What is the climax in The Glass Menagerie?

The gentleman caller connects with Laura, kisses her, breaks the horn off her glass unicorn. How did we know this was the climax? Well, Williams does call it "the climax of her secret life," with the 'her' being Laura. That's sort of a tip off.

Furthermore, what is the main conflict in The Glass Menagerie?

Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie is a play fraught with conflict; however, Tom's internal conflict of being torn between his desire to fulfill his dreams and his sense of responsibility to his mother and sister is pivotal to the play as it generates external conflicts between Tom and his sister and Tom and his

Additionally, what do the movies symbolize in The Glass Menagerie? The movies represent a form of escapism mainly for the character-narrator Tom, who finds no other stimulation in his life. He is bored in his ill-paid job in a shoe factory and exasperated at home by his mother's constant nagging, so he goes to the movies as much as he can.

Additionally, what is the inciting incident in The Glass Menagerie?

Inciting Incident: I. When Laura revels to Amanda that she dropped out of secretary school and has no future. Amanda then decides that Laura must get married to avoid becoming an old maid (page 18). In summary, the action is the hunt for a husband for Laura.

Who is the protagonist of Glass Menagerie?

Tom Wingfield

29 Related Question Answers Found

What is the main theme in The Glass Menagerie?

Freedom and Confinement

In The Glass Menagerie, Tom feels confinement from being stuck in an uninspiring job, cramped into a small apartment with his family, and unable to see the world or have adventures.

What is the purpose of The Glass Menagerie?

The Glass Menagerie is a "memory play," in which Tom recalls scenes from his youth during the height of the Depression. It shows his mother, Amanda, trying to maintain a lost gentility in the midst of overwhelming poverty and cajoling her children into her idea of happiness.

How is The Glass Menagerie a tragedy?

Tennessee Williams's classic play The Glass Menagerie is a tragedy because each member of the Wingfield family suffers in their own individual way and Amanda's plan for Jim O'Connor to court her handicapped daughter ends in disaster.

Why is The Glass Menagerie important?

According to Tom, The Glass Menagerie is a memory play—both its style and its content are shaped and inspired by memory. As Tom himself states clearly, the play's lack of realism, its high drama, its overblown and too-perfect symbolism, and even its frequent use of music are all due to its origins in memory.

What is the major dramatic question in The Glass Menagerie?

The dramatic question in the Glass Menagerie is whether Tom should leave his mother and sister in pursuit of his own happiness or remain a prisoner of guilt and stay.

Where does Glass Menagerie take place?

The Glass Menagerie Summary. The action of The Glass Menagerie takes place in the Wingfield family's apartment in St. Louis, 1937. The events of the play are framed by memory - Tom Wingfield is the play's narrator, and usually smokes and stands on the fire escape as he delivers his monologues.

What is the mood of The Glass Menagerie?

The Glass Menagerie - Analysis of Tone

The play is considered to have a sad tone because most of the scenes in the play are set in a dim light. The narrator Tom has a melancholy attitude, therefore this makes the audience feel saddened.

What is Jim's nickname for Tom?

Jim also knows that Tom steals away at work to write poetry, and so he has given Tom the nickname "Shakespeare." Stage directions indicate that the Wingfield apartment looks beautiful. Amanda has worked hard to make the apartment ready for the gentleman caller.

Does Tom really go to the movies in Glass Menagerie?

So, Tom does go to the movies for escape, but he's far from happy about it. And even his mother doesn't think that's all he does when he's out so late at night: I don't believe that you go every night to the movies. Nobody goes to the movies night after night.

Why did Tom Wingfield leave?

He was forced, then, to leave his mother and sister or to be destroyed and consumed by their worlds of illusion, deception, and withdrawal. For years, Tom had sought escape from Amanda's nagging inquisition and commands by attending movies almost nightly. This was his search for adventure.

Why does Amanda nag at Tom so much?

IQRA AQEEL-007 6 | P a g e Why does Amanda nag at tom so much? Amanda nags her son Tom about the proper way to chew his food, she reprimands him for going to the movies too much. She returns a book he is reading to the Library because she thought it was inappropriate. She accuses him of being selfish.

Why does Laura give the unicorn to Jim?

Laura's giving the unicorn to Jim, therefore, represents her ability to overcome her emotional disabilities and feel more “at home” with other normal girls.

Why is Laura called blue roses?

Jim calls Laura “Blue Roses,” a mispronunciation of “pleurosis,” a disease that caused Laura to miss some school during high school. The name “Blue Roses” turns Laura's defect into an asset: her unusual, otherworldly qualities are seen as special rather than debilitating.

What do the candles represent in The Glass Menagerie?

With Laura being as fragile, the candle symbolizes her hopes and dreams that are which snuffed out from society. Throughout the play, Williams also uses candle light imagery to describe Laura and her emotions. The candle light represents hope and how it is lost, but the character who demonstrates this most is Laura.

What does the gentleman caller symbolize?

To Amanda this gentleman caller represents the path to a secure financial future as Laura's husband. Jim, as a husband for Laura, is Tom's ticket to a future of freedom he creates for himself instead of one that fulfills his mother's and sister's needs.

What does the father picture represent in The Glass Menagerie?

In the scene with Jim O'Connor, it is a bid to seek his attention and sympathy and perhaps lure him in to be the family's savior. Hanging the picture prominently also serves as a permanent reminder to Laura and Tom that in their father's absence, their obligation to their mother is profound.

Who is the fifth character in The Glass Menagerie?

Mr. Wingfield Quotes. [TOM:] There is a fifth character in the play who doesn't appear except in this larger-than-life-size photograph over the mantle. This is our father who left us a long time ago.