Tennessee Williams: A Contemporary Dramatist

Pedro Moura and Breann Wilson

Saugus High School AP Literature Author Comparison project

Table of Contents:

I. Biography of Tennessee Williams

II. Overview of The Glass Menagerie

III. Overview of A Streetcar Named Desire

IV. Style Elements For The Glass Menagerie

V. Style Elements For A Streetcar Named Desire

VI. Archetypal Criticism Essay

VII. Male Gender-Based Essay

VIII. Historical Read

IX. Biographical Read

X. Reader-Response Read

XI. Quiz

XII. Works Cited

XIII. Images and Links

I. Biography

Contrary to popular belief, Tennessee Williams was not born in Tennessee. In fact, he was born in Columbus, Mississippi in 1911 as Thomas L. Williams III. It was not until his late teen years, when attending college in the state of Missouri that he was nicknamed Tennessee as a byproduct of his Southern drawl. At the age of five, Williams came down with a paralytic disease. The following two years, in which he was bedridden, served as his introduction into the world of writing.

The quiet Williams grew up to be quite the reserved adolescent, where his only solace was the paradise of writing. His mother bought him a typewriter at age thirteen, and at sixteen, he won a prize in a national essay competition. In college, Williams began to script plays for the first time, but he was forced to drop out without graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Three years later, he matriculated at the prestigious Washington University in St. Louis, but it wasn’t long until he once again withdrew and then enrolled at the University of Iowa.

After he graduated at the age of 27, he began to study playwriting in New York, and his career took off from there. The Glass Menagerie, first performed in 1944, immediately put Williams in the popular eye, and A Streetcar Named Desire added to that fame only three years later. It cemented his style as a dramatist who modeled many of his plot elements from his own life.

Williams suffered through many personal problems throughout his life, being a homosexual in a time where heterosexuals thrived. Not only that, but Williams took after his father’s alcoholism and struggled with it his entire life. He died at the age of 71 from an alcohol-related incident, but he left a sizable mark on the future of works of drama.

II. Overview of The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams’ first play to make it big, is filled with discontent. Set in St. Louis in 1937, ironically just a year after Williams had lived there, it was narrated by Tom Wingfield. An early-twenties man who struggled to make due with what his life had become, Tom eventually breaks free of the oppressed world governed by his mother, Amanda. Amanda, quite the failure herself after her husband left her, is forced to attempt to live through her daughter Laura.

As is to be expected, nothing goes according to plan, and Amanda’s mental picture that involved Laura getting an auspicious boyfriend, or gentleman caller, goes horribly wrong, culminating in Tom leaving the family forever. An intense success on the stage, Menagerie catapulted Willams into stardom.

III. Overview of A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire, another critical success from Williams, again deals with familial problems, this time in a much different context. Stella and Stanley Kowalski live a variable but overall suitable life in New Orleans, until Stella’s sister, Blanche DuBois moves in. Blanche brings with her a myriad of problems, and her unhappiness spreads, revealing the problems at the heart of Stanley and Stella’s relationship.

Eventually, Williams shows the traditional male dominance in American popular culture, with Stanley raping Blanche and getting away with it unscathed. The play ends with Stanley and Stella still together, and Blanche by all definitions an emotional wreck. It is believed that Stanley deeply paralleled the father figure Williams knew at home, his own father C.C. Williams.

IV. Style Elements for The Glass Menagerie

- Flashback

Williams sets the main character, Tom as the somewhat narrator of the story. He begins scene one with a Tom coming out speaking to the audience and tells the story of his past life. So ultimately this entire play is a Flashback into Tom Wingfield's life.

- Allusion

There is a point that is made in Scene one by Amanda, Tom's mother, when she was talking about her past gentleman callers. She then says, "He had the Midas touch, whatever he touched turned to gold!"(27). The allusion to that Mythical god was just an expression that is often used to say that they had good fortune with money.

- Hyperbole

In Act 1, scene three we see that Amanda like always is over exaggerating, just to make a scene. While she is talking on the phone with Ida Scott she says, Heaven have mercy!—you're a Christian Martyr, yes that's what you are, a Christian martyr!"(38). She is expressing her gratitude to this person in an extremely exaggerated tone. Ida Scott may have done something wonderful, but the term "Christian Martyr" is a somewhat inappropriate term.

