1. How does the fire escape function as a symbol to reveal something about each character’s personality? 2. Why does Tom go so often to the movies? 3. What are the similarities between Tom and his father? 4. What is the significance of Laura’s unicorn? 5. Why does Amanda nag […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsTennessee Williams Biography
More than with most authors, Tennessee Williams’ personal life and experiences have been the direct subject matter for his dramas. He uses his experiences so as to universalize them through the means of the stage. Thus, his life is utilized over and over again in the creation of his dramas. […]
Read more Tennessee Williams BiographyCharacter Analysis Jim O’Connor
In the character descriptions preceding the play, Jim is described as a “nice, ordinary, young man.” He is the emissary from the world of normality. Yet this ordinary and simple person, seemingly out of place with the other characters, plays an important role in the climax of the play. The […]
Read more Character Analysis Jim O’ConnorCharacter Analysis Laura Wingfield
Laura is presented as an extremely shy and sensitive person. Her shyness is emphasized even more by being contrasted with Amanda’s forceful and almost brutal nature. We are made aware almost immediately of Laura’s overly sensitive nature. She is so nervous that she cannot even attend business school without becoming […]
Read more Character Analysis Laura WingfieldCharacter Analysis Tom Wingfield
Tom Wingfield was the potentially creative character caught in a conventional and materialistic world. He was the free spirit who had to curb his wings by working at a dreaded and disliked job in a shoe warehouse. Tom had his own independent world composed of those things he considered important […]
Read more Character Analysis Tom WingfieldCharacter Analysis Amanda Wingfield
Amanda Wingfield lives in a world that fluctuates between illusion and reality. When it is convenient to her, she simply closes her eyes to the brutal, realistic world. She uses various escape mechanisms in order to endure her present position in life. When life in this tenement world becomes unbearable, […]
Read more Character Analysis Amanda WingfieldSummary and Analysis Scene 7
Summary As the curtain rises, we see Laura still lying huddled on the sofa. Just as the others are finishing dinner, the lights go out, but Amanda calmly lights the candles and asks Jim if he would check on the fuses. She realizes that Tom probably didn’t pay the light […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Scene 7Summary and Analysis Scene 6
Summary Tom explains about Jim O’Connor. In high school, he had been the outstanding boy who had won basketball games and the silver cup in debating. But apparently his speed slowed down after graduation because he was holding a job not much better than Tom’s. But Tom explains that Jim […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Scene 6Summary and Analysis Scene 5
Summary The scene opens with Amanda instructing Tom to comb his hair and not to smoke so much. Tom turns to the audience and tells about the Paradise Dance Hall across the alley and how adventure was to be found in other parts of the world. When Amanda sees the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Scene 5Summary and Analysis Scene 4
Summary At the beginning of the scene, Tom is just returning from the movies. He explains to Laura, who is awake, that the movie was very long, and there was a magician who could perform tricks such as escaping from a coffin which had been nailed shut. The scene fades […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Scene 4