"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."
~The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
The Glass Menagerie has made me think of some things from my own life - mostly insignificant little connections, but I think that's what makes reading this play bearable. When I saw the phrase "gentleman caller," I immediately remembered the movie Easy A based off of The Scarlet Letter.
When Laura is describing the pieces of glass, I thought of the twenty-seven different places in Brown County that sell glass figurines. (That's not an exact number, I just guesstimated.)
In the movie Water for Elephants, the word "menagerie" is used to describe the pens that the animals were kept in, so I thought of them as just a larger glass collection.
I work at a dance studio, and I have danced for about 8 years, so when Amanda was fretting over Laura's appearance and trying to make her improve it, I got a flashback of competitions and dance recitals - the moms trying to get their girls into uncomfortable costumes and reliving their glory days - it's like the performances were solely for them. Amanda makes me think of hardcore stage moms.
I know this stuff isn't so insightful or analytical, but they're the things I relate back to The Glass Menagerie.
Showing posts with label Tennessee Williams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tennessee Williams. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2012
Dysfunctionality - Drama Blog 2 (Glass Menagerie)
"This is our father who left us a long time ago.He was a telephone man who fell in love with long distances; he gave up his job with the telephone company and skipped the light fantastic out of town."
~ The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
I haven't gotten all the way through The Glass Menagerie yet, so I'm still unaware of some finer details. I also don't really understand the point of the play; yes, it's about a dysfunctional family (as my aunts say, "we put the "fun" in "dysfunctional" "), but "why" is the big question. However, I feel like some family issues stem from the father leaving the family. Actually I'm sure of it.
First of all, the man (in the forties and in many cases today) was the main provider for the family. He worked and brought in all the money. But when he left, someone had to take over his place as the worker; naturally, that was the son, Tom. Tom has to take care of the family, but he absolutely hates his job. It isn't mentally stimulating for him, and he wants to be creative and write poetry. That doesn't bring in money, so he must settle. This obviously makes Tom resent his family and creates a desire in him to leave and be free of his responsibilities, which creates more tension.
Second of all, I think that Amanda has an inferiority complex where she thinks that she wasn't pretty or interesting (as in having an appealing personality) for her husband - maybe she thinks he ran away because of her? - so she only values herself as how others see her and how good she looks. I think it also makes her long for a time in her life when she had options and she wasn't "weighed down" by an angry child and a crippled child. She is still so focused on herself that she can barely think of her children.
And finally, Laura has some issues. Obviously, from childhood, she was going to be insecure about her condition that cripples her. But not only does she have to deal with her defect, but she has to put up with her mother constantly deriding her and saying she should have gone to college and that she needs a man to make her life complete.
~ The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
I haven't gotten all the way through The Glass Menagerie yet, so I'm still unaware of some finer details. I also don't really understand the point of the play; yes, it's about a dysfunctional family (as my aunts say, "we put the "fun" in "dysfunctional" "), but "why" is the big question. However, I feel like some family issues stem from the father leaving the family. Actually I'm sure of it.
First of all, the man (in the forties and in many cases today) was the main provider for the family. He worked and brought in all the money. But when he left, someone had to take over his place as the worker; naturally, that was the son, Tom. Tom has to take care of the family, but he absolutely hates his job. It isn't mentally stimulating for him, and he wants to be creative and write poetry. That doesn't bring in money, so he must settle. This obviously makes Tom resent his family and creates a desire in him to leave and be free of his responsibilities, which creates more tension.
Second of all, I think that Amanda has an inferiority complex where she thinks that she wasn't pretty or interesting (as in having an appealing personality) for her husband - maybe she thinks he ran away because of her? - so she only values herself as how others see her and how good she looks. I think it also makes her long for a time in her life when she had options and she wasn't "weighed down" by an angry child and a crippled child. She is still so focused on herself that she can barely think of her children.
And finally, Laura has some issues. Obviously, from childhood, she was going to be insecure about her condition that cripples her. But not only does she have to deal with her defect, but she has to put up with her mother constantly deriding her and saying she should have gone to college and that she needs a man to make her life complete.
Unrealism - Drama Blog 1 (Glass Menagerie)
"AMANDA: I took that horrible novel back to the library- yes ! That hideous book by that insane Mr. Lawrence. [Tom laughs wildly.] I cannot control the output of diseased minds or people who cater to them - [Tom laughs still more wildly.] BUT I WON'T ALLOW SUCH FILTH BROUGHT INTO MY HOUSE ! NO, no, no, no, no!"
~ The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
Fair warning: I left my book at school, so I won't have page numbers for my quotes.
So one of the things we talked about during class was realistic vs. nonrealistic vs. unrealistic. One of the characters I think fits really well into the unrealistic category is Amanda, the mom. Amanda is a little ridiculous - she says things and does things that most mothers don't. While most mothers have to keep their children grounded and in touch with reality while the children may have wild imaginations or hyper-emotional states that illicit irrational outbursts, Amanda assumes the role of the child. She constantly talks about her days as an adolescent, and it is obvious that she wishes she could regress to that time when she was the center of attention and her life was seemingly perfect, when she had yet to make crucial mistakes that would follow her the rest of her life. She still cares about very superficial aspects of both her life and her daughter's. She loses her patience and temper with Tom when she assumes that something is going to threaten the structure or stray from social convention in her life, as if her life were functional. Amanda does not act how a normal mother would, so I would say she is a bit unrealistic.
~ The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
Fair warning: I left my book at school, so I won't have page numbers for my quotes.
So one of the things we talked about during class was realistic vs. nonrealistic vs. unrealistic. One of the characters I think fits really well into the unrealistic category is Amanda, the mom. Amanda is a little ridiculous - she says things and does things that most mothers don't. While most mothers have to keep their children grounded and in touch with reality while the children may have wild imaginations or hyper-emotional states that illicit irrational outbursts, Amanda assumes the role of the child. She constantly talks about her days as an adolescent, and it is obvious that she wishes she could regress to that time when she was the center of attention and her life was seemingly perfect, when she had yet to make crucial mistakes that would follow her the rest of her life. She still cares about very superficial aspects of both her life and her daughter's. She loses her patience and temper with Tom when she assumes that something is going to threaten the structure or stray from social convention in her life, as if her life were functional. Amanda does not act how a normal mother would, so I would say she is a bit unrealistic.
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