- Figurative Language / Similes

Because this is a play, there needs to be a bountiful amount of figurative language in order to paint the picture that is necessary for the readers to understand the situation. Especially when he's setting up for another scene, Williams goes into great detail about the atmosphere. Also, Williams often refers to Laura, Tom's sister, "like a piece of translucent glass touched by light" (69)

- Irony

"Oh, but I will step on you!" says Laura, "Come on, try...I'm not made of glass", says Jim. This is part of scene seven when Jim and Laura are alone in the room and Jim is teaching Laura how to dance. Laura's prize possession is her glass collection, her glass menagerie; so when Jim said that he was not made of glass, which was ironic. Because in fact, everything that revolves around Laura is glass, or it is like glass.

V. Style Elements for A Streetcar Named Desire

- Sex vs. Death Theme

Blanche is a sexual woman who loved the attention of other men. But when she is forced into the life of her timid sister, her sexuality is no in her control. Stanley, Stella's husband, rapes Blanche and then sends her to a mental hospital to slowly disintegrate. Her Sexuality ultimately leads her to her death.

- Dependence on Men Theme

During this time period, woman had a hard time getting a decent social standing. So they would often look to the men for support. Stella, from the beginning looks to Stanley as the man of the house, and Blanche realizes that the marriage to Mitch will eventually save her ill reputation. And Lastly, Blanche realizes that after she cannot marry Mitch, she can run to her married Millionaire friend, Shep Huntleigh. No woman in this book can be considered an independent female.

- Reoccurring Motifs of Light

Blanche is always being found avoiding the light throughout the play. It seems to represent the ability for others to see the true detail of who she really is. She first covers the bare light bulb with a Chinese paper lantern, and then she is reluctant to Mitch's will for her to stand in the direct light.

- Cries and Shadows Symbolism

There is a significant scene where Blanche and Stanley are fighting, toward the end of the play. As they fight, the audience should be able to see shadows that begin to hover on the walls and then loud cries begin to start. Like a jungle, with all the noises and shadow figures, this scene symbolizes the transition from Blanche's sanity to insanity.

- Imagery

In a scene toward the middle of the play, there is a part where William's goes into great detail about the disappearing of the back wall of the apartment. Though in the characters' sight it doesn't happen, but the audience is able to see the street below as Blanche Stanley and Stella are talking. Through this detail, Williams proves that he the audience is able to see right through all of the characters.

VI. An Archetypal Criticism Read

Carl Jung, the creator of Archetypal Criticism, called mythology, "the textbook of the archetypes". In Tennessee William's two popular plays The Glass Menagerie written in 1945, and A Streetcar Named Desire written in 1947, readers-- through archetypal criticism-- are able to find related patterns and prototypes that trace back ultimately to the roots of mythology. In these given plays, archetypes are developed or found in the characters, the plots, and lastly the theme.

Beginning with the character archetype, the audience finds Laura from The Glass Menagerie and Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire as the somewhat "Damsel in Distress". Laura is a helpless, innocent young lady who just can't seem to live up to her mother's expectations. "…it's not a tornado, mother. I'm just not popular like you were in Blue Mountain…" (Glass 28). Laura hides her face from the world because she is shy, slightly crippled, and insecure about her sexuality. So as a result, she turns to her collection of glass animals—her menagerie to comfort her. Blanche, on the other hand seems to be the complete opposite of Laura, and yet she too carries the title of the "Damsel in Distress". Blanche is a sexually driven character who seems unstable and unsure of herself, and looks toward the affection of a male to make her feel complete or whole, but in the end that attitude leaves her even more empty and alone. Like Laura, Blanche is also very insecure about who she really is and how to openly express herself.

