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Hints for Prompts
- Underline or circle key words BEFORE you begin.
- Take a few moments to brainstorm; listing or webbing works.
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"Tis the good reader that makes a good book." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
38 comments:
In the Glass Menagerie, stage directions and lighting are meant to lead the reader or viewer to think a certain thought. One example was when Amanda made a comment about her husband and the stage lights shone on his portrait.
Another example would be in the scene where Tom and Amanda are having the argument in which Tom calls her an ugly witch. Even though Tom and Amanda are the center of action, the "clearest pool of light" focuses on Laura, giving her more attention.
Williams gave specific instructions regarding the lighting of Laura. He said that her light should be different and pristine. This goes well with her character. Laura is different from everyone else (she is "Blue Roses") and she is also very pure/innocent because she has never really left her closed enviroment. The word pristine also reminds me of the glass menagerie. So the lighting for Laura gives me the impression that Laura is like the glass menagerie (fragile, pristine, etc.).
Williams also says that the lighting should be dim. This contributes to the sad mood of the play.
Tennessee Williams's play, like any good play or novel, really made me think and reflect, in this case on life itself. It reinforces the idea that you only have one life on this earth (from the Christian point of view, anyway) and that it shouldn't be monotonous or ordinary. Williams, in my opinion, is trying to get the point across to his audience that a life is a special thing that should be lived to the fullest and primarily on your own terms. Of course, one's life can't be lived completely on one's own terms, but it should not be dictated entirely by someone else's terms. This is the case with both Laura and Tom. Tom is holding himself back by living in a run-down apartment and doing menial tasks at a warehouse day after day to support a single mother and a seemingly useless sister when he could be on his own, free to do whatever his heart desired. Laura is being forced into a lifestyle that she feels is not for her. And, as we can plainly see, both characters are living less than satisfying lives and are not necessarily as happy as they could be. This play reminds me through the plights of Tom and Laura that I should enjoy my life and make the most of it.
Reflecting on the scene that alekhya mentioned, I noticed a great deal of symbolism in this part of the play. Of course, symbolism is everywhere throughout the play, but this scene grabbed me for a couple of reasons. Firstly I have to make the observation, though, that the screen used in the actual play of the Glass Menagerie is of utmost importance because it highlights the key phrases or objects in the play. I look forward to actually seeing this play in the future with the unique screen aspect helping in the plays progression.
On the topic of symbolism, however, I discovered a few interesting details. When Amanda and Tom are fighting in this scene, the pool of light is almost, like Alekhya said, making Laura herself as a symbolic representation of the glass menagerie. Then later, after many harsh words have been yelled, Tom makes a flustered attempt to leave the house, and in doing so he tosses his overcoat across the room, hitting the glass menagerie. Many pieces shatter. This compares directly with the shattering impact that the fighting of Amanda and Tom has on Laura, as if the shattering glass is Laura's mind being broken into pieces by the intense argument of the two people closest to her.
BRAD'S COMMENTS
I did not really enjoy the Glass Menagerie as much as the previous plays we have read to be honest. Perhaps it is just the style or the popular mood of the time period but I found it very depressing and dark. As opposed to Oedipus, where the theme was searching for the truth, this play was all about illusions and not seeing the real truth. This bothered me. Mostly the character of Jim bothered me. He was an ordinary man yet Amanda thought he was amazing, it shows you how truly dull her life must be. Hence the darker mood. This was also further forced home with the constantly darker lighting showing the depression.
Like Dean mentioned, I think that Williams stage directions are there to make the reader focus something of major importance. One example would be in the beginning of Scene two when everything is dark except for the image of the Blue Roses. The Blue Roses are very symbolic and important throughout the entire play and I believe that Williams really wants us to realize that.
In Glass Menagerie, the lighting helps the audience focus on certain parts of the stage, such as props or characters. The lights upon the father's portrait, the lights focusing on Laura--all these are instances where the audience is supposed to pay close attention to what is lighted.
The lighting also helps to set the mood for each character. When the light shines on Tom, it emphasizes his anger or irritation at that moment. But, when the light shines on Laura, it is supposed to accentuate her wanting acceptance and yet at the same time her shyness.
marchin'tarheel, I think your comparison between Laura and the glass menagerie is right on the money, an excellent point.
