English Literature 9695

The Glass Menagerie: Tom as the Narrator

Q. In the prologue Tom says that 'I am the narrator of this play and also the character in it'. What does the play gain from this complexity?

Williams has added a modern and unique touch to this play by presenting a character as the narrator and bringing forward the psychological state of said character to light and allowing the audience to involve themselves deeply in his thought process, it allows them to contemplate what could perhaps be real and what could perhaps be fabricated. The character's feelings are presented by the atmosphere and we get a similar feeling as we did from watching Brian Friel's 'Philadelphia here I Come' knowing how the character feels and watching him not be able to express himself, the dramatic irony kicks in and the audience are at the edge of their seats. Will Tom tell his family about his dreams and ambitions? Will he stay? Will he leave? One must stay till the end of the play to find out.

Tom's direct address to the audience signals that he is creating the play. He is the narrator, we are seeing his memories much of what may be changed. Ironically one might expect that since he is the narrator like 'Time' in Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale' he is the one controlling the story, rather he is also helpless regarding what happens. He is but only recalling what he has experienced much of which may be exaggerated or may be his hopeful imagination since 'memory is seated predominately in the heart'. For example the conversation between Laura and Amanda and Laura and Jim where Tom is not present, while they might be accounts relayed to Tom by Laura it is quiet clear that he has added some exaggerated considering Amanda's detailed dramatic performance after realising Laura dropped out of school and considering the heavy atmosphere of intimacy during Laura and Jim's interaction. If these had been merely his recollection of Lauras's recollection the audience would have received bland scene instead of colourful and tasteful scenes that make them laugh and bring them closer to the characters.

Tom's out of place merchant marine uniform suggest he's creating the play from sometime in the future. This brings up the certain question: is the play in the new Tom's perceptive or the old Tom's perceptive? This contrast adds to the depth of the play, we see the atmosphere is grim which represents Tom's guilt but is this his guilt after having spent time away from his family? Did he feel remorse when he decided to finally leave them? What exactly happened the night Jim left?We know that he left only after he was fired but we also question whether he spent until then at home in darkness due to the electricity bill not being paid or is the darkness a symbol of how he felt at that time? Then Williams allow his audience to contemplate on the manipulation of time based on feelings. We also know of how Tom skips many moments since the scenes are not in continuous form and it feels as though he has manipulated the timing to fit only what he wants conveyed and only what fits is created atmosphere which makes the audience question, surely from winter to early summer, there must have been some happy times he is hiding from us or maybe the more unfortunate scenario would be that the present Tom, the narrator, does not remember these good times and is only suffering from the memories of difficult times specially where we see his mother acting like anything but a mother and his sister being the most vulnerable. It could also be his way of accepting how things turn out and accepting his share of the blame. He is seen to say at the end 'Blow out your candles, Laura- and so goodbye....' which could present the idea that he is finally making peace with all the bad memories.

Tom is shown to manipulate stage effects such as lighting and music to control the play's emotional tone. 'Being a memory play it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic'. Shafts of light are focused on selected areas or characters, sometimes in contradiction to the apparent centre for example during the quarrel between Tom and Amanda, Laura has no active input yet the light is on her, the audience experience a divided attention, they hear Tom and Amanda but see Laura, her expression makes them realise what Tom thinks she had been going through. Also during the supper scene with Jim her silent figure on the sofa remains the usual centre while Tom is saying grace. It makes the audience realise the dept of their bond, how he now perhaps wishes he was there for Laura when he was not.

The music, also controlled by Tom, provides an extra-literary accent to this play. It is as Williams describes in his production notes, 'the lightest, most delicate music in the world and perhaps the saddest' and it only plays when Laura is the centre of attention. This recurring tone reminds one how beautiful spun glass is and how easily it can be broken, Tom's feelings towards Laura are similar and the three Wingfield's situation can be accented by this tone perfectly. Other times we hear jazz music when Tom is commenting on how people are distracting themselves from oncoming 'bombardments' and when we see Jim and Laura are dancing the same music is playing, this scares the audience as it acts as a foreshadowing that destruction of a smaller scale but with similar irreversible effects is about to take place, and so it does when Jim drops the bomb about his engagement to Betty.

Another stage effect that Tom controls are the legends. The first legend is by a French poet and translates to 'Where are the snows?' this legend is repeated in the same scene as 'Where are the snows from yesteryear?' audience familiar with this legend feel the nostalgia weighing in. Tom recalls how they had dinner and it reflects that he perhaps misses peaceful moments with his family, that is, until Amanda starts talking, now we see him frustrated and feeling as if he is stuck following a script and we sympathise with him. Similarly he controls when the Blue Roses are projected that represent Laura's heaving presence on his mind. We also see a semitransparent gauze portiere that gives the effect of memory. On cue a part of the stage can disappear and reappear and the overall effect is of a hazy memory. Tom also uses these legends to express sarcasm with captions such a, 'You think I am in love with continental shoe makers?', 'Plans and Provisions', 'Suspension of Public Services', 'Love' and most importantly 'Skyfall'. When Jim reveals his relationship and all of Amanda's hopes and dreams shatter, he also uses these to foreshadow certain events like the legend: 'Terror' right before Laura fell in front of the dining table when Jim came to visit and the sound of lighting is added to dramatise it. next he uses the legend, ' and so goodbye...' to foreshadow his final departure. These legends express Tom's artistic way with words, we sense his hidden feelings behind his sarcasm, and although the last two scenes are lit with a rose-tinted lamp the audience know this memory is anything but rose tinted.