Choose ONE of the following prompts and write a 3-5-page essay (typed and double-spaced) in response. You may use your book(s), notes, the internet, or any other materials you find useful. This exam is designed to take approximately 1 hour, but you can use the entire 3-hour exam period if you like. When you have completed your essay, please email it to dlupton@email.unc.edu.
1. One issue we have devoted a great deal of time to this semester is how authors rely on, and sometimes manipulate, our expectations about narrative. Choose any two plays and compare and contrast the authors’ approaches to narrative. How do they play to or against viewers’ expectations? How do their strategies help to underscore the larger point of their plays?
2. One of the things that makes plays different from prose fiction and poetry is that plays almost always use dialogue as their primary means of developing characters. Prose and poetry, with their ability to relate a character’s thoughts directly, tend to be better-suited to investigate deep psychology, but playwrights are often also interested in psychological issues. Choose any two plays and compare and contrast the authors’ approaches to portraying psychological depth. What solutions do they find for portraying characters’ inner lives? How do these solutions color the way we understand these characters?
3. Earlier this semester we read an excerpt from Aristotle’s Poetics, which is generally considered the foundational critical text for Western drama. Choose any two plays and compare and contrast how the authors approach the “rules” of drama that Aristotle laid out. Which ones do they adhere to and which ones do they violate? Why do they make these choices?
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Draft Workshop: Paper #2
Today you will complete THREE assignments, each of which count for 10% of your paper #1 grade. Please make sure you complete ALL THREE assignments.
#1: Submit a draft of Paper #2
I asked that each of you have at least three solid pages of your first paper. Please put your draft in a Google Doc and share that document with dlupton79@gmail.com. You should also share the document with the two group members who will read your draft. Once you have done so, turn in a link to the document here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1u9Se64yHsi4ryRZ6xpEaJ2ZBDDQMekac24ThUGKtDwo/viewform?usp=send_form
#2: Draft Workshop #1
You will complete TWO draft workshops today. For each workshop, read your partner’s draft carefully, then copy and paste these questions into the Google Doc for the draft, answering each question in detail with at least a few sentences each. If you find it more helpful to answer any of the questions with inline comments, please note this below the question:
1. Begin by identifying the paper’s thesis statement. Does it make a specific and surprising claim about the interpretation of the text? Does it identify specific formal features of the text that support that claim? Suggest any ways in which the thesis statement might be improved.
2. Based on your understanding of the play, is the draft’s argument surprising or interesting? Why or why not?
3. Do you notice anything about the play that you would have expected the author to write about, yet it wasn’t covered in the draft? This might be a prominent formal feature (diction, syntax, etc.), a powerful image or metaphor, or something else entirely.
4. Are there any parts of the play that do not seem consistent with the author’s argument? Can these parts be reconciled with the author’s thesis? If so, how?
5. Compose a brief retrospective outline of the draft in which you identify each paragraph’s main idea in 3-5 words. Note any paragraphs that do not have clear (or clearly expressed) topic sentences, any paragraphs whose main idea does not relate clearly back to the thesis statement, and any paragraph that seems to have insufficient support for its main idea.
6. Identify any parts of the draft that, as a reader, you have difficulty understanding or following. Try your best to determine the cause of this difficulty; is the passage obscurely or confusingly worded? Is it insufficiently connected to the paragraph’s or the paper’s main idea? Provide your partner with any feedback that you think could help sustain the reader’s attention.
When you have completed the workshop, please turn in your work here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZdqLN22yaILeAl1dXMOQtfm5MCvuBN6qXseb17BdYZc/viewform?usp=send_form
#3: Draft Workshop #2
Next, you will workshop a second group member’s paper, using the same procedures you used for Draft Workshop #1. When you have completed Workshop #2, turn it in here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14cOjYFfPcINnyZ1wquqqzGDnz3m9iYxbhrTL3eUDsn4/viewform?usp=send_form
If you do not complete both draft workshops during the allotted class time, they are due by NOON on Wednesday, April 23. Late workshops will be severely penalized and may not receive any credit at all. Remember, your peers are relying on you for your feedback, so be thorough and prompt!
