“The Glass Menagerie”

By Tennessee Williams

(A Constructive Critique)

Life for me has been a mixture of choice and norm. We’re living in a society
wherein people has the capacity to think of the ideals of living they wanted to pursue,
yet to consider the demand, inculcated with the present and future circumstances. In the
play, one thing that caught my attention is the role and predisposition of the Wingfield
family. For me, what the character portrays and the story that they are trying to tell,
immense a typical family setting, that can be seen in any other form of literature. A
mother, who would always think of her child’s future, making sure that he/she would be
granted by success. A brother, who has become the family’s breadwinner after a tragic
happening, because of a loss of a family member making the tables turn, in a quick
snap. And a little sister who’s been the turning point of every member, usually the one
who’s characterized as being dependent, considering the age or other factors, and the
one to look after.
In the first scene, as the narrator started to deliver her spill, the mood that it’s
wanting to build has successfully reached the viewers, as he started on explaining what
the story is all about through directly stating their status, the role of each character, and
most specifically it’s literary approach, that mainly talks about the narrators viewpoint
itself. As he recalls the happenings that took place, through his memory. Meaning it
doesn’t really presents reality. Frankly speaking, the idea, much shows creativity as
they made it more of a work of subconscious mind, but it can’t be considered as a
unique style as there were already a lot of dramas that actually portrayed the same
idea. Meanwhile, making it revolve in a memory of a character that also appears in most
of the scene is a great factor to start with. Along with the first scenarios, I was actually
tend to relate on how mother’s act on a dinner table, because it’s somehow the same of
what typically mothers are. Those who would always make comments on how you eat,
the difference on addressing the eldest and the youngest child, and the fact of unending
story telling sessions about what the life they had before whenever possible. And
there’s this children who you would’ve determine if they are up for the story telling or
not, well of course, in our norm, it shows disrespect. Meanwhile in the story, another
factor that were emphasized is the prompt of words on the screen that either, give’s an
idea of the message of the scene or draw an ironic stance. There were also times in the
story, where a certain words would make you puzzled if it gives a symbolic vibes or not.
Say for example is “blue roses” that became Laura’s nickname through Jim. From my
perspective, maybe the reason why she was addressed by that is, because of her blue
like personality. Shy and sad about the life she has, considering as well her physical
condition. And roses, because she’s beautiful just like a rose. But then I got frustrated
when I she revealed, that it sounded like “pleurosis”, that’s why. I just thought that I just
overthink or overanalyze stuff.
After a long scenarios that showed the standard viewpoint of the story, their
relationship with each other and their common routines, as it goes along the way, the
tension started to wrap the former neutral ambiance. It already showed some conflicts,
and the meaning behind the, title of the play---the animal glass collection of Laura. I
must admit that, reading the first scenario made me conclude that, it was Tom’s story,
how his life been and such. But then it’s actually the other way around. Furthermore,
rising actions in the story already took place, their mother already found out that Laura
isn’t going to school, and that every day she roamed around the instead, because she
felt like she’s not belong in that place. A typical scenario to expect I must say. Going
through the highlights of the story, I have to tell that, there’s this scenario that I can’t
help myself from rationalizing. It’s the confrontation between Amanda and Tom, as she
kept on insisting that she don’t believe him going at the movies at night. Tom maybe got
irritated, saying all those sort of things cited as:
“I'm going to opium dens ! Yes, opium dens, dens of vice and criminals' hang-outs,
Mother. I've joined the Hogan gang, I'm a hired assassin, I carry a tommy-gun in a violin case! I
run a string of cathouses in the Valley! They call me Killer, Killer Wingfield, I'm leading a double-
life, a simple, honest warehouse worker by day, by night a dynamic tsar of the underworld,
Mother. I go to gambling casinos, I spin away fortunes on the roulette table ! I wear a patch over
one eye and a false moustache, sometimes I put on green whiskers. On those occasions they
call me -El Diablo ! Oh, I could tell you things to make you sleepless ! My enemies plan to
dynamite this place. They're going to blow us all sky-high some night ! I'll be glad, very happy,
and so will you ! You'll go up, up on a broomstick, over Blue Mountain with seventeen
gentlemen callers! You ugly - babbling old – witch.”
Yet, he actually is going to movies as scene on the tickets he handed. I just can’t
exactly tell if I misunderstood the scenario, but It came into my senses that, maybe all of
those words he spit, and the kind of person he draw, where the characters in the movies
he watched, he wanted of becoming (not literally), because he is desperate of having an
adventurous life in his career. For me, it’s just so symbolic and creative. Another would
be how the author, make use of the unicorn glass to symbolize as Laura’s personality.
And that she unique/different from others, yet so fragile. And how it’s horn accidentally
broke, making the personality of the character change. Since it doesn’t have a horn, it’s
now just like others.
The end of the story might be 50 percent expected and 50 percent not. Expected
because, time will come Tom would actually thought of abandoning his family for his
own, for he gone through a lot, sacrificing his own dreams or desire to change their
father’s position and conquering the responsibility on his own. On the other hand
unexpected because, at some point of the story, he showed his undying love for her
sister, as he able to switch his personality from an argument, and his honesty to her. In
conclusion, this play made me change my belief that life is a mixture of life and norm,
rather, life is in between. For you are to choose if what will you willing to affect you
most, is it your choice of how you wanted to become, or the norm of prioritization.
Moreover, I must say that, even though the approach of the play lacks realism, and
purely of illusion, it did not failed to show “truth”.