english essay, writing homework help

Choose two of the following questions and respond in 500 words or more to the prompt. Alternately, you can respond to three questions. You must write at least 1,000 words. Please upload your response into a Microsoft Word document. We will have some time in class to take notes/respond after the film is completed. Remember that this assignment is due on Tuesday, December 6th.

1. Escape: What does the play tell us about the ability to escape? Can this be realized? If so, do the negative consequences outweigh the rewards?

2. What does The Glass Menagerie tell us about the nature of memory?

3. The absence of Mr. Wingfield: Analyze the absence of Tom and Laura’s father. Why does Williams choose to include in the play a character who will never actually appear onstage? What function does this serve?

4. Amanda: Analyze the character of Amanda. Does Williams want us to be sympathetic toward Amanda or to judge her more harshly? Do you believe that the way that Amanda treats her children is driving them away? Or are her actions justified as a mother? Discuss.

5. Jim: The great majority of The Glass Menagerie is dedicated to a long wait for a gentleman caller. When he finally arrives, we are presented with Jim, whom Williams describes in the character list as a “nice, ordinary, young man.” Is this description of Jim accurate and does it capture his true function in the play?

6. Tom: Tom functions as both protagonist and narrator of The Glass Menagerie. How can we reconcile these two different roles? How are these two sides of Tom the same? How are the two roles different? What do we learn about Tom through his narration that we are not able to see through his role as a traditional character?

7. The unicorn: What is the significance of Laura’s glass unicorn and the loss of its horn? Why does Laura give it to Jim?