#1: Submit a draft of Paper #2
I asked that each of you have at least three solid pages of your first paper. Please put your draft in a Google Doc and share that document with dlupton79@gmail.com. You should also share the document with the two group members who will read your draft. Once you have done so, turn in a link to the document here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1u9Se64yHsi4ryRZ6xpEaJ2ZBDDQMekac24ThUGKtDwo/viewform?usp=send_form
#2: Draft Workshop #1
You will complete TWO draft workshops today. For each workshop, read your partner’s draft carefully, then copy and paste these questions into the Google Doc for the draft, answering each question in detail with at least a few sentences each. If you find it more helpful to answer any of the questions with inline comments, please note this below the question:
1. Begin by identifying the paper’s thesis statement. Does it make a specific and surprising claim about the interpretation of the text? Does it identify specific formal features of the text that support that claim? Suggest any ways in which the thesis statement might be improved.
2. Based on your understanding of the play, is the draft’s argument surprising or interesting? Why or why not?
3. Do you notice anything about the play that you would have expected the author to write about, yet it wasn’t covered in the draft? This might be a prominent formal feature (diction, syntax, etc.), a powerful image or metaphor, or something else entirely.
4. Are there any parts of the play that do not seem consistent with the author’s argument? Can these parts be reconciled with the author’s thesis? If so, how?
5. Compose a brief retrospective outline of the draft in which you identify each paragraph’s main idea in 3-5 words. Note any paragraphs that do not have clear (or clearly expressed) topic sentences, any paragraphs whose main idea does not relate clearly back to the thesis statement, and any paragraph that seems to have insufficient support for its main idea.
6. Identify any parts of the draft that, as a reader, you have difficulty understanding or following. Try your best to determine the cause of this difficulty; is the passage obscurely or confusingly worded? Is it insufficiently connected to the paragraph’s or the paper’s main idea? Provide your partner with any feedback that you think could help sustain the reader’s attention.
When you have completed the workshop, please turn in your work here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZdqLN22yaILeAl1dXMOQtfm5MCvuBN6qXseb17BdYZc/viewform?usp=send_form
#3: Draft Workshop #2
Next, you will workshop a second group member’s paper, using the same procedures you used for Draft Workshop #1. When you have completed Workshop #2, turn it in here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14cOjYFfPcINnyZ1wquqqzGDnz3m9iYxbhrTL3eUDsn4/viewform?usp=send_form
If you do not complete both draft workshops during the allotted class time, they are due by NOON on Wednesday, April 23. Late workshops will be severely penalized and may not receive any credit at all. Remember, your peers are relying on you for your feedback, so be thorough and prompt!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Activity: Fires in the Mirror
1. One of the key themes that Smith addresses throughout the play is the idea of difference. Work with your group to enumerate some of the many ways that the characters perform or exhibit their differences. What do you think Smith thinks about these differences? Do all of them matter, and if so how much? Further, how are these differences complicated by the fact that “Fires in the Mirror” is conceived as a one-woman show in which a single actor plays all of the roles?
2. One of the things I found most striking and interesting about this play is the language. Describe, in a few words, what the writing in this play is like. Why do you think that Smith chose to present her text in this manner?
3. Rather than being organized into acts or scenes like most of the plays we have read, “Fires in the Mirror” is organized as a series of monologues. Why do you think that Smith chose this organizational strategy? How is it appropriate to the events spoken about in the play? What might have been problematic about portraying these events as a more traditional psychological drama a la “A Doll’s House” or “The Glass Menagerie?”
4. Like “The Glass Menagerie,” “Fires in the Mirror” presents a heavily filtered perspective; that is, we do not see an (ostensibly) objective depiction of the main events of the play (that is, the car crash, its aftermath, and the riots), but rather we see those events through particular characters’ limited perspectives. Do you think that there is a definitive “truth” about the events that inspired the play? What do you think Smith thinks? Is finding this “truth” important? Why or why not?
2. One of the things I found most striking and interesting about this play is the language. Describe, in a few words, what the writing in this play is like. Why do you think that Smith chose to present her text in this manner?
3. Rather than being organized into acts or scenes like most of the plays we have read, “Fires in the Mirror” is organized as a series of monologues. Why do you think that Smith chose this organizational strategy? How is it appropriate to the events spoken about in the play? What might have been problematic about portraying these events as a more traditional psychological drama a la “A Doll’s House” or “The Glass Menagerie?”
