I came into reading the Glass Menagerie really knowing nothing about the book. I had heard of it before, but really had no clue on what the story is about. To start off, I wasn't sure what menagerie meant so I looked it up as a collection of wild or unusual animals, esp. for exhibition. After reading the first 66 pages of the play, I can readily assume that the title comes from both the glass collection that Laura keeps and the collection of very fragile people that are living together.
Two other words looked up were parish: a local church with its field of activity, and D.A.R.:a patriotic society of women descended from Americans of the Revolutionary period, organized in 1890.
Since the play is a character study of the members of the Wingfield family, I'll spend a little time discussing what I think about each person. First off, there's the mother, Amanda. Amanda is stuck in the past, constantly reminiscing about the days of her youth. She discusses about how she "received-seventeen!-gentleman callers!"(page 8). She wants to focus on the good fortune she had in her past. Back then, she was a popular socialite. Now, she is a mother of two with no husband to speak of. She now tries make it her aim for her daughter Laura to be just like her-having gentleman callers beckoning at every time of the day.
Unfortunately for Amanda, Laura doesn't fit the mold of socialite. She is a very shy girl, who is content with her old records and her glass menagerie. Tom might say it best when he remarks that she "lives in a world of her own-a world of little glass ornaments" (page 48). Despite her mother's constant badgering, Laura simply wishes to keep to herself. Even attending typewriting school was too much for Laura, who instead took long solitary walks. Laura is slightly crippled, which adds even more to her want for isolation.
Tom, on the other hand, feels the need for adventure. Although he wants action and intrigue in his life, he is instead stuck working in a warehouse in a low level job paying for the apartment's rent. He goes to the movies for hours at a time in order to get release from his mundane life. He transports himself to the world of cinema to forget about his hum ho life and find something more. He experiences a revelation, though, when talking to Jim. He realizes that "people go to the movies instead of moving...I'm tired of the movies and I'm about to move!" (page 61). Tom finally realizes that his fantasies are proving fruitless and that the only way for him to experience some action in his life is for him to get out and experience something new.
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Andrew's blog is well written and thought-provoking. I agree with many of the comments about the characters from "The Glass Menagerie" he includes in this specific blog. For example, Jim's revelation at the end of the play is something that I picked up on as well. Andrew also does a wonderful job at picking a quote that directly correlates to this concept. Furthermore, the fact that Andrew chose to look up the word "menagerie" for a better understanding of what he would be reading, is something I can relate to. The first time I read this play I also had no idea of what the word "menagerie" meant and found that understanding its definition to be imperative in truly comprehending this play.
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