The archetypal plot that was found in both plays was the plot of unexpected escape, where characters seem to have a somewhat settled life and yet they have a desire to leave it all behind and start anew. Tom, a main character in The Glass Menagerie, from the beginning confides in the audience that his one true desire is to get away from the world he lives in, and to follow in his father's footsteps, and become and independent man. "I'm tired of the movies and I am about to move! ...I am like my father" (Glass 79-80). Tom's plans are to leave home; he just wants to get out of society's pressures. He wants to escape and live the big life like that big stars. Blanche also wants to escape, and take her married sister Stella along with her. She sees Stanley, her brother-in-law as a threat to her and her sister, and she wants desperately to escape from the pressures he puts upon her. Readers can see this archetypal plot of "Escape" appear in many literary works throughout the centuries. Not only is it found in the more modern literature like William's, but it can also be found in the play of Medea and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Lastly, the archetypal theme that appears in both plays is that of fantasy versus reality. Amanda, the mother in The Glass Menagerie, is a frivolous woman who views life as a game of love, ruffles, and "gentlemen callers". She often finds herself getting caught up in her own nostalgia saying, "One Sunday afternoon in Blue Mountain—your mother received—seventeen!—gentlemen callers!... I understood the art of conversation… Girls in those days knew how to talk, I can tell you" (Glass 26). Amanda lived in her own light fantasies while Tom had to carry the burden of providing for the family. She relies on Tom to work out all of the Bills and Financial issues; something she was never able to handle. Amanda lived in her fantasy while Tom took care of the reality, and as a result, he ends up leaving the house. Like Amanda, Blanche finds herself too scared to face reality. Blanche looses all her worldly belongings and immediately runs to her sister Stella and her family for help. Right away, Stanley's firm grasp on reality and the "tough life" clashes with that at of Blanches fantasy world. Reality is then forced upon Blanche when Stanley rapes her at the climatic scene. And in the end, Blanche is completely forced back into her inner fantasies because she couldn't handle the real live problems and pressures around her. Ultimately the "forced reality" leads to Blanche's insanity. In both situations the theme of Fantasy's inability to overcome Reality is evident and appears to be inevitable for both Amanda and Blanche.

Through evaluation of these two works, The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire, the audience can have a better sense of Tennessee William's purpose, in terms of archetypal critique. That recurring patterns in characters, symbols, plots, or themes in all literature do not just, in the words of Carl Jung, "imitate the actions of the world but rather the total thoughts of humankind".

VII. A Male Gender-Based Read

Written by a homosexual playwright, both A Streetcar Named Desire and A Glass Menagerie eschew the male stereotypes common of the 20^th century. In Streetcar, instead of the prototypical family man Americans grew to love, the reader gets Stanley Kowalski: an unremorseful man who beats his wife and rapes his sister-in-law. Likewise, in Glass Menagerie, a mid-twenties Tom Wingfield becomes jealous of his pleurosis-laden younger sister and leaves behind her and his psychoanalytic mother. Through how Tennessee Williams describes marriage and his portrayals of men and women, the reader learns of his disdain for the status quo: the typically American, unhappy marriage of the opposite sexes.

Marriage, an essential part of heterosexual lifestyle, helps to reveal Williams’ seemingly derisive motives in scripting both Menagerie and Streetcar. True lovers on the surface, Stella and Stanley Kowalski, the main characters in Streetcar are anything but; he satisfies her sexual needs, but there is a little other evidence of a connection between the two. At the same time, we learn of Blanche DuBois, who was verifiably in love with her husband, Allan Grey, until she discovered he had a homosexual lover on the side. The very night of the discovery, Grey shot himself in the head. From a man’s perspective, both of the marriages described in Streetcar are outright failures, and Williams undoubtedly unveiled them intentionally. Menagerie almost skips through the topic of marriage entirely, save for a brief mention of the AWOL Mr. Wingfield who left the family on a whim years before the play takes place. The author, an out-of-the-closet homosexual himself, never shied away from making comments about the sheer nonsuccesses prevalent in modern marriages.

Given the author’s sexual orientation and spoken preference towards the male gender, it would be expected to see his writing favor men; however, it does the opposite. Kowalski comes out on top in society at the end of Streetcar, but his morals are shot, as he literally and figuratively uses Blanche. In Menagerie, Tom gives up on his life and leaves through the fire escape of his home for the final time, taking what shreds are left of his sanity. “Then all at once my sister touches my shoulder. I turn around and look into her eyes,” Tom mutters as the play concludes. “Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be,” (Scene 7). Williams does not exactly portray Jim O’Connor as a saint either, with him making the first move on Laura and then admitting minutes later he has a fiancé. In Streetcar, Mitch, DuBois’ newfound lover, shows he is actually the opposite of what she wants and even needs, yet still attempts to mercifully take advantage of her sexually. With men like these running rampant in the 20^th century United States, what is left for the women?

