
Amandas Responses

• In front of Jim gay and humorous, she repeats
  the past.
• When the power is cut (1471-72)Still
  good-mannered, her problems revealed.
• Her joke Moses in the dark
• Her words on electricity a mysterious thing
• Lives in the 19th century
• Gives Jim an old candelabrum used in a church
  burned-down by lightening.
• She is frightened (1470) over thunder and
  Lauras repeated sickness.
• Maintains her grace when hearing about Betty
  (1483) giving good wishes, and bravely
  grimacing

11
Laura Her Fears

• Amandas excessive preparation
• Her secret love of Jim OConnor her past
  failure (1465)? the moment the climax of her
  secret life (1472)
• Afraid of social contact, and lives with
  collectible
• figurines treating them as living things (more
  later)
• Victrola 1) when Amanda finds out about her
  absences from the business schoolL crosses to
  the victrola (1446)
• 2) When asked to open to door for Jim, Darts to
  the victrola and winds it franticallly and turns
  it on (1466)
• 3) After knowing about Betty and giving Jim her
  unicorn, She rises unsteadily and crouches
  beside the victrola to wind it up. (1481)

12
Lauras Responses --Sharing

• Opens up to Jim (1473- )
• Talks about his and her past (1474)
• In between Jims two speeches (on everybodys
  having problems and Ls inferiority complex), her
  shyness is dissolved by Jims warmness who
  smiles at LAURA with a warmth and charm which
  lights her inwardly with altar candles. (1476)
• Uses
• The annual to establish connections with Jim.
• the glass figurines to disguise her tumult
  (1476), and then as her interest to share with
  Jim.
• Her wonder at Jims self-importance and
  expectation of success(1478).

13
Lauras Responses Grace

• Accepts the first accident gracefully (1479)
• Nervous but not carried away (1480)--
• abashed beyond speech nearly faint with the
  novelty of her emotions
• Ask questions blue roses pretty?
• After the kiss bright, dazed look she
  looks at it the unicorn with a tender,
  bewildered expression. (--as if looking at
  herself)
• After the revelation1. She bites her lip which
  was trembling and then bravely smiles. (1481)
• 2. Gives the unicorn (without a horn) to him as a
  souvenir a symbol of good will, of her self
  normalized, and, maybe, of self-distanciation.

14
Tom and Jim

• Is Jims visit helpful? Is Jim considerate or
  self-centered?
• Is Tom selfish? Does he have to leave?

15
Jim Not Successful, But More Sociable than Tom

• Past High school hero always under the
  spotlight (1462)
• Present -- more sociable than Tom
• -- a man of action, interested in public
  speaking, radio engineering and sports.
• -- Believes in social poise gains confidence
  with public speaking skills. (1467)
• -- practical, asks Tom to wake up.(1468)
• -- Charming, sociable, and worldly
• Thrown off the beam, and won over by Amandas
  charms (69)
• Accepts candlelight (72)
• classical music vs. hot swing music (67)
• Believes in making fortune, science and progress
  ("The Century of Progress exhibition held in
  Chicago, 1933-43 p. 1473)
• Believes in television (mass media), Money,
  knowledge and power

16
Jim His Efforts and Failures

• Believes he has social poise ? chewing gum (1473,
  1477) and cigarette, mint, life saver (1480) as
  self-protection
• Their conversation, started by Lauras raising
  the question about his singing in the past (73)
• Speaks to Laura but actually about or to himself
• about everybodys problems and disappointment
  (? his not being discouraged) 1475-76
• About her inferiority complex ? the others
  ordinariness (see next page)
• after breaking the unicorn He tries to
  encourage Laura by praising her and kissing her?
  only to reveal his engagement. (1481)
• lacking in inner substance or understanding of
  Lauras
• Asks about the music (From the Paradise Dance
  Hall) ? dance a wrong move

17
Jims Self-Centeredness attention shifted to
himself in his speeches

• 2nd speech (1477) I understand it inferiority
  complex because I had it, too.
• Which of them has one-tenth of your good
  points! Or mine ! Or anyone else's, as far as
  that goes - Gosh !
• Everybody excels in some one thing. Some in many
  !
• Unconsciously glances at himself in the mirror.
• All you've got to do is discover in what! Take
  me, for instance.
• He adjusts his tie at the mirror.
• Pumping himself up think of yourself as
  superior (77) Well, well, well, well Look how
  big my shadow is when I stretch ! (1478) before
  the dance

