73 pages • 2 hours read
Tennessee WilliamsThe Glass Menagerie
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1945A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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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