The Glass Menagerie
Your task is to choose one of the characters in The Glass Menagerie. Then you will explain why this character is the most important person to the play. Provide plenty of evidence including quotations from the play to support your position.
I would like yo start off saying that I actually enjoyed reading this play . I liked how instead of just sitting there by our selves and reading it we got to sort of act out. I think that by doing this in these kind of books helps understand them better. Reading with different people being the characters helped me understand the emotion and the feeling the characters were trying to give off.
ReplyDeleteIn the play I feel like Amanda, the mother, was the most important. Even though I did find her annoying at times. She was the glue to the family. She was always in a good mood. During the play we see that she likes to talk about her past a lot. I feel like she was doing this because of the hard times the family was going through. I think she felt that if she talked and acted like she was in the past that the better times will come back. I also think that it was good that she always had a little feeling that her husband would come back. Even though it was very likely that he was never coming back. Amanda did annoy her children a lot during this play. She always tried to break Laura out of her shell. She wanted Laura to be more like her. She was always trying to get a gentleman caller for her daughter. "All my gentlemen callers were sons of planters." Amanda wanted her calls to be rich so she could have a good life style. Laura found this to be annoying that her mom cared so much about her finding a husband. But I feel that the only reason Amanda was trying so hard was so that Laura would have a better life then her mom could provide for her. Tom seemed to get very annoyed with Amanda throughout the story. She was always yelling at him to get up and get moving with his life. This is how Tom thinks that she got rid of their father by always nagging at him. Tom just ignores her most of the time and does what he wants. In the book Amanda says that she only wants what is best for her children. I think that even though all the stuff she may be doing is annoying to her children that it really does have a purpose. These are my reasons for the purpose of Amanda in the play.
Hayley, I also feel that Amanda was a very important person in the play. She really showed me why Tom and Laura's father left them. Her big mouth drove him away from her insults. This is probably why Tom wants out too. You did a good job describing how Amanda lived in the past. I feel that you also did good in allowing me to see that she might be living in the past because of all of the good times she experienced before her husband left her. Also I think that Amanda wanted Laura to live like her, which you described. I feel that Amanda didnt want to believe that Laura has a mental disability when it came to a social life. She wanted to believe that Laura was in college and that she wil be married one day, when Laura was neither of these things.
DeleteHayley, I agree reading the play was very fun to act out instead of just reading it on our own. Amanda was important to the play. Without her Jim would have never come over and would have never met Laura. However, she was the reason for a lot of conflicts within the family. She had a big mouth and was very bossy. She didn't really let Tom pursue the type of career that he really wanted to. She pretty much drove him away. Tom wanted to go off and find his father, be adventurous. Adventure is what Tom looks for and is the reason that he drinks and goes to the movies so often. He even started saving up his money so that he could take the trip to find him and ended up not paying the light bill and the lights were shut off. This could have been the direct result of Amanda because she doesn't allow Tom to do the things that he really wants to do. I also feel like Amanda pressured Laura into being exactly like her. Laura isn't at all like Amanda. Laura is her own unique person, just like her unicorn. She wanted Laura to have the kind of life she wanted, not the kind that Laura wanted for herself.
DeleteI think the most important character in, The Glass Menagerie, is Amanda's daughter Laura. She is very unique compared to others in the book. She doesn't have much to say throughout the book either, but she shows a lot of symbolism in the play. Also the title of the story has a lot to do with Laura. Therefore, in my eyes, the most important character of this play in Laura.
ReplyDeleteLaura is very shy. She was very different to other people of her age. Laura also had some physical issues in her past with pluerosis. This illness causes Laura to become crippled throughout her leg. Laura was very socially awkward, so to entertain herself, she had glass figures that were in the shapes of animals. These were called glass menageries. Some of the symbolism shown through Laura was that of her glass figures, her favorite one was the unicorn. This symbolized how a unicorn is as unique as Laura is. She is very fragile that related to how glass it, "Glass is something you have to take care of." Therefore, Laura was very shy compared to other women her age who are looking for men to wed. She said in scene seven, "I wasn't acquainted with many people.." She was very self cautious when it came to interacting with other people. She said, "...it gave me indigestion."
In conclusion, the play was very well written, I thought it was boring in the beginning until everything unraveled. I feel Laura is very important because in the end it showed much of how Laura was symbolic to the glass collection she had. Therefore, Laura may have been very shy and socially awkward, but she was a huge roll in this play.
Emma, Laura was a very important character in the play. She was her own unique person despite Amanda's efforts to change that. She isn't a person who really speaks her mind and is extremely shy. Laura is the reason for most of the symbolism throughout the play. Her glass menagerie is the one thing that she likes the most and most resembles her. Glass is very fragile. Laura, like the glass, is also very fragile. When she is around a lot of people she becomes extremely nervous. This nervousness makes her become sick to her stomach and she has to leave. This resembles how fragile a person she really is. The piece of glass that is Laura's favorite is the unicorn. The unicorn is unique and so is Laura. When the unicorn's horn breaks off it is a symbol to Laura breaking free from her shyness. You are right Laura and the glass collection are very similar to each other.