18
Jim Kind but Impulsive, Honest but still
self-centered

• 3rd speech and the kiss (1480-1481) Why? To
  make up for his error, or to shows his genuine
  concern?
• His voice become soft and hesitant with a
  genuine feeling
• I wish that you were my sister. I'd teach you to
  have some confidence in yourself.
• gets carried away Somebody needs to build your
  confidence up and make you proud instead of shy
  and turning away and - blushing - Somebody -ought
  to - Ought to - kiss you, Laura!
• Cigarette ? Stumble-john!
• gets carried away Well - right away from the
  start it was - love !
• (LEGEND 'LOVE!)
• LAURA sways slightly forward and grips the arm of
  the sofa. He fails to notice, now enrapt in his
  own comfortable being.

19
Toms Escape Planned, Bound to Happen but
Directionless at First

• Amandas accusation as the catalyst You don't
  know things anywhere ! You live in a dream you
  manufacture illusions! (1483)
• something boiling inside Like Jim and his
  father, he is one on the move. (1468-69)
• Toms final escape (1484)
• Frustration and attraction Images of the rail
  dance-hall music
• Futile actions caught writing a poem on a
  shoe-box being a sailor?
• Directionless, unsettled in his father's
  footsteps, attempting to find in motion what was
  lost in space traveling as escape, cities
  sweeping about him like dead leaves (no genuine
  contact or achievement)
• Haunted by the image of Laura
• Wishes for Laura to blow out the candle, so that
  Tom can move onward without the guilty past. (and
  maybe Laura can move on, too?)

20
Conclusion

• Memory and Family
• as Constraints?

21
Memory Haunting Tom?

• Haunted The whole play is a memory play with
  legends showing the changes of Toms moods and
  tones as he remembers the past
• Even when he gentleman caller wasn't mentioned,
  his presence hung in Mother's preoccupied look
  and in my sister's frightened, apologetic manner
  - hung like a sentence passed upon the Wingfields
  
• Writing as distanciation the ironies and
  sympathy expressed the final blowing out of the
  candles.
• Broader understanding Setting the context
  Depression and an industrial city
• The use of symbols (Tom has become a poet)

22
Screen Device Changes of Tone

• (1463-64)
• Emphasis of the atmosphere (tension) -- 'THE
  ACCENT OF A COMING FOOT' Terror! The Opening
  of a Door
• Ironic Emphasis -- A PRETTY TRAP (1464) (LEGEND
  'LOVE! at Jims speech 1481)
• sympathy e.g. Laura in a pool of light
  (1449)Laura turns away from THIS IS MY SISTER
  CELEBRATE HER WITH STRINGS!' MUSIC. (1464)
  Souvenir (1471, 1480)
• Self-Irony sailing vessel with Jolly Roger
  (1455) When power is cut, and Amanda asks about
  the notices--LEGEND 'HA!' (1471)

23
Symbols

• The fathers portrait
• Glass menagerie
• What else?

• Of the world
• fire escape and dark alleys
• Glossy magazine
• Movies, rainbow scarf, coffin trick
• the Paradise Dance Hall and the a large glass
  sphere which filter the dusk with rainbow colors.
  
• Radio engineering and TV
• Thunder and lightening

24
Characters all Constrained

• By a Self-Image which they could not attain
• Amanda as a girl (Southern belle)
• Laura unicorn or blue roses
• Jim Executive at Desk (1467)
• Tom a poet
• But
• Laura and Amanda show genuine concern for each
  other (e.g. scene 4 Amanda So quiet but - still
  water runs deep! scene 7 ending )
• Tom makes it, and he expresses infinite sympathy
  to those struggling without success (presenting
  the mother and sister as dignified 1484)

25
Extensions

• A psychoanalytic reading (ref.
  http//courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elltankw/theatre/
  week3.htm )
• What Tennessee Williams tries to do.
• Williams sister suffers from schizophrenia and
  later, paranoia. The parents allowed a
  prefrontal lobotomy (??????) operated on her,
  which left her incapacitated all her life.
• A New Critical Study of its use of symbols,
  tensions, and irony
• Stylistic study of the use of simile, hyperbole,
  etc. (ref. A Tentative Study of Linguistic
  Deviation in The Glass Menagerie )