The Glass Menagerie

Traditionally, plays are defined and shaped by their plot, characters, setting, protagonist, antagonist, and climax.  In this play, The Glass Menagerie, one may even argue that there is not enough defining features to even call this a play.  At the beginning of the play, the author establishes that this is not a play; this is a memory.  Throughout the play the characters would suddenly stop what they are doing and talk to the audience.  As a result of the ambiguousness of this play, one may argue that it does not qualify as a play.  In this play there is no defined protagonist or antagonist.  There is no climax, and the setting is vague.  During the play there is a screen that is held up before every scene and major event.  This is used as a tool for guiding the audience in explaining that this point in the play is important.  The only issue is, the audience needs to discover why that part is important.   

I think the author chooses this style of play due to get across several points.  First, Williams is attempting to make a statement on the ambiguity between what is a memory and what is a reality.  These characters seem to be terrible at interacting with others and thus they are living in a reality world.  While Amanda attempts to find a suitable husband for her daughter Laura, she struggles because Laura spends more time looking at her figurines than at interacting with others.  The title “The Glass Menagerie” demonstrates how these characters are just figurines going through the motions not living real life.  They do not have a climax, they have no antagonist, they continue in this fantasy and alternate world. 

Additionally, this play is formatted to make a statement on the way memory plays in our lives and plays in the lives of these characters.  The use of the screen demonstrates how certain things permeate in our brain.  These moments, like when the glass breaks, demonstrate how in people’s lives, when big events, such as Laura’s figurine breaks, make big impacts on the way we are. 

I think ultimately the author is successful in achieving his goal of creating an environment which highlights how memory and reality go hand in hand in one’s life and the importance of escaping the fantasy world that many people get stuck in.  Amanda was so convinced that her daughter needed to find a husband to be happy and she failed too look at the bigger picture which was that Laura was just as happy alone as she was with others.