Unfortunately, the women of Williams’ plays are no different. The main women in Streetcar are perfectly stereotypical for the time period: standing by their men, no matter the cause or consequence of the situation. But while Stella and DuBois are at times only perfectly mediocre, Amanda and Laura Wingfield at times hit rock bottom. Amanda, unable to live her life to the extent she wished, now lives vicariously through her chronically shy daughter. That daughter, goalless, friendless, and aimless, but diseaseful, has received such a distasteful upbringing she really has no idea what to do in situations with members of the opposite sex. After Jim mistakingly breaks Laura’s favorite glass unicorn, she parallels herself in saying, “I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less—freakish!” (Scene 7). With problems so inherent with many of the feminine gender, Williams makes his displeasure no secret.

Tennessee Williams tended to focus his brilliant plays on the controversial subjects of marriage, affairs, and overall attraction. Both Menagerie and Streetcar fit the bill, as they both suffer play-long struggles over the ethics and tradition of marriage. But Williams could not let the opportunity pass without adding in some fledgling criticisms, such as when Blanche leads Grey to the point of suicide simply because of his hidden homosexuality. In a time period filled with fear of homosexuals, Williams fights to beat that stereotype, with the help of another one, demonstrated by utter failures Stanley Kowalski and Tom Wingfield.

VII. Historical Read

- The Glass Menagerie

This book takes place in the late 1930's, everyone at this time was still struggling from the effects of the Great Depression.

Many Americans scrounged for work that was very scarce at this time. Many people turned to the Factories that relied on cheep labor. Countless men woman and children at this time worked for low wages with horrible working conditions. Tom, in the play works at a shoe factory for the low wage of $65 a month. He unwillingly uses that to provide for his mother and sister.

- A Streetcar Named Desire

This play was written just after the Great Depression and WWII.

People in these days were often financially struggling and yet they were striving to reconstruct their lives in postwar America.

Many men at this time are returning from military services and other WWII involvements.

This play was set in the South, which also incorporates the Southern cultures and lifestyles.

IX. Biographical Criticism Read

-Absent Father In Life

Tom's father from Glass Menagerie left the family when he was just a little boy leaving Tom the responsibility of taking care his mother and sister.

Williams' Father was also absent for most of his life. Although his father never completely lost contact with his family, he was rarely present in their lives.

-Factory Shoemaker

Tom from Glass Menagerie worked as a shoemaker in a factory, He hated the job and yet he continued to do it in order to provide for the family.

Tennessee Williams was forced into the shoemaking business by his father, who owned the business. Tennessee despised the job because all he wanted to do was go the college and write.

- Crippled sister

Laura in the Glass Menagerie is Tom's sister and she is somewhat crippled, even though her mother insists that it is not noticeable. Tom has sympathy for her and has a deep connection with her, as her brother.

Tennessee Williams also had a sister named Rose that was ill. She had emotional and mental instability. It is said that her problems had an immense influence on Williams' life and work.

- Suffocating mother

The mother in Glass menagerie was named Amanda; she was born and raised as a southern belle. That being her lifestyle growing up, she expects her crippled daughter to live the same life as she did. Amanda is also acknowledged as being a nagging mother who is always questioning the activities of her son Tom. Though both Tom and Laura love their mother, they find her over zealous personality to be smothering.

Williams also had a southern mother who also lived for her passed days as a southern belle. She loved him very much, but she too was a smothering woman. For example, she would never let Tennessee do outside and play with the other little boys, he was expected to be proper at all times and to focus on his schooling.

- The Vulgar Male

The father in Glass Menagerie and also Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire were both irresponsible males who did awful things that affected the families overall.

Williams wrote these characters to represent the his own father and all of the other males in his life that criticized him and tormented him in his childhood.

X. Reader-Response Read

- Blanche (A Streetcar Named Desire)

Blanche is considered a vane woman and also the slut or whore of the story. Many women now days may connect to this character in that they may also feel that they need to use their beauty or their sexuality in order to receive respect or even happiness.

- Tom (The Glass Menagerie)

Tom is a character who is burdened with overwhelming responsibility to provide for his family. Readers can see that all he wants is to get away from the life he lives now and move on, without the burdens. At times readers may feel burdened with responsibilities whether at home or at school. But we can chose to respond in the way Tom does by running away; or we can respond by facing the problem and overcome it.