DeleteEmma, I think that you did a really good job of explaining why you thought that Laura was the most important character in the book. The quotes that you used in the book fit really well into you blog and I think your explaintion that followed was well done. I really liked the quote about glass being something that must be taken care of. Laura is somebody who will always need someone to look after her. The glass is the same way and it can't just be left alone. I also like the quote about Laura being shy and not being able to have a lot of gentleman callers. I agree with you about how the book started. The introduction gave the book kind of a slow paced feel to it, but it ended up being a very fun book to read. Great job Emma.
DeleteThe play The Glass Menagerie was one that I enjoyed reading. At first the play was kind of boring because nothing really happened. As the play went on and as we acted things out, I started to enjoy the play more and more. I think it was easier to understand when we acted it out because we could see the different emotions of the characters.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jim was the most important character in the play. Without Jim, Laura would still be the same person she once was. Laura was very shy before she met Jim. She could barely be around people without getting sick. She was enrolled in a business college but she dropped out without Amanda’s knowledge. Laura had to do a speed test for typing on the first day of class. She got so sick and ended up throwing up. This was the reason why she said she had to drop out of school she said because she was so embarrassed. Amanda always told Laura about all the gentlemen callers she had as a young girl. Laura said that she isn’t like her and won’t get the callers like Amanda did. Eventually Jim came along for dinner. Laura was shy around him at first but eventually started to become more comfortable with him. She showed him her glass menagerie and her favorite glass piece of the unicorn. The unicorn resembles Laura very well because she is so unique and unicorns are also so unique. Laura and Jim start dancing and hit the table where the glass unicorn sat. The unicorn fell off of the table and the horn broke off. Jim is upset about the horn, but Amanda states “Now it is just like all the other horses.” To me this quote shows that Amanda is going to start breaking out of her shell and becoming like all the other girls her age. Jim made Amanda feel like all the other girls her age. He made her feel like she was important, and also made her break out of her shell.
Rachel, I had never thought about Jim as being the most important character. However, you made a really good case for him. He isn't in the book for a lot of the scenes, but he does make a huge impact on the book. You did a good job of pointing out what he did to help Laura come out of her shell. He wanted Laura to be a little more care free and not be so shy when it comes to doing things outside of your comfort zone. I thought that Jim really did like her until I found out that he had been seeing another girl. He still told Laura that she shouldn't be afraid of putting herself out there and you did a good job of saying that. I really liked your quote and thought that it fit the blog really well. Good job Rachel.
DeleteRachel, I agree with what you said in the beginning of your blog. Acting out the play really helped me understand what was going on. I also thought that it was boring in the beginning. As the play developed it got more interesting. Even though I don't think Tom was the most important character in the book. I think he was one of them though. He does help a lot with getting Laura out of her shell. Without Tom Jim would of never came over and the whole play would of been pointless. Also the quote you used makes a good point. When the unicorn horn falls off I think that it's the sign of change. How Laura is going to change. I think you made some very good point in your blog!
DeleteI think that as a whole, Tom was the most important character in the book. There were times when he didn’t really have a lot to say, but he defiantly made the book what it was. A lot of people would probably pick Laura because the title of the book relates to her, but I think that Tom was the one that helped to tell the story and he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. He would tell his mom how he felt and he didn’t really care what her reaction would be. At one point Amanda even says “I won’t speak to you – until you apologize” because Tom just continued to yell at her and she was done talking to him. The very next day Tom does apologize to his mother because Laura asked him to and I think that this shows that he does care about his family even though he gets angry with them every now and then. However, Tom did tend to go out every night and he wouldn’t come back until the early hours of the morning. His sister told him that she didn’t like that and he promised to try and be around more. Tom also showed that he really cared about his sister because he got her a gentleman caller. Jim was somebody that Tom worked with and he agreed to come to dinner and meet his family. Tom may seem like he is a very kind man, but what he really wants to do is run away. He is the only person who pays the bills and he wants to join The Union of Merchant Seamen. He even “paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill”, which shows that he doesn’t care about the lights going out at home. I think that Tom is the most important character because he supports his family until he doesn’t get what he wants. His mother tells him that he can’t leave, so he decides to run away. He has an impact on everyone in the story and defiantly gives the story some meaning.
ReplyDeleteCamille, I completely agree with you on the idea that Tom is the most important. The story focuses almost entirely on him, and he tells us the backstory of his family. Without this information, the story would not make nearly as much sense. The story even continues to follow what happens to him after he leaves. These things all show that Tom is definitely meant to be considered the main character of this story.
DeleteCamille I actually disagree with you when you say that Tom is the most i portant character of this play. i believe that Laura was the most important charcter even though she had very little lines in the play; however I do feel that there were many parts in the story that focused on Tom, especially when him and Amanda got into many arguments which reflected on how Amanda was driving Tom away just like her husband. I alsofeel that you were right about how he has a big impct on the whole family. i feel like this is because he is the only man in the house now that their father left them. Great Job!
