Alexander Reckford
English 126 - Lupton
April 7, 2014

Blog Post 5: The Glass Menagerie

In “The Glass Menagerie,” Tennessee Williams defies our expectations of what a play should be and do by presenting it as a memory play in which a character resembling himself acts as both the narrator and one of the main characters. Presenting his play as the memory of one of the main characters, and having that character also narrate is both unconventional and thought provoking. While many may believe that presenting the play as a memory is an attempt to step away from reality and truth and into the world of the unknown, Williams clearly states through Tom’s narration at the beginning of the play that he “give[s] you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion” (3-4). Williams presents his play in the form of a memory in an attempt to better interpret, analyze, and grasp onto reality and “truth.”

Having the main character also narrate his own memory adds an entirely new dimension to the play as well, allowing him, and by extension the reader, to transcend time between the past and present. This forces the reader to think deeper about the greater meaning of life and reality than one normally would when viewing just one specific time or event since they must consider the past, present, and future of the characters all at once. Williams complicates this even further by modeling the main character after himself, so that the reader can view Tom as taking on three different personas in three different time frames all at once. This gives Tom even more weight as a character while doubly giving Williams voice as an author even more power. Since the reader can interpret the play as one of Williams’ own personal memories, reading or viewing the play becomes a far more personal and intimate experience.

            As a reader, I at first got a bit lost, whether it was in Williams’ head, Tom’s head, or my own, and was caught off guard by the shocking depth of the play and its many different facets and angles. I enjoyed reading this play far more than many others we have read this semester, however, because of how thought provoking it was. Because of this I believe Williams did achieve his goal in a brilliant way by playing with some of the “foundational assumptions of drama” and providing people with a new, unique, and thought provoking method of viewing a play.