TGM Adaptation Review

                                                          TGM Adaptation Review
Title of the play: The Glass Menagerie
Author: Directed by Anthony Harvey. Written by Tennessee Williams.
Viewed date: Dec. 15th. 2017
Location: Field House, Cheshire Academy
Major Actors: Katharine Hepburn as Amanda Wingfield, Sam Waterston as Tom Wingfield, Joanna Miles as Laura Wingfield, Michael Moriarty as Jim O'Connor,

  The movie starts from Tom's monologue; he states that this play is based on his memory, so it is not realistic. At the beginning of the play, Tom also sees his sister Laura, it relates to the ending of the play. After the monologue, it is a table scene. Amanda chattered a lot, she demanded Laura to sit,  talking about her life when she was in Blue Mountain. Once she had a lot of gentlemen callers, but after she married to Mr. Wingfield, her life became worse and worse. After that scene, it was the quarrel between Amanda and Laura. When Amanda found out that Laura was not going to the school, she got mad. Because once she wanted Laura to find a job so that she could support herself and Laura. Now the hope was gone. But later on Amanda found another way, which was to find a husband for Laura. The next scene shows the quarrel between Laura and Tom. When Tom tries to write a poem, Laura keeps interrupting him. Then they starts to yell to each other. Laura thinks Tom spent too much on smoking and drinking, but Tom thinks he sacrificed a lot. At the end of the scene, Tom accidentally broke Laura's glass animal. and they stopped yelling each other. The next day Amanda sends Laura out and talks to Tom independently. She asks him to find a gentlemen caller for Laura, so that someone could support Laura and her, and Tom could do whatever he wants. Then, Tom found Jim, his friend in the shoes factory and Laura's classmate in high school. When Laura saw him, she felt nervous. But later on, Jim enlightened her. She felt more confident. When she danced with Jim, Jim accidentally broke her unicorn's horn, and the unicorn looks like a normal horse. But Laura did not care that much, it shows that she transferred from a weirdo to a normal person. Later on when Jim told Amanda that he was engaged, Amanda got mad at Tom. Because her hope broke again, no one could help her to get out of this bad condition. Tom at last fled away from his family. At the end, he saw Laura again; it showed that he could not forget Laura. Major themes that appeared in the play will be family struggles, escape and the change in a person. Family struggles happened a lot in the play, it usually happened between Tom and Amanda. Tom wanted to do whatever he wanted and Laura wanted him to pay more attention on this family. Escape usually represented by Tom and his dad. In the beginning of the movie, we already knew that his dad ran away from this house. We also noticed that Tom always went out in the midnight; and at last he fled away from his family. They all showed the escape from family to freedom. The change in a person was represented by Laura. In the beginning of the play, she was shy, and did not talk with strangers. But at the end of the play, she felt much more confident. The break of the horn of the unicorn showed that she became a normal person.
  In the movie, lighting, costumes, and music concerned as the most effective staging. Because it is a memory, all the scenes has dim lights. At the end of the play the light goes off, I think it becomes a comparison between the beginning of the play. It shows that the family relationship became worse. Costumes played an important role in the play. Especially when Amanda dressed like a young girl when Jim came. It seems like Amanda wants to marry with Jim but not Laura. The costumes emphasize that Amanda hated her life right now and wanted to find someone to support this family. It helps audience to understand characters' thinking. Music is also one of the most important part of the movie. In the monologue, director used a sad music, and it is also the same music director used at the end. It shows that the monologue related to the end. Using sad music can show audience the emotion Tom felt. Even though he left the house, he was still thinking about Laura, and he felt sorry that he left the family. Music was also used by Laura. Laura used music to show that she was isolated. She was in her own world when she played music. She used music as a way to escape. Using music not only helps audience to feel the emotion, but also shows one's condition in the play. Tom was highlighted in the play. Because the music was always played in his part. I think Amanda and Tom was standing in the opposite. Because their costume is different, and Amanda in the play seems brighter than Tom.
  I think Amanda's actor did the best in the movie. Because she created a character who all audience hated. And that's what Amanda supposed to be. Amanda talks a lot and she wants to control every person in the family. And Amanda in the movie always demanded her child, chatter a lot. Like in the table scene, she asked Tom not to eat fast; she asked Laura to sit there. She also mentions a lot her life in Blue Mountain. 
  Overall, it is a good play. It clearly shows family struggles. And the music in the movie fits the scene. But Laura did not look like she was crippled. Probably they wanted audience to know that Laura was just a normal person, but herself did not know it. Watching this movie, I learned that the music could do more than showing the emotion. It could also represents that one is different than others.