DeleteAll of the characters in "The Glass Menagerie" we're very important to the story. They all played important parts that were crucial at the end. However, Tom was probably the most important to the story overall. Any of his decisions affected the entire family, such as when he simply decided not to pay the electric bill. Also, Tom was the one who told the story in the first place. Without him, we wouldn't have any of the back story of the family. Throughout the story, you see only glimpses of a caring Tom. While it is pretty selfless to work your whole life for your family, he doesn't try to move forward in his job, and instead writes poems and eventually gets fired for his negligence. Instead of helping his family, every night he foes out to the movies and doesn't come back until very early in the morning. He doesn't seem to care when his family is worried about him, except for sometimes Laura. He usually listens to what Laura says, even concerning their mother. Even when Tom would have fights with Amanda, a few words from Laura got him to apologize sincerely. He goes through the entire story like this, not really caring about anything that happens. At one point, Tom decides that The Union of Merchant Seamen was more important than the lights back at home. However, it seems that he does not want to see his mother's wrath, because he told Jim that he planned to be gone before the lights went out. He follows in the footsteps of his father by leaving the family to go search for himself. Even then, the story continues to follow his path through the world. He has visions of Laura often, and this shows that while he does hide it, he does care at least a little about his family.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, Tom is a very important character in the play. With Tom being the narrator, the entire play is from his point of view. Tom hated his job, and I personally think he was not keeping it out of the good of his heart. He was more likely keeping it until he had the chance to leave Amanda. I feel the same with Tom apologizing with Amanda, I think he just did it to reduce the tension in the family. Tom really tried to keep other people off of him while he made his escape. He was a smart person but did not want other people interfering in his life.
DeleteTori, I don't not agree that Tom was an important character. It's hard to choose just one when they were all so differently important! I think that Tom's main importance to the story was to provide obstacles to the family. Like you pointed out with the light bill, he seemed to only want to cause a certain amount of trouble within his family, especially to his mother.I understood that he wanted to follow his own dreams and plans, but, as Amanda pointed out several times, it was a little selfish of him. However, Laura needed to grow a backbone. It wasn't fair of everything to rely on Tom. But, since it did, he should have taken more seriousness in it.
DeleteIn the short play The Glass Menagerie, I personally found that Amanda is the most important character. Although she did not hold the role of narrator, which belonged to Tom, Amanda still had an influence on the few other characters. She is the remaining parent of Tom and Amanda. She does have a different way of treating both of them. For the Case of Laura, Amanda wants the best to come out of her and for her to have a good life. With Tom however, she has issues growing a bond with him. Tom lets himself grow distant and uses that to leave Amanda like his father did.
ReplyDeleteAmanda's influence on the other her children originates from her rather smothering personality. This irritates Tom to no end. The best example of this is the small fight between the two over dinner on page 6. This would be a little long to quote, but the portion shows how much Tom is annoyed by Amanda. Toms eventual leaving of his family comes from Amanda acting like this. I think it is that she is judgmental about Tom. She does not act like this toward Laura. The only event to bring Amanda to be judgmental about Laura was Laura leaving the business college she was attending. The most notable line in this part of the scene is Amanda saying, "I thought you were an adult; it seems I was mistaken." This line shows how Laura acts when things around her get rough. She would rather hide away from everyone else than face anything. When Jim enters the plot, Amanda acts differently around him. Amanda talks up herself and Laura when Jim is around. She does not really talk up Tom though. An example of Amanda trying to make Laura seem better is Amanda saying, "It's rare for a girl as sweet and pretty as Laura to be domestic." Amanda was saying this in an attempt to have Jim want to be with Laura. Amanda is important in the play because she influences the other characters in the play. Whether she is trying to push Laura in the right direction or she is trying to not make Tom leave. Amanda's role in the play had its effect on the characters' roles.
Tyler, I like what you pointed out about Amanda. I agree that she treated both Tom and Laura very differently. I think that the way that both of her children acted contributed to this. Tom was very arguementative with Amanda, so she was willing to fight with him. Laura was very shy so that Amanda felt the need to be gentle with her.
DeleteTyler, I never considered that Amanda treated Tom and Laura differently. Now that I think about it, she really did. She was definitely harder on Tom than she was on Laura. I agree that the only thing that Amanda was hard on Laura about was how she dropped out of college. Her pretending to go for all these years should have made Amanda extremly mad, but she actually wasn;t very harsh to her about it. If it would have been Tom, I feel like Manada would have been worse about it.
DeleteAs much as Amanda annoyed me, I think that she was the most important character in the play. This blog subject is really hard, because there are so few characters in the play and each is important for a completely different reason. I picked Amanda because she is a force to be reckoned with in the play. In the beginning, to be completely honest, I was questioning her sanity. I was starting to think that she and Daisy would get along really well.
