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The Glass Menagerie Study Guide

by Tennessee Williams

The Glass Menagerie study guide contains a biography of Tennessee Williams, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

The action of The Glass Menagerie takes place in the Wingfield family's apartment in St. Louis, 1937. The events of the play are framed by memory - Tom Wingfield is the play's narrator, and usually smokes and stands on the fire escape as he delivers his monologues. The narrator addresses us from the undated and eternal present, although at the play's first production (1944-5), Tom's constant indirect references to the violence of the Second World War would have been powerfully current.

The action of the play centers on Tom, his mother Amanda, and his sister Laura. In 1937 they live together in a small apartment in St. Louis. Their father abandoned them years earlier, and Tom is now the family's breadwinner. He works at the Continental…

Read the full The Glass Menagerie Summary

• The Glass Menagerie Summary
• About The Glass Menagerie
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 1
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 2
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 3
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 4
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 5
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 6
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 7
• The Dead Gay Guy
• Related Links on The Glass Menagerie
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• The Glass Menagerie: Major Themes
• The Glass Menagerie: Essays
• The Glass Menagerie: Questions
• The Glass Menagerie: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Tennessee Williams: Biography