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This play is a dramatic study of conflicting motivations and tortured memories. Tennessee Williams called The Glass Menagerie a “memory play.” Williams aptly titled it for the fragile world in which his characters live—a world as fragile as Laura’s collection of glass animals. He draws a sensitive 1944 portrayal of a young man’s recollection of life in a St. Louis tenement. Real and credible family members are trapped by the circumstances of their lives. Williams is Tom, the poet, who feels the struggle between love and guilt in wanting to be free of the responsibility of supporting his Southern Belle mother, Amanda, and his shy and crippled sister, Laura. Of necessity, Tom is caged in a lowly job because his father deserted the family. The play gives students a look below the surface of conflicts to see outcomes which cannot be foreseen by the immediacy of human existence. It promotes a closer look into personal goals, dreams, attitudes, and into the urgent need to separate reality from fiction.
Students examine the relationship between characters and setting. They conduct analysis of poetry, themes, and the distinction between themes and plot. They recognize approaches to conflict in drama. They gain an understanding of symbolism. Students study dialogue. They write a fictionalized character sketch. Supplementary materials include review questions that can be used as test questions, essay topics, or class discussion questions. Optional activities provide opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding of the play through various artistic outlets.
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