ReplyDeleteFrom the very start of the play we discover Amanda’s plans for Laura. In Scene One on page 7 Amanda tells Laura, “I want you to stay fresh and pretty—for gentlemen callers!” through this quote we discover that Amanda wishes for Laura to find a husband. Later on in the scene Amanda recounts her time in Blue Mountain and tells us all about her seventeen gentleman callers. As we discover these things about Amanda we catch a glimpse of the motherly compassion that she has for her children. The way she goes about trying to better her children could be revised, but Tennessee Williams paints us a very clear picture of a caring mother trying to give her children what she never had.
In a way, Amanda did end up changing Laura. With her persistence for a gentleman caller Jim is introduced on the scene. Although the attempted arranged relationship doesn’t work out, Laura is changed by the things Jim says to her. For the first time in her life she feels special, and not in the bad way she usually believes herself to be.
After reading the play I found that Amanda left the biggest impression on me. Her methods were a little strange, but her purpose was pure. In the end she ends up changing both Laura’s and Tom’s life.
I will say that i think the lack of characters did not make the blog hard to decide on, more or less made there less to think about. I actually had the same opinion of Amanda, being a mother that cares about her children. I did find Amanda arrogantly recalling the past annoying, as well as her lying to Jim to make herself appear better. Amanda had a large influence on her children, but all good parents should. I found all the character to have some memorable qualities, but Amanda made much more of an impression.
DeleteMaddie I also agree that Amanda was the most important. I think many people are going to chose her because she was in the play most and her character was so outgoing and had an attitude which makes us remember her more. She just cared for her children more, it really focused on her. I didn't even think about mentioning about how she always mentioned that past, that definitely was a bit annoying but I think she just wanted to go back to the past that is why she kept mentioning it, because it was better.
DeleteThe Glass Menagerie was one of my favorite pieces of literature that we read this year. I especially liked it because we got to act it out and read it together. This really helped express the emotions in the play and gave me a very vivid picture of what was going on. In this play, the most important character to me was Amanda. Amanda was the mother in the play. Her smart sassy attitude in this play was so funny. She was always so active and happy, never a dull moment with her. Through all the hard times the family was going to, she would try to make it better. Everything she did was for the better of the family. An example of her good moods was that she always kept positive, hoping her husband would come back. You could tell that he children were getting pretty annoyed and fed up with her, but she kept going. She really wanted Laura to be like her, she always tried to get a gentlemen caller for her, even though it seemed Laura didn’t want this. Amanda just wanted to be rich, she tried to get all the rich men. You could tell that Tom also got very annoyed with Amanda a lot.. Everytime she would talk about how she thought her husband would come back, Tom knew he wouldn’t. They would get into many arguments over it. He thought that his father left Amanda because she was annoying and always nagging him. I don’t think Tom really liked his life, he would always say he was going to the “movies” when really he just probably wanted to get out of the house. Mostly though she just wanted the best for her children and she wanted them to have to best life which is why I think she’s the most important character.
ReplyDeleteLeah, Amanda is a very important character in the play. I agree with the mood of your blog. Amanda was a demanding, caring mother. She just wanted the best for her daughter. Also it seemed as though that every situation or conversation needed to involve Amanda. Amanda often would brag about her past and how popular she was. She made finding her daughter a caller somewhat about herself. Amanda always had to be in the middle of action. Overall Amanda wants to be a good mother, but she is too demanding. Therefore I agree with you that Amanda is an important character in this play.
DeleteLeah, I agree strongly with how important a character Amanda was in the play. You described her perfectly when you mentioned how she was always in a good mood and tried to look at everything in a more positive manner. Even though she was very annoying, Laura still tried constantly to please her mother while only showing a small amount of defiance. She stuck strong through her difficult past with her husband leaving her, clinging on to the hopes that he would one day return to her and the family. However, everything really seemed to revolve around Amanda, even though she was only talking about herself so much to try to motivate her children. She enjoys being in the center of attention and wants everyone to know what she has done. I agree with her importance.
DeleteThe Glass Menagerie in my opinion was a great play. The liked the overall plot of the play. Also the way in which the play was portrayed made the overall performance interesting. I would have loved to seen the play itself. Also I think I liked this play so much because we were able to actually visualize the scenes of the play (because of the director’s notes).
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed how there were only a handful of characters. Out of the short list of characters, I found that Laura was one of the more important characters. First of all Laura’s shy, quiet personality, made me want to know more about her. Laura is constantly being babied by her mother. Laura to me is a mom’s girl. She seems intimidated by her mother and at the same time does not want to disappoint her. As we found out Laura is “crippled.” Laura’s attitude towards anything she does is fear and embarrassment. In the play Laura lies about attending Business College, just to appease her mother. When her mother finds out, she approaches Laura and basically gives up on the idea of Laura becoming educated. Laura’s mother resorts to finding her daughter a gentleman caller. The whole play seems to revolve around Laura. Laura is the center of attention.
