The Glass Menagerie
By: Tennessee Williams
The Glass Menagerie, written
by Tennessee Williams, is a story of memories. It is the tale of the past of
Tom Wingfield and his family and is characterized by anecdotes and recounts of
old times. It is in drawing form the past, however, that the future of the
characters is formed.
“What are we going to do, what is going to become of us,
what is the future (Page 1241)?” Throughout the first two scenes, the
characters ask many rhetorical questions similar to the one presented above to
present inner personal conflicts as well as relationship conflicts. In the
beginning of the play, the idea that the future is tied to the past is
presented as Mama recounts the story of her youth to encourage Laura to pursue
the idea of finding a husband. Conflict arises though as Laura internally
struggles with her physical disability which she sees as a weakness that no man
could ever love. Externally Laura also struggles as she becomes disconnected with
her mother who worries constantly about the future, especially Laura’s future,
as she learns that Laura has left Rubicam’s Business College and been deceiving
the family. The rhetorical questions also
present themes within the story such as deception (“You did all this to deceive
me, just for deception (Page 1243)?) and reality (“Amuse ourselves with the
glass menagerie, darling (Page 1243)?”). As the story progresses, the reader
also develops their own rhetorical questions about the themes and symbols
presented like examining the importance of acceptance, the value of love, and
the meaning of the glass menagerie.
Through simple questions that often have no required answer,
conflicts, impacts, and themes can be analyzed. Just as in the quote concerning
the future, the reader too is challenged to think more deeply about the
conflicts of the novel. In stepping back into the past with the Wingfield
family, Tom's memory comes to life.
yeet
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