Music in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams "Legend: 'Terror!" many people wouldn't even know what a legend is let alone what this phrase means. In the play 'The glass Menagerie" written by Tennessee Williams, legends which are short phrases or words, and images are projected on a special screen device that is specified for this certain play. This play has four main characters including Amanda, Tom, Laura and Jim who is also known as the gentlemen caller. The play is a memory play and includes a vast variety of visual and musical effects to create the feeling of memory as well as many other emotions and atmospheres. Even though some critics believe that the visual and musical effects used in 'The Glass Menagerie' are what make it such an effective play, some others believe that the play has a unique sense of effectiveness on its own. The musical and visual effects collaborate with it well, but the play can still be an interesting play by it self. Williams provides a lot of information for the director about the set, lighting, music and the unique screen device that is specified for the play. The set is unique and is thoroughly described in the stage directions on the first page of the play. "The Wingfield apartment is in the rear of the building. The apartment faces an alley and is entered by a fire escape." The fire escape plays an important part in the play because it is how the characters enter onto stage, and it is also the line, which defines Tom playing his remembered character and Tom narrating the play. The stage directions also include that the set also has a down stage and an up stage, this is to help the director when he comes to position the characters. Up stage and down stage are... ... middle of paper ... ...ical effects, also to the uniqueness of the screen device and also to obscure story line of the play. It's a breath of fresh air because it is one of the most realistic plays that most people would ever come across. Usually in plays, which include a man and a woman in a romantic story line, end in living happily ever after, whereas this play proves that life is not really like that. This is one of the reasons why the audience would probably enjoy the play. If the play did not have the visual and musical effects it would still be a decent play, they just add and collaborate to the dialogue to make it into a uniquely great play. They also create an atmosphere, which cannot be created with acting by itself. In all the play is unique and interesting but, the visual and musical effects are what make up a great deal of the play and add to the originality of it.
We turn back the clock as Welch draws on historical sources and Blackfeet cultural stories in order to explore the past of his ancestors. As a result, he provides a basis for a new understanding of the past and the forces that led to the deciding factor of the Plains Indian tribes. Although Fools Crow reflects the pressure to assimilate inflicted by the white colonizers on the Blackfeet tribes, it also portrays the influence of economic changes during this period. The prosperity created by the hide trade does not ultimately protect the tribe from massacre by the white soldiers. It does, however, effectively change the Blackfeet economy and women's place in their society. Thus, it sets the stage for the continued deterioration of their societal system. Although their economic value is decreased, women still represent an important cog in the economic structure. Indeed, women are central to the survival of the Blackfeet tribal community that Welch creates and in many ways this strength and centrality provide background for the strength of the women depicted in his more contemporary novels. Welch's examination of the past leads to a clearer understanding of the present Blackfeet world presented throughout his work.
There has been a long standing debate between the socio-economic theories of capitalism and socialism. The current socio-economic system is capitalism but many feel it is not ideal due to the fact that it is based on making a profit. On the other hand, socialism is based on equality of all, which is enacted by paying all workers the same amount of money regardless of occupation. Miriam J. Wells is against capitalism and holds a socialist view point. According to Wells, politics shape the advantages and disadvantages that certain groups of people hold. The government plays an immense role on how things are structured in the fields in order to make a profit based on capitalism. Wells’ argument of capitalism being an unjust system due to politics affecting the class structure and workforce through the Bracero program, enactment of the Alien Land Law, and the return to sharecropping is quite strong even though there is a weakness in her argument due to her straying from the topic at hand and not offering an argument for the capitalist side.
The "Sonny's Blues" If you were not able to talk to anyone, nor did people want to listen to what you had to say, would that affect you? In the short story, "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin, Baldwin writes about two brothers, Sonny and the narrator, who lose communication between one another because Sonny goes to prison. The narrator, having to make a promise to their mother before her death, was to take care and watch over his young brother Sonny no matter what. This turned out not to be the case and the narrator did not pay much attention to his brother's goals as well as doings. By the end of the story, the audience realizes that the only place where the narrator can understand and feel for his brother is at the place where Sonny finds his passion, the jazz club.
While reading “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin theme, symbolism, and motifs were discovered throughout the entire short story. Sonny one of the two main characters, is dealing with a drug addiction and is now following his dreams of becoming a jazz musician. The narrator, whose name was never given, does his best to keep the promise he made his mother years ago, to be his brother’s keeper.
George Gershwin's "The ultimate collection", is a compilation of Gershwin's greatest hits. The compilation is made out of two CD's; the first cd is Gershwins pieces sung by different jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and more… The second cd, is Gerswhin's famous pieces taken from musical shows such as Porgy and Bess, Rhapsody in Blue, Cuban overture, Funny face and more.
The Glass Menagerie closely parallels the life of the author. From the very job Tennessee held early in his life to the apartment he and his family lived in. Each of the characters presented, their actions taken and even the setting have been based on the past of Thomas Lanier Williams, better known as Tennessee Williams.
