The glass menagerie book review. The Glass Menagerie review 2022-10-12

The glass menagerie book review Rating: 8,2/10 1865 reviews

The Glass Menagerie is a poignant and powerful play by Tennessee Williams that tells the story of the Wingfield family, who are struggling to make ends meet in St. Louis during the 1930s. The play is narrated by Tom Wingfield, who is a young man trying to escape the constraints of his mundane life by dreaming of adventure and escaping to the movies.

At the heart of the play is the character of Tom's sister, Laura, who is a shy and delicate young woman with a physical disability. Laura is obsessed with her collection of glass animals, which serve as a symbol of her fragile and isolated existence. Despite her gentle nature, Laura is deeply unhappy and longs to find a way to break free from the confines of her family and society.

The other central character in the play is Amanda, Tom and Laura's mother, who is a former Southern belle struggling to come to terms with the reality of her current situation. Amanda is desperate to find a way to secure a better future for her children, and she becomes fixated on the idea of finding a suitable husband for Laura.

The play is a masterful portrayal of the struggles and tensions within the Wingfield family, as each member grapples with their own desires and fears. Williams' writing is rich and evocative, and he expertly captures the feelings of longing and disappointment that haunt the characters.

One of the most poignant moments in the play is when Tom brings home a gentleman caller for Laura, who is desperate for a chance at a normal life. However, the gentleman caller's visit ultimately ends in disappointment and heartbreak, as Laura is unable to connect with him and Tom is forced to confront the harsh realities of his own life.

The Glass Menagerie is a poignant and powerful play that will leave a lasting impression on its readers. It is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the themes of family, longing, and the search for meaning in life.

The Glass Menagerie: A Play by Tennessee Williams

the glass menagerie book review

It was first performed in the 40's, but I still found it shocking. Laura, innocent and weak, her mental illness is quite apparent and her loneliness in the world is understandable. Jim hastily explains that he must leave because of an appointment with his fiancée. First time to read anything courtesy of York Notes Advanced. Tom says he cannot stand working for the family like he does. I read this back in High School.

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Review Of "The Glass Menagerie" By Tennessee Williams Summary Example

the glass menagerie book review

The story, they feel, can stand unaided, despite repeated jumps between present and past. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. She asks Laura about the business college and tells Laura she found out that she dropped out. York Notes Advanced offer a fresh and accessible approach to English Literature. Years later, though he travels far, he finds that he is unable to leave behind guilty memories of Laura. We might wish Tom would break, run for it and follow his dream of becoming a writer, that Laura might come out of her shell and dump the glass menagerie.

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The Glass Menagerie: Full Book Summary

the glass menagerie book review

In addition to that there were a few other derogatory terms used throughout the play, always by the mother character. The play is his memory of the last moments he lived with his mother and sister, before he abandoned them in his turn. Amanda is angry with Tom for not telling them that Jim was engaged, but Tom insists that he did not know. You have the mother, Amanda, who is strong and proud, but hangs on to unrealistic expectations for the world as well as her daughter, Laura. She is disappointed that Laura, who wears a brace on her leg and is painfully shy, does not attract any gentlemen callers.

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The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

the glass menagerie book review

She gives him a glass unicorn which was broken during the night. Resigned, Laura offers him the broken unicorn as a souvenir. I kept the book all these years on my shelf because it was short, sweet and filled with powerful symbolism. The start of the play shows the Wingfield family eating dinner. Tom is a character in the play, which is set in St. Bob Corbett BACK TO BOOK REVIEWS Becoming Reading Thinking Journals Bob Corbett.

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The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

the glass menagerie book review

I liked this one more than A Streetcar Named Desire because of its rather unconventional form. There is better synergy in the mother-daughter relationship as Amanda warns Laura of the limited options for unmarried women and urges her to seek recourse in wedlock. This all-new, all-star film version of a beloved American classic combines the monumental talent of the biggest and best film stars with the literary genius of Tennessee Williams. A new introduction by prominent Williams scholar Robert Bray, editor of The Tennessee Williams Annual Review, reappraises the play more than half a century after it won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award: "More than fifty years after telling his story of a family whose lives form a triangle of quiet desperation, Williams's mellifluous voice still resonates deeply and universally. Québec actress Denise Filiatrault played the role of the mother.


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Review: “The Glass Menagerie” by Pigeonhold Theatre Company — OnStage Blog

the glass menagerie book review

Jim then kisses her, but he quickly draws back and apologizes, explaining that he was carried away by the moment and that he actually has a serious girlfriend. My teenage son asked to read it recently, and it looked like a nice opportunity to revisit it for myself. Laura is forgiving, noting that now the unicorn is a normal horse. After they eat dinner, the lights go out and Amanda brings out the candles. Learn More Introduction The Glass Menagerie is a play written by Williams who started writing at the age of fourteen as a way of escaping from the life situation that he faced. I remember seeing the play in French. The son, Tom, lives a stifled live, both at home and at work, and dreams of open adventure, like the father who left sixteen years prior.

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The Glass Menagerie (York Notes Advanced) by York Notes

the glass menagerie book review

Definitely had lots of emotional content, but wasn't always feeling centred on interpreting it. One of the biggest problems is the size of the stage, which looks vast and works against the intimacy of this story, leaving it feeling unfairly slight. Responsibility to Family The principal tension in the Wingfield family is responsibility which is accountable for, and to whom. They talk for a while, and Jim kisses Laura, but regrets it. This is confirmed when she is motivating her son to work hard in the warehouse. Louis zoo, the Art Museum, riverfront boats, Washington University in which, according to Amanda her son could take a business course at night at for what it cost him to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day! Amanda, wearing an ostentatious dress from her glamorous youth, talks vivaciously with Jim throughout the meal. Welcome to my book space on the net.

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Book review

the glass menagerie book review

I could see and feel the sadness and desperation of the mother, the distance and need for escape by the brother, but I had a hard time sensing anything other than fragility with the daughter. I bumped down my rating to reflect that disappointment. Tom, a dreamer, who wishes to escape his life and live his dream of becoming a poet. Because of this, the set is rather minimalistic which serves the piece thematically as since this is a memory it would stand to reason that parts of the room would be missing or slightly exaggerated. Laura refuses to eat dinner with the others, feigning illness. She appears to be harsh especially to her children but it is because she cares for their future.

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The Glass Menagerie (New Directions Books) by Tennessee Williams

the glass menagerie book review

This is evident when she tells her children of how they used to entertain in the gentlemen callers Williams p. When you read a book like this, or especially some of the European classics, you realize that until fairly recently the possibility of a girl turning into an old maid was one of the most frightening things that the girl and her family could face! I share reviews, recommends and indulge in bookish talk. Each is a fragile piece of glass that gets knocked over when reality comes barging in, in the form of Jim, the gentleman caller. Louis I could being picture real ones that come close to his fictional one. Written by established literature experts, York Notes Advanced intorduce students to more sophisticated analysis, a range of critical perspectives and wider contexts. As Tom speaks at the end of the play, it becomes clear that Tom left home soon afterward and has never returned. Amanda is puzzlingly cheery and wholesome, initially unrecognisable as the faded southern belle from Mississippi who boasts of once having drawn 17 suitors in a single day.

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