Also I believe that Laura is an important character because she relates to the title of the play. The most important thing to Laura is her glass collection (aka Glass Menagerie). The character Laura can be viewed as a piece of glass. Laura is shy and easily breakable just like a piece of glass. Also within the glass menagerie is one special piece of glass: the unicorn. As we all know, a unicorn is a horse with a horn. Therefore the unicorn is different than everyone else. Laura resembles her unicorn glass piece. Laura is different than everyone else because of her disability. Laura’s gentleman caller made her feel special. Also he pointed out that she may be different but not in a bad way. During the gentleman caller’s visit Laura changes. Laura seems to realize that she is just like anyone else, but with extra qualities. When the glass unicorn breaks, I believe that Laura’s mindset also breaks. I think that after the gentleman caller’s conversation with Laura, Laura begins to think and act differently. The novel’s plot revolves around Laura and her life/situation(s).
Maria, I found your blog very interesting this week. I feel like we all have the same opinion on how acting out the play helped us all understand the play better. I would have also loved to see the actual play. I never payed much attention to Laura because of her shy personally. I didn't really think the way you did about her. I can see why Laura is shy. I think that if anyone was "crippled" they would have some sense of confident problems. Although Laura's were a little extreme. I also think that she had to be a mom as girl considering she really didn't have a father growing up and had to be. You did make a point about how she relates the most to the title of the book. Although I really didn't get the whole point of the glass figures. I understand the unicorn breaking off to become like everyone else. Jim made me kinda mad in the end when we found out he already have a girlfriend. I think you mad every good points in your blog this week.
DeleteMarla, I completely agree with your view on how our class approached the play. I think reading aloud let us capture the essence of the play and provide voices and behaviors to the characters that we could only picture in our heads at first. Laura was a very questionable character in the play, and I did not know what to expect from her once we found out she was not really going to college. I personally thought the play would proceed with more emphasis on Laura after she defies her mother, but she was featured very little in some scenes. However, I agree with how she was featured in so many scenes and how they were based around her. I never thought to compare Laura to glass itself, I only thought of her as the different unicorn. I thought she was going to find the man of her dreams, but that thought shattered along with the glass while Laura remained strong. Good job!
DeleteMarla, I like how you compared Laura to the glass unicorn. I never thought of it that way. Laura is unique, just like a unicorn is unique. I do think that Laura is the center of attention too, but Tom has a pretty strong role in the play as well. This is kind of weird considering that Tom doesn't ever actually say much at all. What he does say, however, is usually very important to the plot and the way that things play out. In the end Tom left and that mean that he left Laura on her own, without Tom to help her. I think that Laura depended on Tom and knew that he would always be around but now he isn't.
DeleteWith only four characters in the entire play, it is difficult to say who in the Glass Menagerie was the most important. All of the characters made their contribution to the story line, but I feel that without Laura the story would be incomplete. Even though Laura lived in her own little world, out of all the other characters, she was not in denial of her true self. While she was considered to be crippled, shy, “home-girl” who could probably not provide for herself, she was the most comfortable with who she was. She was content to take care of her glass animals, and still loved her family even though her brother was a screw up and her mother pretended she was still young and free.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Laura, Tom was not content with his life at home and his low-waged factory job. He dreamed of another life, traveling the world and writing. He constantly drank and went to the movies to escape the real world. Even though he wanted change, he never did anything about it; he chose to mope in self pity instead of actually doing what he wanted to do. Amanda was not happy with herself either. She lived in a dumpy apartment, still taking care of her two, grown-up children, and her husband left her with nothing. Amanda is still living in the past, wishing she could change who she was. I feel she was envious of Laura’s youth, and used her to try to make Laura live the life she regretted not taking. Even Jim hoped to be someone important, but worked in a factory after making some mistakes after high school. The only reason he was friends with Tom was because Tom went to high school with him; Tom was the only proof Jim had that he was once a “somebody.”
Laura was the most important character in the play because she tied the rest of the characters together with their own versions of reality. She was the only reason Tom stayed at home with her and Amanda. He planned on leaving, but knew he couldn’t leave his sister alone in such a poor apartment with his lunatic mother. While he stayed for her, he also took part in destroying her. Tom knocked over the menagerie and brought Jim to the house for his mother. Even though he didn’t know Jim was engaged, Amanda still blamed him in the end. She also was a constant reminder to Amanda of her past. Constatly, Amanda would bring up that her husband was to blame for anything and everything that went wrong, and used her daughter in attempt to relive her past. We see that when she constantly tells the story of her gentlemen callers; she evens wears a dress from her youth when the gentleman caller comes to the house, as if he was coming for her instead of Laura.
Of any of the other characters, Laura was the most fragile and the wisest. Laura personifies herself in her glass collection, especially the unicorn. Like the unicorn, she is unique and stands out from the other horses in the collection. Laura is as fragile as glass; she has grown up in a home where her mother was so unhappy and harsh that she pushed away her husband, and living with the high expectations of Amanda, who had high hopes of controlling Laura’s future, had forced her to shy away from the world. She was self-conscious with her leg brace and had no self confidence ever in her life, until Jim had kissed her. The breaking of the unicorn symbolizes how Laura feelings that had been building up for most of her life, shatters after being disappointed by Jim. Laura was the center of the story, and the only person who knew how to handle something as fragile as glass.