Blog #10

Laura's Diary

Monday:

Today my mom found out that I did not go to school. She looks unhappy and upset about that. I know she put all her hope on me and wanted me to have a good job, but, but I just cant. School just like a hell for me, I felt so embarrassing at the first day of the school so how could I go back? Also, I think go to visit animal is a good idea, I could work with animals in the future, since they would not see me as cripple and I would not feel embarrassing when I faced to them.

Tuesday:

My mom keep asking me to find a gentlemen caller these days. But how? Its hard for me to talk with strangers at outside, how can I find a gentlemen caller and ask him to visit our house? Mom and Tom quarreled again these days. It is one of the most terrible one. Tom even broke my animals! I hope they can stop the fight and become a normal family. I do not know what shall I do to maintain my house.

Wednesday:

Today I begged Tom to apologize to mom. I think it works. When I came back home, they seems to stop the fight. I am so glad that they finally stop, but Tom find a gentlemen caller for me and he would visit our house tomorrow. His name is Jim. Oh, Jim, why his name always around me? Last time I talked about a boy called Jim with mom, and this time a man called Jim would visit our house. Will he be the same Jim? If so, I cant have dinner with him! Its so embarrassing.

Thursday:

Today he came. Yes, it was him. I am kind of surprised but I also felt nervous. I did not have supper with them. But he came to me after the supper. Oh, the electricity also went off. He looks so handsome when he came with a candle. He finally recognized me. And he encouraged me a lot. I don't know how to thank him. He even danced with me tonight. Although he told me he had a girlfriend, but it did not matter. Oh, during the dance, we accidentally broke the horn of the unicorn. Probably it implied to me that I need to change; I need to change to a normal person.

Friday:

Mom got pissed after she knew Jim had a girlfriend. She and Tom quarreled again! Mom was mad because she paid all the money for the supper. I wished our family had money. If we had money, I think mom wont be mad. I think Tom could be a poet. But we are poor. Tom left the house. I hope he got the key so that I he could get in during midnight. I cant always wait for him!

Saturday:

Tom did not come back. Where is he? Probably he was drunk in the bar. I should go to find him tomorrow. I hope he and mom wont quarrel again.

Sunday:

Tom left us? Oh god, what should we do. He was not like that kind of person. If so, I need to work. I cant let mom take care of me just like before. Probably when I go to work and earn enough money, Tom would come back. I want him knows that he was not the only one who undertakes this house.

Discussion questions for TGM

Act 1:
1. Why Tom was always quarrelling with Amanda?

2. Tom in act one accidentally broke the glass animals; Jim also broke the glass unicorn accidentally. Is there a relation between these two?
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Act 2:
3. After Laura speaking with Jim, do you think she will be confident? Why?

4. Give your opinion about Tom leaving the house.
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characters' relationship:
5.What did Laura do when Tom are in conflict with Amanda?

6. If the relationship between Amanda and Tom is better, will the story change? Explain with details.
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Staging:
7. If you are going to stage the conflict between Amanda and Tom, what are you going to use in order to stress the collision?(hint: Music, Color, Props, Lighting, Costumes, etc.)

8. There are lots of use of music in this play. Pick one of it and explain the importance of the music.
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9. If Tom's family have a dad, will the ending be different with the original one?