In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams presents us with four characters whose lives seem to consist in avoiding reality more than facing it. Amanda lives her life through her children and clings to her lost youthfulness. Tom retreats into movie theaters and into his dream of joining the merchant seamen and some day becoming a published poet. Laura resorts to her Victrola and collection of glass ornaments to help sustain her world of fantasy. Finally, Jim is only able to find some relief in his glorified old memories. This essay will examine how Amanda, Tom, Laura and Jim attempt to escape from the real world through their dreams.
The Glass Menagerie is a play written by Tennessee Williams. It involves a mother, Amanda, and her two children, Tom and Laura. They are faced with many problems throughout the play. Some of these problems involve: Amanda, the mother, only wants to see her kids succeed and do well for themselves. How does her drive for success lead the book?
A captivating tale of a relationship between two troubling brothers in Harlem, "Sonny's Blues" is told from the perception of Sonny's brother, whose name is never mentioned. Baldwin's choice of Sonny's brother as a narrator is what makes "Sonny's Blues" significant in terms of illustrating the relationship and emotional complications of Sonny and his brother. The significance of "Sonny's Blues" lies in the way Sonny's brother describes their relationship based on what he observes, hears, and feels, and how he struggles trying to understand Sonny through the course of the story. This is a story of how two African Americans brothers take their own path through life as they struggle to find meaning in their lives.
“Sonny’s Blues” revolves around the narrator as he learns who his drug-hooked, piano-playing baby brother, Sonny, really is. The author, James Baldwin, paints views on racism, misery and art and suffering in this story. His written canvas portrays a dark and continual scene pertaining to each topic. As the story unfolds, similarities in each generation can be observed. The two African American brothers share a life similar to that of their father and his brother. The father’s brother had a thirst for music, and they both travelled the treacherous road of night clubs, drinking and partying before his brother was hit and killed by a car full of white boys. Plagued, the father carried this pain of the loss of his brother and bitterness towards the whites to his grave. “Till the day he died he weren’t sure but that every white man he saw was the man that killed his brother.”(346) Watching the same problems transcend onto the narrator’s baby brother, Sonny, the reader feels his despair when he tries to relate the same scenarios his father had, to his brother. “All that hatred down there”, he said “all that hatred and misery and love. It’s a wonder it doesn’t blow the avenue apart.”(355) He’s trying to relate to his brother that even though some try to cover their misery with doing what others deem as “right,” others just cover it with a different mask. “But nobody just takes it.” Sonny cried, “That’s what I’m telling you! Everybody tries not to. You’re just hung up on the way some people try—it’s not your way!”(355) The narrator had dealt with his own miseries of knowing his father’s plight, his Brother Sonny’s imprisonment and the loss of his own child. Sonny tried to give an understanding of what music was for him throughout thei...
In the novel Ragtime, many aspects of the American society are explored. The reader gets an understanding of the history and hardships of different social classes, races, and cultures during the last century. A persistent theme established is the existence of the American dream. Doctorow expresses his fascination of the social mobility since it includes the impoverished and underprivileged. However, he highlights that when attempting to reach success, one is required to make sacrifices, negotiating his morality and identity. Tateh and Coalhouse are crucial examples of how the demands, prejudices, and opportunities of the American society can change a man’s mentality.
Adventure, mystery, and magic all go hand-in-hand when it comes to the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling. The books were adapted into films starting in 2001. The first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was directed by Chris Columbus. The story of Harry Potter is magical as is however; the movie needed a little extra magic. This extra magic needed to be added through music. Director Chris Columbus chose John Williams to compose the music for a promotional reel (John Williams). After Columbus heard the song for the promotional reel he knew they had to have Williams compose the entire movie (John Williams). Williams created an entire score for the movie and called it “The Harry Potter Suite.” “The Harry Potter Suite” has a song for each important event that happened throughout the film. John Williams adds magic and tells the story of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone through his composed music.
The lacking of a positive male role model can be very troublesome for any family; especially during the mid-thirties. Prior to the Second World War, women did not have significant roles in the workforce and depended on their husbands or fathers to provide for them financially. There were limited government assistance programs during the era of The Great Depression, and it was up to the families to provide for themselves. The absence of Mr. Wingfield placed enormous strains on the physical as well as mental wellbeing of his family. The effects the abandonment of their father had on the Wingfield family from Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie are undeniable.
Having negative feelings towards a family member is often difficult to handle. An individual may disagree with the actions of a family member; however, they are still related. This struggle is shown in the poem My Father by James Berry. The speaker of the poem deals with his feelings of resentment towards his father. Berry utilizes a list-like structure, contrasting ideas as well as imagery to portray the speaker/son’s negative feelings towards his father. Throughout the poem, the speaker responds to the actions of his father by outlining his feelings.
In Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, the narrator is used to reveal elements of Williams' own life as a victim of the Depression in the 1930s. Williams does this through his eloquent use of symbolism. Three symbols seem to reveal Williams' intent especially accurately; the unicorn, the picture of Mr. Wingfield, and Malvolio's coffin trick.