4. Like “The Glass Menagerie,” “Fires in the Mirror” presents a heavily filtered perspective; that is, we do not see an (ostensibly) objective depiction of the main events of the play (that is, the car crash, its aftermath, and the riots), but rather we see those events through particular characters’ limited perspectives. Do you think that there is a definitive “truth” about the events that inspired the play? What do you think Smith thinks? Is finding this “truth” important? Why or why not?
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Blog Post #5
Rather than purposefully conveying a
life lesson, Tennessee Williams uses The Glass Menagerie to showcase the
struggles that an average family has during the Great Depression. Through the
use of objects such as the abnormal images on the screen, the music that plays
on cue, and the fourth wall, Williams pushes the boundaries of the traditional
play. By setting up the play as a flashback to one of Tom’s memories as if it
occurs in real time, the reader is left to wonder if having Tom serve a dual
role as both the narrator and participant in the play affects the information
that is presented to the reader. However, upon the conclusion of the play, the
reader leaves frustrated with the ending. While not the ending the reader
wanted or expected, by setting up the play as a "memory play" Tennessee Williams challenges the traditional structure of
most modern plays.
From the very beginning, Tom directly
addresses the audience and breaks the imaginary fourth wall. In Tom’s opening
line, he states “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.”
This immediately sets the stage for the remainder of the play and violates a
reader’s expectation because Tom breaks the invisible fourth wall by addressing
the audience. In addition to Tom breaking the fourth wall, by setting up the
play in this memory format, the reader is left dumbfounded as to how Tom can
reproduce the play in so much detail. When we think of memory, we generally
compress certain events into short stories that can be related in one or two
sentences. However, for Tom, this particular memory is very detailed. In this
sense, the use of this play as a memory proves to be rather strange, until the
ending that is. Because Tom reveals how the memory of Laura and Amanda haunts
him, it is not surprising that he then retains so much information about the
last time he saw them. So not only does the play defy a reader’s expectations
in that the play is one of Tom’s memories, but also that he can recall this
particular event in so much detail.
In addition to changing our initial
expectations of the play, the use of the screen to display various images and
the playing of music at certain times also sticks out to the reader. In
reality, the music and images will not suddenly appear to reinforce the actions
that occur at that time in the play. By using these various effects, reality is
altered in order for Tom to express the certain parts of his memory. At times
when music plays or an image appears, the reader’s attention is drawn to this
particular aspect of the play. While in most plays, a certain monologue or
climactic action draws the attention of the reader, in The Glass Menagerie, a
reader’s attention is drawn to the music or screen as opposed to the actions of
the characters.
By setting up the play in such a way, Williams
not only dumbfounds the reader and breaks the traditional structure of most
plays, but also achieves his purpose. Because the play breaks the traditional
structure and is one of Tom’s memories, the reader wonders whether or not
certain aspects are exaggerated or even occurred at all. Even upon the
conclusion of the play, the reader does not end the play satisfied with the
ending. Most plays would have Laura falling in love and marrying Jim, but The Glass Menagerie does not. Rather Jim
goes back to his fiancé, Tom leaves his family, and Laura and Amanda are left
in an apparent more hopeless situation than when the play started. Thus then
the reader ends the play utterly frustrated with the outcome. However, the conclusion
of the play solidifies William’s goal. Because the play is a memory, when the
memory is over so is the play. There will not be an alternate, “happy” ending
to satisfy the reader. So by breaking the traditional structure, Williams also challenges the reality of traditional plays.
When readers think about the structure of most plays, the majority of events
and themes are unrealistic. By having the play be more in line with reality,
Williams uses The Glass Menagerie to
simply showcase the lives of an average American family and the struggles that they face during a difficult time.
By establishing that this play is a memory, using
the screen and music to draw attention away from the characters, and having an
unhappy ending, Tennessee Williams continually violates the expectations of
both a traditional play and the reader. In the end, he even has the reader
questioning whether or not they received the true story after all. I mean, most
plays have a happy ending, so when Tom leaves, the reader waits for Williams to
resolve the play. However, because the play is one of Tom’s memories, when the
memory ends so does the play. So while the ending is not what the reader wants
nor expects, Williams achieves his purpose in challenging the reality of the
traditional structure of most plays.