When we were discussing our Oedipus essays, Julia, I believe, noted that the setting was set all in one place, allowing us to focus on the characters and their inner conflicts. I think the same can be said about The Glass Menagerie. Since Williams chose to keep everything located in one spot, the reader can pay more attention to and relate to the individual characters. The lighting and stage directions help with this as well. For example, I think both play an important role in showing the effect of Mr. Wingfield's absence. First, in scene 4, at the end of a brief argument between Laura and Tom about Amanda, his picture lights up, drawing attention to it. Second, in scene 5, after an altercation between Tom and Amanda, the stage directions instruct her to stare at the picture. This second instance struck me more because it happened right after Amanda said "That's the tragedy of it..." Both incidents show how the leaving of a loved one can produce a lasting effect on those close to them.
Also, on a minor note, since the play is told from memory and one of the recurring themes is the idea of illusion, Williams was right to include directions relating to different pieces of music. I think that with music playing in the background, the reader is reminded that he is, in fact, looking into Tom's thoughts, a mere illusion of the actual truth.
I thought that the stage directions and lighting were used a lot to accentuate what the author wanted you to focus on, even if that wasn't where the central action was at the time. This is evident in the scene alekhya mentioned with the light focusing on laura, while tom and amanda fight.
P.S.- My first real thought on this question was that the author thought the play needed to be longer but couldn't come up with any more plot, ergo the ridiculous amount of directions.
I think the staging of the Glass Menagerie adds to the overall meaning of the play in that the entire story takes place in one apartment. The characters are staged in the same certain rooms for the whole play (the kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc). Because the scene never changes, it really makes the reader feel a little claustrophobic and it ideas to the idea that the characters are "trapped" in their current situation. Day after day, Laura stays in the same room with her glass menagerie and her typewriter, day after day Amanda prances around the house expecting gentleman callers, and day after day Tom returns home from the shoe factory only to go back out to the movies. It is as if this vicious cycle of being stuck in their present situation cannot be broken, and I think staging every character in the same setting for the entirety of the play really reflects this idea.
Williams directors notes are what make the play, reading it is a little slow but I think it would be brilliant on stage. His notes are almost too detailed for stage direction, makes me wonder why he never wrote novels. The element that I find most symbolic (or literal, all how you look at it) is the screen where he asks for select phrases and images to be projected. This is a great way to spotlight important ideas that would not be easily noticed in the regular dialouge of the play. It's like play punctuation, a way to spotlight and make people pause on an idea like a colon in a poem. For instance tom struggle with his mind numbing job was punctuated by "you think I'm in love with continental Shoemakers?" long before the argument with his mother. So when Tom actually spoke the words in the dialouge the reader (spectator)is forced to stop and think about where they have seem those words before, therefore giving the words greater meaning than would be percieved without the screen.
It is interesting to me how the lighting on Laura is described as having "a particular pristine clarity". This seems to kind of reveal the simplicity of her character. She is self-conscious because of her handicap, and so she avoids drawing attention to herself (which also adds some irony to the fact that the spotlight is quite literally on her throughout the play) and so she isolates herself from her peers. It also shows how she must have felt when she would walk into class late with the "clunking" noise she thought was so loud, but was not noticeable to others. It shows how she sees herself-unwillingly in the spotlight-even though when she is in public she really isn't drawing much attention at all to herself.
On a different note, one thing about the play that I don't quite understand is why Jim seems to lead Laura on for so long just to tell her that he is engaged. Sure, for a while, he is just being friendly, like when he asks about what she's done since high school and other small talk...and even the "psychoanalysis" that he did of her can be taken that way. He encourages her, which is of course a positive action, but then he goes past the bounds of friendship and kisses her. To me, that seems like one of the worst things he could have done. This seems inconsistent with his character, since he is portrayed as a good guy throughout the play. Why did he build her up just to let her fall so hard? I don't understand that.
In the begining of the play, the stage directions say for Amanda and Laura to pretend to be eating real food when actually there is nothing there. I thought that this might symbolize the imaginary world that Amanda seems to be living in. Just like she is eating food that isn't there, she seems to be planning her and her children's futures on hopes that aren't really there.
Not to kill a topic, but another example of the stage directions that nobody's mentioned is the music that drifts in at different moments. The fact that Williams chose circus music from a distance to use in this play, shows not only the comic aspect of say Amanda and even Tom but also the loneliness that this family has to endure. Reading the play, I was struck with just the patheticness of their lives (like Will) and the music fully embodied and reinforced this idea.
I saw a lot of symbolism in the sentence that talked about the glass menagerie and it described how the glass can have light shine through it and look so beautiful, but it only lasted for a moment. This was exactly like Laura's one shining moment with Jim, her first and only male caller, and the shining confidence he gave her when he told her she was pretty and different. Its hard not to feel sorry for Laura and Tom and Amanda, but i still never believed that Tom would actually make the action of leaving. This part really surprised me because as much as he mentioned it, i never thought he could actually bring himself to do it.
i think that the stage and light directions help set the mood in this play. As you can obviously see in the play depending on the mood of the scene the lighting agrees with it. Williams has to show the characters personality through his stage directions because the scene is so controlled.