Maria, I agree that deciding who was the most important character in the play was a very difficult task. Each character had something major in the play happen to them, and that is why it was a hard decision to make. I believe that Laura was content at home. I believe this because she really never complained about her house or her mother. Jim was always complaining with his life, his job, his house, and his family. That is why he always acted so frustrated all the time. It really made me think when you said that just like the unicorn, Laura was very unique. That really signifies her personality I think.
DeleteMaria, choosing who to pick as the most important was quite the challenge, with only around 4 or 5 (if you count the father who ran away) characters in the story, all the characters had a massive impact on how the story played out. I thought Amanda was the most influential, but Laura played a huge part also. She was the center of action, and she reacted to the things around her different then everyone else. She reacted to Jim in an unexpected way, this made her the most unique and complex character in the story, and this is a reason why she could be the most important.
DeleteGood job on your blog Maria.
The approach that Accelerated English III took while reading the Glass Menagerie was different than any other way we have studied novels before. I find that our little "performances" of the different scenes throughout the play really helped the students grasp what each character was saying throughout the entire play. Instead of reading about all of the characters in the same voice, we students were enabled to hear different ways on how the other students captured and viewed the characters in the novel. The role play provided different voices behind the characters to truly capture the essence of the scenes.
ReplyDeleteI think that Laura was the most important character in the novel. Even though she was not personally involved or feature in every scene and may not have had many lines in each scene, I think that every scene was somehow based around her in one way or another. Amanda, Laura's mother, was always trying to improve Amanda to make her suitable for her "gentleman callers", even though Laura was not expecting or even looking for a man at the time. When Tom and Amanda were having discussions between each other over anything that was going on during that period in their lives, everything somehow seemed to be reverted back to Laura, her condition, and how they wanted to find a stable life for her. Overall, I think that Amanda's goal was to provide a better life for Laura than she ever had since her husband left the entire family behind. Amanda focused on finding a suitable husband for Laura so she knew there would be protection and stability for the rest of her life. This is resembled when Amanda asks Tom to find a nice gentleman caller for sister. Amanda wants Laura to believe that her wishes will come true. When she wishes on the moon, she is supposed to wish for "Happiness! Good fortune!" (pg. 49) Laura did not always believe in herself because of her pleurosis, but realizes her true worth and beauty when her gentleman caller, Jim, finally arrives. Even though he leaves her for a woman he was engaged to, Laura realizes that she has worth inside of her and is able to give up what she used to hide behind, the unicorn in her prized glass menagerie. Tom learns to give up on his mother while Laura learns how to live with herself.
Carli, I completely agree with the way that we acted out the play. It was so much easier for me to understand and to follow than it was whenever I just read it by myself. I was more interested. I also think that Laura was the center of the play. I like that you thought that Amanda was trying her hardest to get Laura a husband because she was not able to have one herself who stuck around. Maybe Amanda was trying to live her life through Laura in a type of way. I hadn't thought of that and just figured that Amanda was sort of crazy. It was ironic that at the beginning of the play, the one man that she could think about that she had liked and that had ever paid any attention to her was Jim and that Tom went to find her a caller and that man happened to be Jim. I was disappointed whenever he had already been engaged because I didn't think it was right that he would kiss Laura and tell her that she was beautiful whenever he was already committed to someone else.
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DeleteCarli, I agree with your opinion about how we took a different approach to reading this play. Overall I thought acting out the play after we read it ahead of time helped further my understanding towards the plot of the scene. I also agree that Laura was the most important character in the play. Laura is always the center of attention. Throughout the play Laura’s attitude towards life is presented to the audience. Laura is shy and keeps to herself because she considers herself “crippled” by her pleurosis. After encountering Jim (her gentleman caller) Laura sees more value in herself. I believe that the play revolves around Laura. Laura may not be the main character, but she is the center of all of the actions being performed throughout the play.
DeleteThe person who probably thought that they were the most important in the story would be Amanda. It was easily seen that she liked everything to be about her and to talk about her past and the things that she wanted. The person who came off as the most important in the play to me however, was Laura. I feel that the whole play was basically a play that was based around Laura's character. The play itself was called "The Glass Menagerie" and it was Laura who had possessed these figurines. Apart from Laura owning the glass creatures, Laura was really a kind of glass creature herself. She was very shy and not outgoing. She did not feel comfortable with herself because she felt that she "clomped" around everywhere during high school and she really had a very low self esteem. In this way, she possesses the same characteristics as glass does; easily breakable and incredibly fragile. If one thing went wrong, Laura was known to become upset about it and to not know how to react, she was shy to the point where it would make herself throw up. She did not feel confident enough that she would meet a man whom she would love and in the end, she didn't. She met with Jim who she had known in high school, but never really talked to and he built her confidence up a little in the short amount of time that they spent together but he quickly ruined that whenever he had told her that he was engaged to someone else. In the end, Tom left and Laura was left broken, like a shard of glass, without someone to love, without her self esteem and without a brother.