The Glass Menagerie Part II
1. What do you make of the racial epithets that Amanda uses at the beginning of scene one? What is her tone when she uses these words? What do you think Williams intended the audience to make of this language?
2. What does the fact that this is a “memory play” mean for the work formally? Aside from telling us up front that this is a memory play, how does the play reinforce the notion that it depicts memories and not real lived experience? Why is this important to how we understand the point of the play?
3. Not only is the play depicting memories, they are depicting Tom’s memories. Do you think that Tom remembers things the way they actually happened? The play depicts some scenes in which Tom was not even present. Can we trust his “memory” of these events? Are there any events or passages in the play that you are suspicious Tom may not be remembering accurately?
4. Do you think that Tom is blameworthy for leaving his family? Why or why not? Do you think that Williams guides us toward a certain reaction to Tom’s leaving? If so, how?
2. What does the fact that this is a “memory play” mean for the work formally? Aside from telling us up front that this is a memory play, how does the play reinforce the notion that it depicts memories and not real lived experience? Why is this important to how we understand the point of the play?
3. Not only is the play depicting memories, they are depicting Tom’s memories. Do you think that Tom remembers things the way they actually happened? The play depicts some scenes in which Tom was not even present. Can we trust his “memory” of these events? Are there any events or passages in the play that you are suspicious Tom may not be remembering accurately?
4. Do you think that Tom is blameworthy for leaving his family? Why or why not? Do you think that Williams guides us toward a certain reaction to Tom’s leaving? If so, how?
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
The Glass Menagerie | Blog Post #5
The most interesting aspect of “The Glass Menagerie” is the
way it is presented to the audience.
Tennessee Williams opens with a lot of stage directions, including:
“The
scene is memory and is therefore non-realistic. Memory takes a lot of poetic license.
It omits some details; others are exaggerated, according to the emotional value
of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart.
The interior is therefore rather dim and poetic.” (Online text)
The indication that the play is a memory defies what a
regular play of the time would do.
Through flashbacks, Williams shows the obligation to family
rather than telling a moral and leaves the reader hanging at the ending.
Williams, living through the Great Depression, depicts life as it was rather than
how things should be done and since he narrates, we get no closure with Laura or
Amanda.
From the very being inning of the play, there is a tension
between Tom and his mother. The strain on their relationship is in part due to
Tom being the provider during the Great Depression (although Amanda does sell
occasionally). To get away with this harsh reality, Tom often goes to the
movies where he seeks excitement in his monotonous life. In scene 6 when
talking to Jim, Tom states:
“TOM: People go to the movies instead of moving! Hollywood
characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America,
while everybody in America sits in a dark room and watches them have them! Yes,
until there's a war. That's when adventure becomes available to the masses... But
I'm not patient. I don't want to wait till then. I'm tired of the movies and I
am about to move!”
This illustrates how life was for ‘the masses’. Ordinary
people had no chance of adventure because they were making ends meet. Through
constantly going back and forth and referring to the movies, Tom illustrates
how miserable life was, which was a stark contrast to previous plays.
For example, in “A Doll’s House”, Nora stands up for herself
and there is a moral to the story; there is a take away. In this play, there is
no take away. It provides an insight rather a theme.
Further, Tom’s monologue at the end states that he left his
family.
“TOM: Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I
am more faithful than I intended to be! I reach for a cigarette, I cross the
street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to the nearest
stranger -anything that can blow your candles out… and so goodbye.”
Because this is all of Tom’s memory, we get no closure with
the other character and we don’t know what became of Laura or Amanda. There are
many unanswered questions, which is peculiar because it is a full length play,
compared to “Endgame”
I think Williams did this to form a new style. In this, we
only know what Tom remembers. We don’t know what truly happens. I think he did
this because it’s similar to how people recount a story. I also think he did
this to make the reader think about the ending. We feel for Laura, but we don’t
know what will come of her, similar to how things are in real life.
I think it’s frustrating, in a good way. When reading a
novel, readers want to know every last detail. However, with this, it is like
you really knew Laura and you drifted apart and you don’t know how her life
turned out. It’s true. In that respect, I do believe Williams achieved his
goal, for I can only think about what happens to Laura and Amanda.
