56 pages • 1 hour read
The Glass Menagerie
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1945
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Introduction
The Glass Menagerie
- Genre: Fiction; drama
- Originally Published: 1945
- Reading Level/Interest: Grades 10-12; college/adult
- Structure/Length: 2 parts; 7 scenes; approx. 104 pages; approx. 1 hour, 43 minutes on audio
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: The play reveals Tom Wingfield’s haunting memories of his young adulthood in 1930s St. Louis. Tom’s strong-willed mother, Amanda, convinces him to bring a gentleman caller to meet his shy sister, Laura.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Dated, racist language in Scene 1
Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams), Author
- Bio: 1911-1983; born in Columbus, Mississippi; studied at the University of Iowa; pursued playwriting after college and while working other jobs such as Hollywood scriptwriter; first major success and critical review came with The Glass Menagerie, followed by Pulitzer Prizes for A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; cared for his institutionalized sister throughout his life and established a trust fund for her before he died
- Other Works: A Streetcar Named Desire (1947); Summer and Smoke (1948); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955); The Night of the Iguana (1961)
- Awards: New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play (1945); many production awards for various revivals, including Tony Awards for acting, directing, and technical elements
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
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By Tennessee Williams