ReplyDeleteMorgan, I agree that Laura was the most important character in the play. It was kinda like she impacted every character in a way. She was the only reason that Tom stayed as long as he did; he was never happy at home or working at the factory, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her until the very end. He left her when she probably needed him most. When Jim knocked over the unicorn and led Laura on like he did, he broke her just like he broke the unicorn. Also, in my opinion, Amanda was actually jealous of Laura. Laura had youth and the opportunity to make something of her life, which was something Amanda wished she had. She constantly suggests that she regrets marrying her husband, and the fact that Amanda wears her old dress for Jim can also suggest that having him over was more for her than Laura.
DeleteMorgan, your blog made me think a little more about the story. Amanda thought that everything in the story needed to be revolved around her in some way, shape, or form. I thought that it was really unique how you said that Laura was her own glass creature herself because she was very shy and not outgoing. It is incredible how you can relate a human character in a story to a glass figurine in the story. You know that it is a unique story if you are able to do that. Laura thought that she really like Jim, until he broke her heart and told her that he was engaged to be married. Your last sentence was incredible. Good job Morgan!!
DeleteThe way that our class read this book was very different than any other book we read for school. I liked how the book that we read was a play, and not just a normal book. I believe that our class was able to understand the quality of the novel because the director’s notes were read as well. They might have been the most important because they told the reader everything that is or was about to happen. "The Glass Menagerie" was a great book to read for our class.
ReplyDeleteThe character that I believe was the most important to the novel was Laura. Even the title of the book is related to her because she collected glass and had a glass menagerie made up of many different fictional and non-fictional characters. Everything in the story seemed to relate to Laura. Amanda really thought that Laura would need a gentleman caller. Laura was usually a shy girl around strangers so the family did not know how she would handle the situation. Laura could not go to school anymore either. When she attended a business college and had to give a presentation to her class, she felt sick to the stomach and had to leave. She always told her mom that she was going to class but rarely ever did. She was only in school for the first couple of weeks. Instead of going to school, she took many walks in the park instead. When Amanda showed a picture of the gentleman caller that Tom was bringing home from work, Laura was nearly awe-stricken. Laura had a major crush on the man named Jim. She thought that he had a beautiful singing voice. She was so scared, that she didn’t even answer the door when they were home. She begged her mom to answer it, but her mom made her answer it. After a couple of minutes of arguing, Laura finally opens the door. Laura later claimed that she was sick, and lay on the couch for dinner. Jim went out and they talked for a while. Laura’s shyness went away when she talked to Jim, and she told him a lot of stuff that she didn’t tell anyone else. Jim then leaned over and kissed Laura on the lips. Later while they were dancing, Jim knocked over a glass figure of a unicorn, and the horn broke off. Laura was not mad, and asked Jim to take it for a souvenir. Jim then told Laura that he was engaged to be married.
All of these facts above, state that Laura is the most important character. Everything in the story seemed to revolve around Laura in some way. Usually when the title of a story relates to a certain character, then usually that character is the most important and has the most characteristics in the story. Laura was very shy, but did not really show her shy side to Jim very much, and he seemed to enjoy that. I thought that it was weird that he was invited for dinner even though he was engaged to be married. That was very unique.
Andrew, I really like how you provided evidence for your claim. All of your statements were very true and I agree that Laura was basically the center of the story. You are right that invited Jim, Tom and Amanda would have no idea how it would go, and it ended badly.I also agree with you as to how helpful the directors notes actually were. I actually just looked back to the introduction we had to read a while ago, and actually now that we have read the entire play, it is much easier to understand. The introduction had so many good references and suggestions that it would almost be helpful to read it again.
DeleteAndy, you gave plenty of evidence for who you felt was the most important character in the play. I agree with you that Laura was a massive part in this play, and that without her the fiasco with Jim would never have happened. Amanda was constantly fussing over her, and Laura owned the items that give this play its name, "The Glass Menagerie." Laura was surprising in the way she talked and interacted with Jim, this was an interesting and unexpected twist on the way the play progressed. Also, the author's notes were a HUGE help to this story. It really put the reader into the scene with the characters, giving an unique perspective on this story.
DeleteI feel that Amanda is the most important character in the play. Not only is she the character with the most presence in the play, she has the most authority. She controls, to and extent, what the other characters do. She is the largest influence on everyone throughout the play. This makes her the most influential and important to the story.
ReplyDeleteAmanda seems to be everywhere. In a way, she is too controlling and she barges into everyone's lives. This may be partially because she feels so responsible for her children, because her husband left, but she makes the characters in the play feel as if she is always looking over their shoulder. Tom gets really fed up with this throughout the play. He feels that she is treating him like a little kid. Amanda controls the lives of her children a bit too much. She wants so much for them to have a perfect future, that she gives them no room to choose for themselves what they want to do.
A good part about Amanda, is the way she watchers out for Laura. She may be a a little too controlling, but she just wants a good life for her daughter. She goes through the trouble to search for someone who would supposedly eventually marry Laura.