- The Male Figures

Tennessee Williams writes a lot about disappointing male characters; the father in Glass Menagerie and also Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar named Desire for example. As shown through his writings, he obviously didn't appreciate the dominate males in his life. Readers- especially during the time he wrote the play- can relate to that because they also could have felt the pressures of a patriartical society, where a father may have beaten the wife and/or children , or the father may have actually left home.

XI. Quiz

What was Tennessee Williams’ birth name?
1. Thomas Michael Williams B. Thomas Ebenezer Williams

C. Thomas L. Williams III D. Timothy Gospodarski

Which university did Williams not attend?

A. University of Iowa B. University of Washington-St.Louis

C. University of Missouri-Columbia D. Brigham Young University

3. What was the first play by Williams that was performed?

The Glass Menagerie B. A Streetcar Named Desire

C. Pride and Prejudice D. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

4.Williams was like his father in that:

A. He was a great writer B. He suffered from alcoholism

C. He was named Tennessee D. He enjoyed poker

5. The Glass Menagerie is set in:

A. West Papua New Guinea B. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

C. St. Louis D. Los Angeles

6. The surname of the main characters in The Glass Menagerie is:

A. Maghakian B. Finfield

C. Wingstop D. Wingfield

7. What does Amanda Wingfield call possible suitors for her daughter?

A. Boy-toys B. Gentleman callers

C. Hotties D. Good guys

8. Where is A Streetcar Named Desire set?

A. New Orleans B. West Papua New Guinea

C. St. Petersburg D. East Papua New Guinea

9. Who are the two primary female characters in A Streetcar Named Desire?

A. Amanda and Edna B. Blanche and Stella

C. Tom and Stanley D. Jim and Ebenezer

10. What is Laura Wingfield’s main health problem?

A. Pleurosis B. Kidney Disease

C. Schizophrenia D. Halitosis

11. The surname of the main married couple in A Streetcar Named Desire is:

A. Dostoevsky B. Chekhov

C. Kafka D. Kowalski

12. Popular topics in Williams’ playwriting include all but:

A. Sexuality B. Marriage

C. Suicide D. Traveling

13. Which of the following style elements is not used in The Glass Menagerie?

A. Irony B. Hyperbole

C. Allusion D. Syllogism

14. Which of the following style elements is not used in Streetcar?

A. Imagery B. Symbolism

C. Catharsis D. Motifs

15. What is the archetypal theme that appears in both plays?

A. Fantasy vs. Reality B. Man vs. Nature

C. Monster vs. Man D. Reality vs. The Future

16. What is the archetypal plot that appears in both plays?

A. Unexpected escape B. Utter euphoria

C. Cutting off one’s hand D. Tragically heroic death

17. In the character archetype, Blanche and Laura could both be called a:

A. ‘Damsel in distress’ B. Senile old woman

C. Femme fatale D. Prodigal son

18. In his writing, Williams favors:

A. Men B. Women

C. Both D. Neither

19. What does Jim accidentally break in The Glass Menagerie

A. Laura’s glass plate B. Laura’s glass unicorn

C. Laura’s glass vase D. Laura’s glass window

20. What was the author’s name again?

A. Sugar Ray Leonard B. Jane Austen

C. West Papua New Guinea D. Tennessee Williams

XII. Works Cited

Contemporary Dramatists. Second edition. Edited by James Vinson. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Contemporary Literary Criticism. Excerpts from criticism of the works of today's novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers, scriptwriters, and other creative writers. Volume 111. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999.

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

Current Biography Yearbook. 1972 edition. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1972

Encyclopedia of American Literature. Edited by Steven R. Serafin. New York: Continuum Publishing, 1999.

Gay & Lesbian Biography. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997.

The International Authors and Writers Who's Who. Ninth edition. Edited by Adrian Gaster. Cambridge, England: International Biographical Centre, 1982.

Leverich, Lyle. Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams. 2 Vols. New York, Crown, 1997.

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. Second edition. Five volumes. New

York: McGraw-Hill, 1984.

Mississippi Writers Page, http:// www.olemiss.edu/mwp/ (April 26, 2004), "Tennessee Williams."

"Tennessee Williams." American Decades. Gale Research, 1998.