Blog Post #5 The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, makes bold moves to innovate what can be portrayed on the stage. From the screen that intermittently displays images to the theme music that plays on cue, multiple things push the boundaries of the traditional play format. What I want to focus on is Williams' attempt to portray truth through the unrealistic world he creates in the Glass Menagerie. Here Williams utilizes an illusory world to express his thoughts to the audience.
There are multiple reasons Williams uses an imaginary world to represent truth. For one, he gains an inherent flexibility with the environment and characters since the world does not have to be like reality at all. Also, he defies the typical mold of plays attempting to portray reality. Altogether, just like Endgame, the play can be more profound through the utilization of bizarre features (such as the glass menagerie, the screen, the fire escape, Laura's physical deformities etc). Williams' goal is to reach beyond the limitations of realism.
As far as my reaction as a reader, I find the quaint details of the play pop out of the setting in a way that no "lifelike" detail could do itself. I almost feel as if Williams wanted the reader to constantly ask, "Why?" From the start this question puts the reader into an analytic mindset which undoubtedly is the author's objective. For example, the dual character of Tom really got my head spinning since he performs as a character and narrates as an objective viewer. At first I assumed Tom would have a better perspective since the entire play was in his hindsight, but once he started arguing with Amanda over how to chew food, my assumption crumbled. How can one person be totally removed from a situation while also being totally involved? This is an example of a bizarre feature that in a way hypnotizes the reader into a relationship with the play.
The last part of the prompt asks if I personally think that Williams achieved his goal of using an illusion to demonstrate truth in reality. I would answer yes, and the best way to support my view is to a give a good example of truth presented through the imaginary world of the play. Here is my best/favorite example:
The way that a lack of power does not necessarily mean that one has no influence.
This truth is seen in the play through the odd influence Laura has on her brother and mother. Although physically handicapped and mentally stunned, she has a unifying power in the household. This can be seen in the way she peacefully settles quarrels between Amanda and Tom and in the tranquil nature of her character. She also serves as an anchor for Amanda and Tom. For if she were not there, would Tom and Amanda not leave the house to pursue other interests? She, even in her own helplessness, causes the family unit to mesh together despite the lack of a father in the home. She reminds me of the influence of children in real life. They are fragile (like glass and like Laura's frail body) and unable to fend for themselves. Children can serve as an anchor too just like Laura. Often times parents are motivated to go to work and stick together everyday because of the children's profound influence. Then, and I have seen it on multiple occasions, the children become independent and leave for college or for the work force while the house crumbles (or burns) behind them. The parents separate having become different as the years went by and look for the best way to spend their final years. This process in reality attests to the value of Laura in Williams' imaginary world. The weakest characters can have an incredible effect. Dependence has its value, and Independence has its cost.
I rest my case (since this is only one example there are many more). I think that Tennessee Williams did an extraordinarily great job extrapolating truth from illusion.
There are multiple reasons Williams uses an imaginary world to represent truth. For one, he gains an inherent flexibility with the environment and characters since the world does not have to be like reality at all. Also, he defies the typical mold of plays attempting to portray reality. Altogether, just like Endgame, the play can be more profound through the utilization of bizarre features (such as the glass menagerie, the screen, the fire escape, Laura's physical deformities etc). Williams' goal is to reach beyond the limitations of realism.
As far as my reaction as a reader, I find the quaint details of the play pop out of the setting in a way that no "lifelike" detail could do itself. I almost feel as if Williams wanted the reader to constantly ask, "Why?" From the start this question puts the reader into an analytic mindset which undoubtedly is the author's objective. For example, the dual character of Tom really got my head spinning since he performs as a character and narrates as an objective viewer. At first I assumed Tom would have a better perspective since the entire play was in his hindsight, but once he started arguing with Amanda over how to chew food, my assumption crumbled. How can one person be totally removed from a situation while also being totally involved? This is an example of a bizarre feature that in a way hypnotizes the reader into a relationship with the play.
The last part of the prompt asks if I personally think that Williams achieved his goal of using an illusion to demonstrate truth in reality. I would answer yes, and the best way to support my view is to a give a good example of truth presented through the imaginary world of the play. Here is my best/favorite example:
The way that a lack of power does not necessarily mean that one has no influence.