Amanda want Laura to always look and be her best, this is shown when Amanda says: "I want you to stay fresh and pretty - for Gentlemen Callers." Amanda, while being caring, is reminiscing about her past days, and this is detrimental, as Amanda can not seem to understand that Laura is different that Amanda was when she was as a kid.
Amanda is the most powerful character in the play. She has control over the household, is responsible for upsetting Tom, and is also responsible for Laura meeting Jim. She affected the characters from the beginning of the play, to the finish. Because Amanda had such a huge influence in the play, she is the most important character in this play.
Jess, I completely agree with your idea on Amanda having the most influence in the play. She is everywhere, and if she isn't there physically she is in someone's mind due to the fact that she is always so controlling so she overpowers some people. You did a great job explaining everything she has done in the play. I enjoyed the last paragraph, explaining how she has influened the meeting of many people.
DeleteIt was so hard for me to pick just one person because they all had such an impact. However, I do agree with your thoughts on how Amanda was the most influential person in the play. She is very controlling. I think that she tends to push people away without even meaning to. She just wants the best for everyone, but she needs to step away and look at the situation. Amanda pushed her son out of their lives, and I feel like that is what she did to her husband as well. I think that with her past and her having so many gentleman callers, that she can't picture it any other way for her daughter.
DeleteIt is clear from the beginning that Amanda is a very stern person, in the way she gave her first impression. She is clearly a faded Southern belle, in the way she speaks of her past gentlemen callers. It is assumed she is from a prominent Southern family, has received a traditional upbringing, and has suffered a reversal of economic and social fortune at some point in her life. It shows when she speaks of her past that she has been in this situation because almost women all have had a hard time coming to terms with their new status in society. Their relationships with men and their families are turbulent, and they typically defend the values of their past. Amanda is the play’s most dramatic and theatrical character. Amanda’s constant nagging of Tom and her refusal to see Laura for who she really is are certainly reprehensible, but Amanda also reveals a willingness to sacrifice for her loved ones that is in many ways clearly shown in the play. She subjects herself to subscription sales in order to enhance Laura’s marriage prospects, without ever uttering so much as a word of complaint. The safest conclusion to draw is that Amanda is not evil but is deeply flawed. In fact, her flaws are centrally responsible for the tragedy, comedy, and theatrical flair of her character. Like her children, Amanda withdraws from reality into fantasy. Unlike them, she is convinced that she is not doing so and is constantly making efforts to engage with people and the world outside her family. Amanda’s conversations with her children, on the phone, and to Jim show how she has had a past that has somehow screwed up her mental senses as well as her emotions, but they are also some of the most unforgettable words in the play.
ReplyDeleteWithout Amanda in the play, there would not be that sense of drama. Without drama, the play would not be as interesting as it is. She had feistiness to the family, and tries too hard to be the perfect mother and friend. She desperately wants for her daughter, Laura, to find a man and this upsets Laura. After this conversation, Amanda shows us a little bit about her past with men. She has had quite a colorful past when it comes to her dating days. Amanda definitely adds the most to the play and is the most important character in my eyes.
Nicole, I like your thoughts on this subject. I said that Laura was the most important, but I can see where you're coming from as well. I like how you said that Amanda is not evil, just deeply flawed. I think that because of her past and everything that she went through with her husband leaving, that she doesn't want that to happen to her children. She wants them to be successful, she just doesn't quite know how to get her point across in a good manner. Without Amanda, the play would have been rather boring
DeleteNicole, I agree with you that Amanda is not actually evil, but I also do not believe that she is as deeply flawed as we believe her to be. It's almost as if she lives in a fantasy world where if Tom applied himself and Laura went to business school, their life would be perfect. She cannot be content with what she has. In my opinion, it's as if she believes if they get their lives together and are making good amounts of money, her husband will come back to her. It's like she hasn't moved past the days when she was a young girl with many suitors, and wants to relive those times through Laura
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ReplyDeleteI think that Laura was the most important person in the play. Most of the play revolved around her. The title was even named after her. The glass menagerie resembled Laura in many ways. It was very fragile, just like she was. She was not confident with herself because people often referred to her as being crippled. She had a bad past, and did not have many friends in school and when she was growing up. The unicorn was her favorite piece, this is also like her because unicorns are very unique and so is Laura. In scene seven, when the horn breaks off of the unicorn, Laura says "I'll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him look less freakish!" I feel like this was sort of a new beginning for her. She broke out of her shell and was becoming more at peace with herself.
ReplyDeleteAmanda wanted her daughter to be just like her. I think that Amanda wanted the best for her children, she just did not do a very good job in showing it. She often brings up how many gentleman callers she had when she was younger and how nice they all were. I think this makes Laura feel bad, because she has had none until the end of the story. At the end of scene one, Amanda asked her daughter how many callers she was going to have. Laura replies, "I'm just not as popular as you were in Blue Mountain. Mother's afraid I'm going to be an old maid." Her family was constantly making her doubt herself and feel like she was going no where in life. Laura then finds out that her gentleman caller is going to be married soon. Even though that was probably a sad time for her; I think that she realized that there were people out there that would love her for who she was.