Williams's stage directions and lighting in particular change the focus of the play from the main characters, amanda and tom, to show the true focus of everything, laura. With different lighting, the audience may get that she's important, but she would just be more in the background the, not the center. The fact that she's always lit up forces the audience to notice her and realize that she is the center of this memory. It also serves to give her a more innocent and holy look.
I think that the stage directions and lighting are used to focus on everything that Tom understands and thinks. He is the origin of this memory, and we see him actually giving some of the stage direction, like when he motions for music and a spot of light on Amanda. He is, in the memory, mostly focused on himself. However, when he looks back, he realizes how much he cared for his sister and therefore focuses most of the lighting on her. For instance, when Tom and Amanda are fighting, Laura has a spotlight on her to show the effect his fighting had on her. This idea coincides with Tom's last monologue when he says, "Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be." He only now realizes what an impact his sister made upon him, which is a portion of the tragedy of this play.
Hi there--I'm Mr. Hogan, one of the new teachers at Hanna. Mrs. Harder invited me to read some of your blog entries. Your insights are indeed impressive.
Regarding the prompt--have you ever had a dream in which your focus is directed towards one particular event or detail? What about one of those "instant replay" moments in your mind where all you see is a singular part of a larger occurence? The flashing-before-your-eyes recollection is the brain's powerful way of training your eye on something very important--even if the significance isn't immediately clear.
One of your comments mentioned this play is narrated as a memory experience... do you think the stage lighting "directs" your eye as if you were reviewing the events of the play as a memory or dream?
Like most people have been saying I believe that the lighting and stage direction of this play are extremely important to the overall meaning of the play! Where the brightest light is seen is where the reader is drawn to pay the most attention to. The lighting also helps to emphasize the pictures and sayings that are placed on the screen. These little clippits really help to summarize what is happening in the scene and what a character moight be thinking of.
I also believe that the glass menagerie (unicorn) could very well be a symbol of what Laura is feeling like. The unicorn has a horn that makes it different from all the horses and Laura has a slight limp that makes her feel so different. When Jim breaks the unicorn it is now just like the rest of the unicorns...this happens just as she is breaking out of her shell!
ok i have a comment/question. Is it possible that Amanda's past cages her. In class we talked about how Laura's self concept caged her and how Tom's love for Laura traps him. I was trying to figure out what trapped Amanda. The stage directions tell us that Amanda wears hats that are 5-6 years old and she wears a dress from back when she was young when Jim comes over. She also always talks about all the gentlemen callers she used to have when she was a young girl. I get the feeling that she may be trying to live through Laura, like thats they only way she can be free. The problem lies in the fact that Laura is caged as well. Towards the beginning of scene six, the stage directions say "she [Lauara] is like a piece of translucent glass touched by light, given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting." Amanda tries to change Laura's physical appearance thinking it will change her self esteem but it doesn't work. The red doesn't stick on the rose. Laura remains a blue rose.
I want to bring back up Oedipus for a moment. Remember how to the Greeks light was a symbol for truth (Apollo as the god of both of these elements)? And that this truth/light ultimately blinds him?
I thought it clever of Williams to use light not only as a stage element, but as a plot element simultaneously, with the electricity going out at the moment at which the most light is shed. He uses a bit of irony, because it is while Laura and Jim sit together and she tell her things about herself she's also never heard before--it is also "in the dark" that she becomes the most vulnerable and exposed to him, showing him the glass unicorn in the light.
Williams goes into a great deal of depth and description when it comes to the directions he gives the actors. This helps to create emphasis on certain charachters and actions in the play. There are many instances when the light is shining on Laura. On the other hand, lighting is actually used within the play itself. For example, at the very end of the play Tom talks about how the world is lit by lightning but Laura's world is lit by candlelight.
Today in class we talked about how when the horn to the unicorn was broke off it became a regular horse and Jim took it with him. I think that this, like the music from the dance hall, is an example of the outside world peaking into the caged life of this poor family. As the music sways into the living room and Laura for just a few seconds is swept off her feet, she gets a taste of outside. Her world that she has become so accustomed to is shaken a little and her unicorn (Laura) breaks. Her barrier falls. Though it can be argued that this is a bad break and it only got her hopes up, I think it is good. Everyone goes through hardships in life and while her extreme shyness is her true handicap (Not her leg) this lesson and experience gave her a taste of outside. In the end, Tom tells Laura to blow her candles out, and she does but don't we all? We all end life one day, one day our candles will be blown out it just depends on how we'd like the flame to burn until there is no more wick to the candle and we too must blow our candles out.
