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sachaemilie's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
mandalor3960's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting play with easy symbols and themes. No climax so the play felt very linear and mundane.
Rating Update 3/13/2019 - 3 to 2 stars. Because I find it boring now in hindsight. Definitely would not reread for fun but perhaps for curiosity.
Rating Update 26 May 2019
Two stars to one star. To be on the safe side, I have rated this play one star. I find that the atmosphere was gloomy and I did not enjoy any character save for Tom. I cannot remember enjoying a lot from this play.
Rating Update 10 June 2019
With the adoption of my new rating system, a two star rating is befitting. I recall that I did not enjoy this play to have rated it at three stars but I cannot recall if I disliked it enough to rate at one star. A two star rating is a safe estimate.
August 20, 2019
Update
I recall disliking some aspects of the play; the mother's southern styled character and the daughter's attempted betrothal with Tom's friend. This is not enough to lower the rating to one star. The play remains a very low two star-rated play, impart to my lack of memory on it.
September 11, 2019
Update
Presently, I dislike this book for its cramped setting and its useless plot. However, I cannot recall if I disliked this book when I originally finished it. A two star-rating is an appropriate rating.
February 1, 2020
Update
The biggest support for a two star-rating comes from the original review: "No climax so the play felt very linear and mundane". The linearity and mundanes to the play are considered two star-rating attributes, and may not necessarily mean disliking, which would mean a one star-rating.
Rating Update 3/13/2019 - 3 to 2 stars. Because I find it boring now in hindsight. Definitely would not reread for fun but perhaps for curiosity.
Two stars to one star. To be on the safe side, I have rated this play one star. I find that the atmosphere was gloomy and I did not enjoy any character save for Tom. I cannot remember enjoying a lot from this play.
Rating Update 10 June 2019
With the adoption of my new rating system, a two star rating is befitting. I recall that I did not enjoy this play to have rated it at three stars but I cannot recall if I disliked it enough to rate at one star. A two star rating is a safe estimate.
August 20, 2019
Update
I recall disliking some aspects of the play; the mother's southern styled character and the daughter's attempted betrothal with Tom's friend. This is not enough to lower the rating to one star. The play remains a very low two star-rated play, impart to my lack of memory on it.
September 11, 2019
Update
Presently, I dislike this book for its cramped setting and its useless plot. However, I cannot recall if I disliked this book when I originally finished it. A two star-rating is an appropriate rating.
February 1, 2020
Update
The biggest support for a two star-rating comes from the original review: "No climax so the play felt very linear and mundane". The linearity and mundanes to the play are considered two star-rating attributes, and may not necessarily mean disliking, which would mean a one star-rating.
vee63884's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hollysilsbury's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book solidified my love for Tenesse Williams. As I read this play I felt like I understood him after studying A Streetcar Named Desire for two years. There were a lot of similarities between the two and I now feel like I can pick up on his nuances and writing style. The feeling of desperation, hysteria and depndency are what make this play as well as asnd so beautifully tragic.
The use of glass throughout the play demonstates a fragility similar to the paper lantern in asnd. Both alluring objects that are highly valued, then broken, to establish the end of an already weak sanity. There are a lot of things I could talk about, I could write an essay. I want to consume everything Williams has produced.
The use of glass throughout the play demonstates a fragility similar to the paper lantern in asnd. Both alluring objects that are highly valued, then broken, to establish the end of an already weak sanity. There are a lot of things I could talk about, I could write an essay. I want to consume everything Williams has produced.
erinwilham's review against another edition
3.0
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, was written in order to show the elusiveness of dreams in the face of societal limitation. The protagonist, Tom Wingfield, dreams of escape and adventure, but is bound to his job at the warehouse to provide for his family. Meanwhile, Tom’s mother, Amanda, is determined to fulfill her own undiscovered dreams vicariously through the success of her children.
A major theme of this drama is the attractiveness of dreams and fantasy over reality. All three of the main characters in the play are reluctant to face reality. Laura, for example, withdraws into a world of her own, collecting glass animals that reflect the fragility of her condition, while Tom avoids the reality of home life by watching movies, reading, and drinking. Lastly, Amanda avoids seeing reality as it truly is by convincing herself that she is the high-class Southern belle that she has always dreamt of being, that Laura is a perfectly normal girl who should be receiving as many gentlemen callers as she used to, and that Tom is on the verge of business success. Amanda’s avoidance of reality is less intentional than her children’s, but in this way it is also more severe and distorted.
Williams wrote The Glass Menagerie in the perspective of the protagonist, Tom Wingfield. The narration takes place in the form of Tom’s memories so that he is both the narrator of the play as well as a participant in the action. The way that the story was written was made effective because the dialogue was easier to follow than a novel and the scenes were very easy to visualize because of Williams’ descriptive stage directions.
Although I don’t usually enjoy reading plays as much as novels, I liked The Glass Menagerie overall. Because it was short, it was a fairly easy read and it kept my attention throughout the plot. If I were to rewrite it, the only thing I might change is the length of some of the stage directions, because I felt that sometimes Williams was overly descriptive of the scenery, which I didn’t think was entirely necessary and it became distracting.
A major theme of this drama is the attractiveness of dreams and fantasy over reality. All three of the main characters in the play are reluctant to face reality. Laura, for example, withdraws into a world of her own, collecting glass animals that reflect the fragility of her condition, while Tom avoids the reality of home life by watching movies, reading, and drinking. Lastly, Amanda avoids seeing reality as it truly is by convincing herself that she is the high-class Southern belle that she has always dreamt of being, that Laura is a perfectly normal girl who should be receiving as many gentlemen callers as she used to, and that Tom is on the verge of business success. Amanda’s avoidance of reality is less intentional than her children’s, but in this way it is also more severe and distorted.
Williams wrote The Glass Menagerie in the perspective of the protagonist, Tom Wingfield. The narration takes place in the form of Tom’s memories so that he is both the narrator of the play as well as a participant in the action. The way that the story was written was made effective because the dialogue was easier to follow than a novel and the scenes were very easy to visualize because of Williams’ descriptive stage directions.
Although I don’t usually enjoy reading plays as much as novels, I liked The Glass Menagerie overall. Because it was short, it was a fairly easy read and it kept my attention throughout the plot. If I were to rewrite it, the only thing I might change is the length of some of the stage directions, because I felt that sometimes Williams was overly descriptive of the scenery, which I didn’t think was entirely necessary and it became distracting.
anthsu's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
cherryobscura's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0