10. The author repeated many times that Tom said he went to the movies, why do you think he did this? Does the movie shows Tom's characteristics?

images for each characters in TGM

Amanda:
For Amanda, I drew a lady who staring at outside of the window and there was a "blue mountain" outside. At one point, it shows that she missed the life before; at another point, the window represents as a block, it sets a block between Amanda and the Blue Mountain which means she could not go back.

Tom:
For Tom, I drew a picture when he was staring at the shoes and thought about the life on the ship - all about the adventure. But he could not at the beginning of the story because he had to make money for the family.

Laura:

For Laura, I drew a unicorn who was crying because she got isolated, and a bunch of horses around her and looking at her. It refers to the scene when she was with Jim. Probably she did not know, but Jim told her that she was different with others; and I used a shiny(bling bling) horn to represent it.

Major events for characts in TGM

Tom:
Having a lot of conflicts with Amanda.

He left the house.

He once broke Laura's glass animal when he was quarrelling with Amanda.

He probably lies about watching the film.

Amanda:
Always dreaming about the life in Blue Mountain where there were many gentlemen callers visit her house.

Married with Mr. Wingfield and having to babies ->Tom and Laura.

Ask Tom to find a gentlemen caller for Laura.

Having a lot of conflict with Laura.

Ask Tom to leave.

Laura:
She was lame.

She loved glass animals.

She did not fight or quarrel with others.

Follow the rule of her mom.

Once go to the typing college but she fled because she was too shy.

Before she admired Jim.

Blog #9

For each character, choose one significant quote from what you have read so far. Explain the quote and connect it to your understanding of that character's personality, backstory, desires and frustrations, etc. 350-450 words.

Tom:" What do you think I'm at the end of, Mother? Aren't I supposed to have any patience to reach the end of? I know, I know. It seems unimportant to you, what I'm doing-what I'm trying to do- having a difference between them! You don't think that."

Amanda:" Rise and shine! Rise and shine! Laura, go tell your brother to rise and shine!"

Laura:" It isn't a flood. It's not a tornado, Mother. I'm just not popular like you were in Blue Mountain. Mother's afraid that I'm going to be an old maid."

Tom said the quote in the condition of the conflict between him and his mother. Amanda thought his son wanted to be a poet because he was trying to compensate something that he wanted to hide, and what he said about the movies were all fake . But Tom thought his mother did not understand him, and did not respect or support him to be a poet. This quote shows that Tom had a bad temper. He wants to gain recognition from her mom; but at the same time he could not bear his mom. This quote also shows his desires of being a poet in the future. But because he was the only one who made money in his family, he could not change his job even though he hated to work in shoes warehouse. Probably he thought he could not be a poet right now was because of his mom. And that is why they are always quarrelling.

Amanda's quote, "Rise and Shine", appears a lot in act one. This sentence was spoken every morning when Amanda tries to wake Tom and asks him to go to work. In the quote she asked Laura to tell Tom because she said she will not speak to Tom anymore unless he apologized but she wanted his son to shine at the same time. This quote shows that Amanda is a stubborn person. Once she wanted to do something, she would keep doing it. Also she was a person who always thought about her child, who wanted Tom and Laura to be successful in the future. So her desires was to let her child to be successful, and find a husband for Laura. In the quote, it also shows that she was upset about Tom that did not want to go to work.

Laura said this quote when they were waiting for the gentlemen callers and her mom said the gentlemen callers would come like a flood or tornado. She said this because she knew she did not go to college, so that no one from the school would came. The quote shows that Laura had the feelings of inferiority. She wanted gentlemen callers to came, but because she was shy and did not go to the college anymore,  gentlemen callers wont come. She would do what her mom told her to do, because she wanted her mom to be happy. She was also wanted to be popular just like her mother in Blue Mountain. But because of her personality, it was hard for her to satisfy her mom this time.