Amber says ... I think that the lighting had the biggest effect on our perception of Laura. We see not only the light on her, but we see her through the glass, illuminating her interaction with her mom in the last paragraph. The light in the play often symbolizes hope - like, hope that her mom will give up and accept that gentleman callers are not the most important thing. Or when the lights go out shortly after Jim arrives - it almost foreshadows the hope that will soon be crushed.
Since this play is a memory, the lighting shows us what the author wanted us to give the most attention to. I thought the candlelight showed how small Amanda, Tom, and Laura's world really is. I picutured it as a room with a little bubble of light around the candle, and darkness all around, just like Laura's world; Laura is surrounded by this little bubble of security, and can not seem to step outside of it.
I also thought the setting helped contribute to the feeling of being trapped, because all of the scenes took place in that one tiny apartment.
The stage directions simply make the play in Glass Menagerie. I find it nearly impossible to imagine Tennessee Williams's play without these directions. They contribute to the symbolism and overall meaning of the play almost more than the actual dialouge would. I think that because of all the specific things that Williams highlights the play takes on a greater purpouse and meaning. It is not just the lighting either, every aspect of stage direction has a purpouse and you can see it much easier than in other plays we have read.
I talked in class about Greco and his paintings how he illuminated the good, innocent characters. The characters that weren't excactly the focal point but an important part in his paintings to really get the meaning across. That's what William does in the play I think. Even if Laura isn't the main part in the scene the light is on her for the focal point to get the deeper meaning across in the play, just like Greco does in his paintings.
I think the lighting and stage directions is meant to tell us that something is important. I noticed that a spotlight was shown on laura and the father's portrait multiple times. I was also thinking about the psychological impact that the father's leaving had on Tom and Laura. As for Laura, i think she may feel like she can't trust anyone anymore because of her father's leaving. Having someone so close to you suddenly desert you would make her feel as though if she got close to anyone, they too could easily leave her. As for Tom i feel like there could have been a psychological issue there because Tom would compare himself to his father, and probably assumed that his destiny was decided for him because of the actions of his father. He also seemed to try to compensate and excuse for his leaving in his last narrative speech on the last page of the novel. He feels like at this "new" modern day in age he had some kind of right to go and pursue his dreams at all costs. Yet, he still feels guilt in his leaving and it is very evident.
Personally it think that the singular setting is used to give the reader the feeling of being trapped, which is the major theme of the book. The lighting is used as the cliche "good versus evil" and to put spotlights on the central character in the scene
Great comments about lighting, folks. Any thoughts on WHY Williams chooses Tom to ask her to blow out her candle? We've dissussed the candle as representing her spirit, her verve, her life, her hope. When else does one blow out candles and what bearing might it have here? Also, why should it be Laura who does this?
Also, why is it appropriate that her nickname is Blue Roses and that Jim gives it to her?
And DAVID, I let you post, but need to know who you are, since you are not on my class roll. Thanks for the insight -- well said!
This occurred as I was doing the MWDS: In the very first scene Tom is saying it's a memory play so it is dimly lit. In the very last paragraph Tom tells Laura to blow her candles out. If the candles blow out then light is gone completely and therefore the memory is no longer there. (I know we discussed this in class but it finally hit me in this manner.)
The stage directions work just like modern lighting figures do: to enhance meaning of a situation and to emphesize symbolic elements (or become one itself!). Williams uses lights to highten the sense of the characters aloneness from each other in different scenes i.e. Laura near the end of the play. This is used just like a soliliqy was used by Shakespear as an effective means of heightening an awareness of a character.
CALEIGH SAYS:
I agree with Ashley in terms of how Sartre uses syntax to help portray tone. I also noticed that when the characters are discussing their previous life on earth long, more complex sentences are used. It is as if they are wanting to remember more details and the tone of these sentences is much more "up-lifting". However, when they are discussing their current life in hell Sartre uses short, choppy sentences. Little details are used in these sentences and the tone becomes more serious. For example, when Garcin says "Hell is other people," the tone has definitely changed from the tone in the beginning of the play.
the lighting especially....for instance when the power goes out and laura comes into the candle light...huge symbolism...its her coming out of her shell and blooming finally...and since the plays overall meaning is self image and confidence id say that scene nails it
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