This truth is seen in the play through the odd influence Laura has on her brother and mother. Although physically handicapped and mentally stunned, she has a unifying power in the household. This can be seen in the way she peacefully settles quarrels between Amanda and Tom and in the tranquil nature of her character. She also serves as an anchor for Amanda and Tom. For if she were not there, would Tom and Amanda not leave the house to pursue other interests? She, even in her own helplessness, causes the family unit to mesh together despite the lack of a father in the home. She reminds me of the influence of children in real life. They are fragile (like glass and like Laura's frail body) and unable to fend for themselves. Children can serve as an anchor too just like Laura. Often times parents are motivated to go to work and stick together everyday because of the children's profound influence. Then, and I have seen it on multiple occasions, the children become independent and leave for college or for the work force while the house crumbles (or burns) behind them. The parents separate having become different as the years went by and look for the best way to spend their final years. This process in reality attests to the value of Laura in Williams' imaginary world. The weakest characters can have an incredible effect. Dependence has its value, and Independence has its cost.
I rest my case (since this is only one example there are many more). I think that Tennessee Williams did an extraordinarily great job extrapolating truth from illusion.
Blog post #5 - The Glass Menagerie
Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie defies what we, the audience, believe to be
modern play characteristics. He does this in a few key ways: the use of a
screen during the play, the narration of the play by a main character, and by
making the play a memory.
In the original writing of the
play, Tennessee Williams had planned for a screen to be placed on stage with
images projected onto it. These images would emphasize significance of an
object or event or even foreshadow a coming event. For example, in the first
scene, lines 76-85 Amanda is telling Tom how she had seventeen gentleman
callers back in the day. According to stage direction the screen produces an
image of Amanda greeting callers on a porch. In this part of the play the
screen serves as a medium to show a flashback, even though the play in itself
is a memory. In a separate part of the play the screen is used to emphasize key
words in the play, such as in scene two when the screen shows an image of blue
roses, the nickname Jim had given Laura in school.
Another characteristic of the play
that is not typical to what we believe a modern play to be is the narration of
the play by one of the leading characters, Tom. While narration of a play is
common, Tennessee Williams decides to use Tom as both a narrator and main
character in the play. In the opening scene the audience learns the background
of the play through Tom’s narration. Tom then proceeds to enter into the play
as a regular character and acts just as if he has been in the play the whole
time. Contrary to the idea that the narrator should be of a third party and not
in the play, Tennessee Williams decides to have Tom narrate as the play is of
Tom’s own memory.
Tom’s narration allows for Williams
to once again defy our understanding of a modern play by making the play that
of a memory. We learn of this in scene one line 16 as Tom states “The play is a
memory” to the audience. While plays that include flashbacks may be common, it
is unusual that this play was created as a recollection subject to character
Tom who experienced the actions firsthand in the future. The fact that the play
is a memory also contributes to the abrupt ending we see in the play as Tom’s
memory has ended.
Blog Post 5
While Tennesee Williams' play may seem like a normal late 19th century play as you begin to read it, it definitely ends up surprising the reader. Generally speaking, you expect a play to have an introduction, rising action, a climax, falling action, and an ending. The Glass Menagerie however doesn't fit that mold. The play seems to be written in a very bland, monotonous tone that contains no excitement. The main surprise related to the plot and overall setup of the play is the ending, because there basically isn't one. Well, there isn't a significant one anyway; it leaves you hanging and questioning what exactly has happened.
Williams' play opens up with a pretty normal introduction that provides a solid background and introduces the characters that the reader will focus on throughout the play. Many small events happen during the play, like Tom arguing with his mother, Tom always leaving the house, Tom inviting one of his coworkers over for dinner, Jim kissing Laura, Laura's favorite animal breaking, etc. The problem is that none of these events have much of a significance and therefore don't really bring much interest to the play. Also, many of the events almost seem strange and unexpected. The most unexpected part of the entire play is the ending.
