Fellysia:
Among the three plays which we looked at in class, Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie struck me as the most interesting of all. As a notable example of Realism drama, a type of play which tries to bring in as many elements of real life as possible into the plays to allow an honest depiction of reality, The Glass Menagerie portrays a believable and poignant depiction of human relationships in a familial sphere. As many literary scholars stated, it is indeed believed to be autobiographical for William underwent similar plight in his childhood.
The story begins with the narrator Tom notifying the audience that this is a memory play, for the incidents which are about to take place happened 7 years prior to that. Tom is an ambitious guy who is not satisfied with his current life as he yearns for an adventurous life as a sailor. However, his dream is not feasible because after his father has abandoned the family, he becomes the breadwinner in the house. As the days gone by, the confinement of living in a house with a constantly nagging mother, Amanda, and crippled sister, Laura, becomes a bit too much for him that he decides to leave them and pursues his dreams. His mother agrees to let him off his responsibility as long as he can find a Gentleman’s Caller for his sister. Because Laura is a reserved and diffident girl, borne in upon her limping leg, she has difficulty to find a husband. Her physical defect strips her from any form of self esteem that she tends to seek refuge in the glass menageries she owns. She spends a lot of time taking care of these figurines, polishing them with minute care. In this through this means that she tries to escape the reality of her miserable life, especially from her overbearing mother. This fact troubles Amanda and thus, she wants Tom to find his sister a decent husband to take care of her. Jim, the bachelor who Tom thinks could be the perfect companion for his sister, turns out to be engaged to another woman already. Yet, Tom still leaves Laura behind to chase after his dreams. It is thus, in the light of overwhelming guilt that Tom retells his “memory” to us.
The problems arise amongst them illustrate a dysfunctional family which we stumble across everyday. All of the characters is burdened with life in his or her own ways that each of them tries to cope with it as how they see fit. As a result, one’s attempt to gain blissfulness might become another’s suffering for our lives are all connected in a bizarre way. Tom’s utmost regret for fleeing his home also tells us that the weight of responsibility can lead us to terrible decisions. It is not easy to choose which road to take, following his dream or devoting his life for the sake of his family, as each choice bears its own positive and negative consequences, which is why I develop a particular feeling of empathy towards his personal struggles. In this story, although Tom is seen to have gone for his personal dreams, he doesn’t find contentment because the shadow of having abandoned his sister haunts him ruthlessly that both guilt and regret envelop his soul.
- “Time is the longest distance between two places” -
Aswin:
Between the three plays that discussed in the class, the easiest play to understand for me is the The Glass Menagerie. The Glass Menagerie plot is easy to understand because there is a cause-effect and action-reaction plot in the story. One of the example that can be noticed in the play is Laura that deals with her nagging mother, Laura makes a strong reaction against her mother through looking at the glass menagerie. The action that she take give a strong sense to the reader about how Laura is.
Veronica:
Two weeks ago, our group had to discuss about a play by Tennessee Williams, titled The Glass Menagerie. What i like about the play is the symbolism of using glass menagerie to represent the fragility of the character, named Laura. It is very obvious to determine what does the intended meaning behind the title itself. One of the characteristics of Realism is if there is a cause then there will be an effect, if there is an action then there will be a reaction. We can find it clearly in the play. The first support is when Amanda asked Tom to find a man (gentleman caller) for Laura. If Tom can find a man for his sister, then Amanda will let him leave the family. Tom wants to leave the family because of the environment where he lives is not enjoyable for him. His mother is a nagging mother, meanwhile his sister is crippled. He cannot bear this kind of situation anymore.
The other play that we have discussed on our last meeting was The Great Divide by William Vaughn. This is a type of melodrama play. Usually in melodrama play, there is a strong climax for the ending in each scene. It is obvious in this play to find that kind of characteristic, for example in act 1, Ghent and Ruth run away from Ruth's home although she does not love him. She leaves a note indicating that she has chosen her own future by going with the man of her choice. In act 2, suddenly Ruth leaves Ghent. Indeed, this ending also a strong climax for the story.. Meanwhile in act 3, Ruth becomes in love with him through her society's judgment, such as her mother and her sister in law.
Between those two plays, i like The Great Divide because in each scene, there will always be a strong climax which seems to be unresolved problems. This will make the readers curiosity rises...
kharis :
I like realism. From the glass menagerie play, I learn about something that might happen in our life. It’s real, and might happen. The story of a dysfunctional family consists of a nagging mother, crippled daughter and an unsettled son is a story worth learning and reflecting. Because I’m a boy, I’m trying to position myself in the position of Tom. What am I going to do, if I wanted to become a sailor, but my shameful family is standing between me and my dream? I think I will give up my dream and help my family to survive in this harsh situation we are having. It’s pitiful to be unable to achieve your dream, but I think, as a son, I have to be aware of the situation that, my sister is crippled, and as a brother in blood, the only person she can depend on is me, I don’t want to left her. More or less, the story of Glass Menagerie is the same with the story of my life, but different in some way. My father is a good person, my mother is quite the nagging lady, but she is a good person, and my sister is suffering from psychomotor cerebral palsy. That’s the similarity I am having with Tom, a crippled sister. But I don’t want to leave her.
