"The Glass Menagerie"

Paper Summary:

The paper examines Tennessee Williams' use of imagery in "The Glass Menagerie" and highlights the effects of the lighting in the play. The paper then shows how Williams utilizes symbolism to emphasize each character's plight. The paper focuses on the symbols of glass figurines, color and the rainbow as well as the symbolism inherent in the action involved with the breaking of the unicorn's horn.

Outline:
Williams Utilizes Imagery to Emphasize Details
Symbolism is Important to Shape Characters and Circumstances
Action as Symbolism

From the Paper:

"Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie is an insightful American tale that brings attention to emotionally and economically weakened individuals that attempt to survive in a world that proves to be too much for them. Tom, Laura, and Amanda are people that face certain difficulties surviving in the real world. They share a meager existence that is peppered with dashing hopes and dreams. The Wingfield's share a common hope in Jim, a pivotal character that represents all the hope in the world as well as all of the despair for the Wingfields. Through symbolism and imagery, Williams successfully paints a portrait of a struggling American family attempting to get by on fleeting hopes and dreams because that appears to be all that they have in a cold, dark world. Lighting plays an important part of allowing the audience to see the hopelessness of the family. Roses, rainbows, and magical creatures become important elements of Williams' story. The Glass Menagerie tells a tragic American tale through imagery and symbolism."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barranger, Milly Understanding Plays. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 1990.
• Boxill, Roger. "The Glass Menagerie." Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations. Information Retrieved October 5, 2008. Facts On File Resource Database. <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin=True>
• Cardullo, Bert. "Williams's The Glass Menagerie." Explicator. 1997. 55.3. EBSCO Resource Database. Information Retrieved October 5, 2008. http://search.epnet.com
• Engle, Paul. Modern American Literature. Dorothy Curley, ed. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company. 1969.
• Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. An Introduction to Literature. 8th ed. Barnett, Sylvan, ed. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1985. pp. 967-1025.

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