Glass Menagerie Commentary
Glass Menagerie CommentaryFirst of all, I liked the way that The Glass Menagerie was not specifically dated. What I mean by this, is even though the play was written in the forties, today we (people in general), can still relate to some of the issues in it. Like take for example the disability issue. Laura was so self conscious of her disability, but in reality, people did not really even notice. This is how society in general treats people with disabilities today - the same as everyone else.
I also liked the development of Laura's character over the course of the plot. At first she was timid and afraid of the world. But as the play progressed, and her character grew, she started to grow out of her timidness and started to be more trustful of people. By the end of the play, she had completely opened up to Jim and even showed him her glass menagerie, her most prized possession. I think that the stage directions in this play were both useful and annoying. I say that they were useful because they helped me to understand the plot and the characters motives and actions easier and better. But they were annoying because there were so many of them, and at times Tennessee Williams was overly descriptive in his stage directions.
This play made me think about how people with disabilities are treated. I had always thought that in the thirties and forties, being disabled was not accepted. But after reading this play, I am starting to think that I might be wrong after all, because Laura seemed not to be treated any differently as a result of her...
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