Talk:The Glass Menagerie

Low Importance?

How did an article about a major twentieth century play come to be rated "low importance"? Are the majority of wikipedia editors teenagers who think that internet memes are the height of cultural achievement?76.68.39.253 (talk) 05:56, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

Please just change the priority, instead of insulting people. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.31.132.44 (talk) 11:12, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Don't change the priority on a whim. The Stick Man (talk) 17:46, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Discussion

They say that Jim is a saviour comparable to jesus christ and that it is considered ironic when he does not actually save them. I dont quite agree with that because like Jesus he was physically there for only a small amount of time and during that time he bettered the lives of all there. He forced Amanda and Laura to get out on their own or do whatever and he helped laura overcome her shyness.

The sentence structure of this article is poor, it would be nice if soeone with knowledge of the play could make it flow better. Sentences such as "Williams has not always been so loved. The end of the play is tragic" are fairly poor.

"A bitched lobotomy" is priceles.

I wish before you belittle someones work, you check to see that yours is spelt right.

Frustrated student.

-It is not said that Jim O'Conner was a catholic. Amanda just assumed so because of his Irish background. However he was engaged to a catholic girl. So it can be possible he was Catholic. If he 100% was is not certain though.

I don't quite like the last paragraph on 'the dance hall' under symbolism. The Paradise Dance Hall has already been discussed earlier in the section, under setting, and the phrasing of this paragraph is awkward and unprofessional. Any objections to cutting the material? Cherylline 11:52, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Spelling mistakes

Can you please include a 1-2 sentence plot synopsis for those who don't feel like reading a frickin novel to find out what the play's about!!! (i.e. SYNOPSIS)

Perhaps you could try Cliff's Notes? NickBurns 16:34, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

This literature is a play, not "a frickin novel". And, it isn't even a very long play; I think Of Mice and Men might be a little bit longer, though I admittedly haven't seen that in play form. --Luigifan 15:09, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

If one re-reads the original comment, it is evident the person is aware this article discusses a play, and is simply complaining about the lengthy plot summary (what one Wikipedia template calls "overly detailed"). Has this issue been addressed? Lawikitejana (talk) 04:26, 20 December 2011 (UTC)

The Gentleman Caller

If memory serves -- and I only read this play once, in high school, 15 years ago -- the character of Jim is called "The Gentleman Caller". While he was named in the dialogue, in stage directions and in line headings, he is only referred to by this nondescript character name. If this is true, he needs to be referred to as such in our character list and the distinction needs to be made in the article somewhere. —  MusicMaker 03:56, 11 January 2007 (UTC) he is referred to as the gentleman caller, but he is called jim very frequently in the play itself76.116.99.168 19:55, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Washington controversy

Not sure if this is of interest, but the play, when first performed by a touring group in DC, was put on in the National theatre, which at the time was segregated. There was a certain amount of controversy with Williams protesting vocally, but powerless to do anything about it because of contracts he had signed months earlier. Here is my source [1] if anyone thinks it's interesting enough I'll write it up. --Kick the cat 00:22, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

I would definately add it, the article could use some beefing up.--TyGuy92 (talk) 01:18, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

Small Mistakes (?)

I suppose it might be possible that there were different versions of this play, but at least when I read it (which was very recently, so I'm not just remembering wrong), things like the following did not quite happen the way they are described here:

• "Tom hurls his overcoat across the room and breaks some of Laura's glass animals" - In fact, it only said Tom shook the table, when he slammed the door storming out.
• "Laura pretended to go to the college, but went to the local library instead" - Laura went to a greenhouse, a zoo, and a museum, which demonstrated her fear of being around other people (the greenhouse with the exotic plants that needed special care and separation from the outside world also served as an analogy to her). babies baby.