The final scene opens with descriptions of dinner, contains Jim and Laura's dancing and kissing, includes Jim's telling of his engagement and why he must rush off, Amanda's confrontation with Tom about him playing a "joke" by inviting Jim over, and then it ends in a completely unexpected way. Tom's final monologue informs the reader of several things: he was fired from his job at the warehouse, he wants to be like his father, he has been traveling in order to accomplish his goal (though he does not inform us of the goal), and he truly misses his sister because he sees so many things while he is gone that somehow remind him of her. Most of these things Tom discusses are being introduced to the reader for the first time. The fact that almost everything he sees reminds him of his sister really stood out to me, because it didn't seem like she meant that much to him in the play. After Tom finishes his monologue, the play simply ends. There's no rebuttal from Amanda (like there usually is when Tom speaks), there's no indication of how Laura feels, and it's just over. Like I said earlier, it's like Tennessee Williams wanted to leave you hanging and waiting for more, although you were never going to get that.
There is no doubt in my mind as to why Tennessee Williams chose to end this play in the way that he did. He wrote this play as a "memory play" which simply portrayed a memory, through Tom's eyes in this particular case, so it must begin when his memory begins and end when his memory ends. Reading this type of play would not be my preference, because it is like a small "chunk" has been taken out of time and you are never really informed about what went on in the time surrounding the "chunk" that was taken out. I would much rather read a play that had a normal plot structure so there would seem like there was more of a point to the play. However, Williams accomplished his goal of writing The Glass Menagerie as a "memory play" because basically the entire play was told through Tom's eyes and opinion. It is easy for the reader to realize that it is his memory that was important, because his actions seem to take over the majority of the play. The ending also solidifies Williams' efforts in writing this particular type of play, because when his memory is over, the play is over; there is nothing else included to make the play have a normal ending. You can also tell the focus is on Tom, because he is the main character involved with the beginning and ending of the play.
Williams' play opens up with a pretty normal introduction that provides a solid background and introduces the characters that the reader will focus on throughout the play. Many small events happen during the play, like Tom arguing with his mother, Tom always leaving the house, Tom inviting one of his coworkers over for dinner, Jim kissing Laura, Laura's favorite animal breaking, etc. The problem is that none of these events have much of a significance and therefore don't really bring much interest to the play. Also, many of the events almost seem strange and unexpected. The most unexpected part of the entire play is the ending.
The final scene opens with descriptions of dinner, contains Jim and Laura's dancing and kissing, includes Jim's telling of his engagement and why he must rush off, Amanda's confrontation with Tom about him playing a "joke" by inviting Jim over, and then it ends in a completely unexpected way. Tom's final monologue informs the reader of several things: he was fired from his job at the warehouse, he wants to be like his father, he has been traveling in order to accomplish his goal (though he does not inform us of the goal), and he truly misses his sister because he sees so many things while he is gone that somehow remind him of her. Most of these things Tom discusses are being introduced to the reader for the first time. The fact that almost everything he sees reminds him of his sister really stood out to me, because it didn't seem like she meant that much to him in the play. After Tom finishes his monologue, the play simply ends. There's no rebuttal from Amanda (like there usually is when Tom speaks), there's no indication of how Laura feels, and it's just over. Like I said earlier, it's like Tennessee Williams wanted to leave you hanging and waiting for more, although you were never going to get that.
There is no doubt in my mind as to why Tennessee Williams chose to end this play in the way that he did. He wrote this play as a "memory play" which simply portrayed a memory, through Tom's eyes in this particular case, so it must begin when his memory begins and end when his memory ends. Reading this type of play would not be my preference, because it is like a small "chunk" has been taken out of time and you are never really informed about what went on in the time surrounding the "chunk" that was taken out. I would much rather read a play that had a normal plot structure so there would seem like there was more of a point to the play. However, Williams accomplished his goal of writing The Glass Menagerie as a "memory play" because basically the entire play was told through Tom's eyes and opinion. It is easy for the reader to realize that it is his memory that was important, because his actions seem to take over the majority of the play. The ending also solidifies Williams' efforts in writing this particular type of play, because when his memory is over, the play is over; there is nothing else included to make the play have a normal ending. You can also tell the focus is on Tom, because he is the main character involved with the beginning and ending of the play.