The following statements aren't exactly accurate, either:

• "Amanda has since made a meager living working in selling magazine subscriptions" - Actually, she only did so at one point in the play, that hasn't always been her job. It's directly stated that not so long ago, she worked in selling bras or something to that extent.
• "She [Amanda] therefore suffers a withdrawal from reality (to a smaller extent than that suffered by Tom or Laura" - I beg to differ. Laura's escape may have been greater than hers (the play is practically named after Laura's escape, after all), but Tom's was, in many ways, lesser. Either way, this is a personal opinion, and does not belong on Wikipedia.

These are just the mistakes I could find, but there might well be others. This is probably worth looking into by someone who knows for a fact that their version is correct, as I, personally, cannot be quite certain of that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.139.19.148 (talk) 23:15, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

In the version I read recently, the first one certainly did happen.Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (talk) 01:09, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Parodies section

I added something to the Parodies section of this article about a show called Bouffon Glass Menajoree. Included in that description of the show was the external link to the production. It was edited out as spam. It is clearly a parody of this play, and should be in the section. I am putting it back in, and leaving the external link in the external link section.

There's a song that alludes to The Glass Menagerie. Does anyone know what it is? It used to be in the Trivia/Parodies section.The idea of the play came from fco Mna

Ptbarnum 14:51, 13 October 2007 (UTC) fco

Perhaps you mean "Shakespeare's Sister" by The Smiths? It always made sense to me... Tom is referred to as Shakespeare, and the song doesn't seem to refer to A Room of One's Own that a cursory glance suggests. Salubrious (talk) 13:31, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

ANSWERS WANTED

Here are a few questions to ponder... What does the fire escape symbolize?

What importance does Jim have in the play?

Wikipedia isn't really meant for getting homework answers. Why don't you try the numerous sites out there that are, e.g. Sparknotes Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (talk) 01:09, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Why, to your opinion, is Laura so terribly shy? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.196.180.107 (talk) 00:49, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

Unrepresented

I added Mr Wingfield to the characters list due to his undeniable importance in the play however i'm sure the edit could be improved. (89.243.71.218 (talk) 13:20, 21 December 2008 (UTC)) esto que estan viendo aqui es una porqueria de pagina no la usen —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.45.163.45 (talk) 19:35, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

Can you please talk English?

Memory Play?

What's a memory play? There isn't even a wikipedia entry for the term. We can't use that term to explain what the glass menagerie is, if it doesn't exist outside the play itself.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.31.132.44 (talk) 11:06, 5 December 2010 (UTC) It's how Tom himself describes the play, so there wouldn't be an article on that. And what Tom means is that this play has been recreated from his memory. The Stick Man (talk) 16:45, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Potential rewrite of ending, averted?

I'm in the middle of watching Sweet Tornado: Margo Jones and the American Theater, in which it is claimed that Eddie Dowling tried to get Tennessee Williams to change the play's ending to a more upbeat one, including having Laura standing — standing — "with braces removed, and the gentleman caller standing again at the door -- orthopedics do such wonderful things!" is the quote of Williams they include. The program says Jones went to bat for the original ending and threatened to go to the critics to expose the "wire-pulling" behind the scenes if the changes were made, which of course, we know now, they were not. I know we can use television as a reference just as one can a printed source, but is there a printed source as well? Lawikitejana (talk) 04:37, 20 December 2011 (UTC)

subsequent productions

I added a note to the bottom of the list documenting the Flat Rock Playhouse revival in October of 2018. Somebody saw fit to summarily remove this bit of data without any apparent justification. Who decides which productions will be recognized in Wikipedia? Is the State Theater of North Carolina too humble to include?

https://www.flatrockplayhouse.org/show/the-glass-menagerie/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:30A:C0AB:8D00:4D94:6195:587D:5E3 (talk) 22:40, 13 October 2018 (UTC)

Laura's limp and pleurosis

So, in the summary it says Laura got her limp due to pleurosis but Laura was born sickly, there's nothing in the play that suggests she has a limp because of it. She had the limp before and after she was out of school because of that bout... 2601:602:9201:AB0:F5B8:F7D5:8764:FB0B (talk) 21:57, 22 July 2024 (UTC)