Blog Post #5
Tennessee Williams really did create a new theatrical genre when he created memory plays. In a previous drama class, one of the biggest aspects of theatre was the common, agreed-upon notion that the everything is unfolding before the audience's eyes for the first time. It is clear that this is not the case in The Glass Menagerie because we know Tom is recollecting memories. While we, the audience, are all experiencing these events for the first time, Tom's prologue breaks the 4th wall and informs the audience that this is not occurring in real time. While it is not uncommon for characters to break the 4th wall, it is interesting that the character breaks the 4th wall in order to become the narrator. Tom tells us that we will experience an illusion in which we think these events are unfolding in real time.
Williams defines memory plays as being selective since the the past is being retold from a primary source. Thus, objectivity has been removed from the story and our interpretation of the events that occurred can be really misconstrued. This conscious choice by Williams, along with his very specific stage directions, distinct characterizations of the characters and the screens pronouncing the main idea of every scene, pushes readers to believe that Williams had a distinct "point" of the play or a story that he did not misinterpreted. It is believed that The Glass Menagerie closes resembles a time in Williams' life and that the character Tom represents Williams. Williams' provides a sample story of how the Great Depression affected families and influenced their values. He wants the audience to pity the situation that Tom is in: the Great Depression has trapped Tom in the unfulfilling lives of both Amanda and Laura, crippling his dreams and ambitions and forcing him to seek refuge elsewhere. The theme Williams is trying to personify is that desperate times cause of desperate measures. Similar to Amanda trying to downplay Laura's disability and make it irrelevant, Williams sister had medical illness that convinced their mother seek controversial treatment. Also, like Tom, Williams worked in a factory in order to help out his family; college did not work out well for him so his father put him to work. Relating this to Laura, once Amanda knows Laura has dis-enrolled from school, Amanda puts all her eggs in the marriage basket for Laura.
I think Williams achieves his goal of trying to bring the audience closer to the truth and reality he is trying to exhibit with the memory play. Williams creates an unrealistic setting for the audience to try and forge a truth and reality from. The lighting, music, screens, and narration create an active engagement with the audience that accurately demonstrates lives of the Great Depression.
Blog Post # 5 - The Glass Menagerie
Tennessee Williams, author of The Glass Menagerie and many other important dramatic works, defies the audiences’ expectations with the aforementioned masterpiece. A conventional play (or what Williams refers to as, a “realistic” play) relies on a sort of photorealistic setting, populated with believable and true-to-life characters and a, well, conventional approach to chronology. Williams however, employs things such as an unconventional timeline by making The Glass Menagerie a “memory play,” unusual lighting, and musical underscores to totally break the comfortable and long-accepted mold. In doing so, he questions just how true to reality these conventional dramatic works were and are, and attempts to create an alternative way in which to present plays so as to make them even closer to reality.
Williams himself says that, because The Glass Menagerie is a “memory play,” it should not and does not stray away from its “responsibility of dealing with reality,” but that it instead “should be attempting to find a closer approach, a more penetrating and vivid expression of things as they are.” I feel that he succeeded in doing so with The Glass Menagerie, despite its off-putting challenges to theatrical norms mentioned above. In fact, it is because of these challenges that this success is possible. Take the very nature of the play for example - what does Williams mean by “memory play”? The narrator, Tom, explains this to the audience in the first monologue of the show:
TOM: The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic. In memory everything seems to happen to music. That explains the fiddle in the wings.
I am the narrator in the play, and also a character in it.
This may seem to challenge what was previously asserted by his claiming that “it is not realistic,” but that he breaks the fourth wall and levels with the audience has the opposite effect. Now we know (as if we didn’t before) that it’s just a play, that it’s just a memory, but Tom does not say that he is but an actor. What he has set up now, particularly in the latter portion of his monologue by referring to himself as a poet with a “weakness for symbols,” is that he is very real. From this point onward, the play can be read (or viewed) as a conversation between Tom and the audience - a conversation one might have at a bar with a stranger after asking why they’re there and receive an answer which neither were expecting. The setting and timeline choices now all appear to be logical and manipulated specifically to make the play seem as a real memory does. That Williams chooses to use dim, unexpected, and unconventional lighting choices to highlight certain characters (for instance, Laura as she sat on the couch in the dinner scene with Jim) only underscores this. In memories, often times the oddest things are what stand out, what appear the most important after the fact. The dim and spotty lighting show the audience exactly how he remembers it, and the music we hear in the background serves to do the same.
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