Essay Plan

To what extent can the plays you have studied be seen to have, directly or indirectly, a social or political purpose? Refer to two or three plays, exploring how they achieve their purposes.

Social Purpose:

- Showing the relationships between different classes

- The relationship clashes with different personalities

Political Purpose:

- Showing a way of control in a society and the flaws it possesses

The Crucible:

The play directly explains the political ideology of McCarthyism and the ways in which it affects people in the community by not having to have evidence for prove them guilty. This is shown in Act three with Elizabeth Proctor who is charged with witchcraft, and they have no evidence to prove her innocence, yet, one victim who claims her guilt can be responsible for her death. Abigail accuses her of witchcraft, claiming herself as the victim.

The witchcraft in the play creates an anger within the town of Salem, which Miller uses as a symbol to express that dissatisfaction that American society has towards the ways of McCarthyism.

The Glass Menagerie:

The play does not express political purposes, but it does show many social elements such as Tom's hopes to leave the house and make his own way in the world.

Also, the difference between social ways in the past and the present are expressed through the way in which Amanda presses her past, and the way she grew up onto her daughter. These differences show the audience the social struggles in the play, firstly from Laura, who struggles to integrate into social surroundings due to her disability and also her immense shyness.

The Glass Menagerie: Scene 5-6 and Mother Courage Comparison

Scene 5 and 6 of The Glass Menagerie shows the introduction of the gentleman into the play, who is coming for dinner with the Wingfield family. These scenes equate with Mother Courage in the way in which the Mother figure in both plays continue to not learn from their previous mistakes.

Firstly, in Mother Courage the audience sees the death of all Mother Courage's three children, and after each death she fails to register the significance of the situation and the consequences of actions. This shows Mother Courages naive nature she struggles to come to terms with reality. Also in Mother Courage the feature of the rotating stage illustrates the non-progress of Mother Courage, as she continues to move forward with her cart on her journey, yet she is not going anywhere.

The Glass Menagerie shows Amanda Wingfield trying to relive her past through her children, as she attempts to find her daughter a suitable gentleman caller, that she wished she had for herself. Earlier in the play Amanda realizes that her daughter is not attending typing school, but she fails to register the unhappiness and discontent that her daughter has with being forced into public situations. Now in scenes 5 and 6 the audience sees Amanda making the same mistake, enforcing a gentleman caller onto her daughter that she does not want. This is also seen through her son Tom as she tries to control him, making him work at a warehouse when he dreams of adventure and greater experiences. Amanda's oblivious nature means that see cannot understand that Tom has greater dreams than the confines of their apartment.

The main reason that Amanda has this oblivious nature is due to her need for financial comfort, and hopes for a brighter future. When Tom first talks about the gentleman caller she insists she knows what he is studying, and is delighted when she concludes that "he has visions of being advanced in the world". This importance of reputation and recognition to Amanda block her vision of her children's needs and wants. Through the gentleman caller Amanda can relive her past and hope for a brighter future for herself.

The Glass Menagerie, Scene 5: The Gentleman Caller...

Tom's announcement of a Gentleman caller coming to the Wingfield house is a significant aspect of the plot of The Glass Menagerie, firstly because Amanda Wingfield is finally seeing one of her dreams for her daughter come true, to meet a nice gentleman. In the beginning of scene one the hope for a gentleman caller is seen through Amanda's nagging for Laura to "to stay fresh and pretty - for gentlemen caller!". Therefore, this realization that a man is coming to the house in the beginning of scene five excites Amanda.

When Tom first announces to his mother that a gentleman is coming to their house Amanda continually replies with and simple interrogative sentences such as "It's definite, then?" and "soon?" both of which suggest Amanda's eagerness of the situation. However, although Amanda is very pleased with the news she is thinking more of her own excitement rather than Laura's, who the gentleman caller is supposed to be coming for. This shows Amanda's oblivious nature her children's wishes, by assuming that the news will be accepted by Laura. From this section of the scene it also becomes apparent that Amanda is trying to relive her years of youth through her daughter, as although the gentleman caller is coming for herself.

The fact that such a small event in the play of a gentleman coming for dinner illustrates the simplicity of the Wingfield's world, with such small events causing great stress and panic. This is because Amanda has struggled through life, and she is now living in the lower-middle class which she cannot escape from, and this image of a gentleman caller has the possibility to change their world. However, in the play Tom has a significantly more relaxed dialect as this small event does not change his need for adventure out in the world.

The Glass Menagerie and Mother Courage Comparison

In both the Glass Menagerie and Mother Courage there are several parallels between the texts which aid the analysis and interpretation of the characterization of the main characters in the two plays. Scene one in the Glass Menagerie is set in the lower middle class America in the 1930's, while Mother Courage is also set in a lower middle class society with both protagonists Mother Courage and Amanda Wingfield wanting the best for their children and trying to have as much material wealth as possible. Mother Courage does this by living off the war, and Amanda Wingfield does this by living off her son Tom, who works to support her family.

Both family groups are incomplete, the family in Mother Courage is led by Mother Courage, with her three children who each have a different father, who is not present throughout the text. While in the Glass Menagerie we see Amanda Wingfield and her two children. Her husband is a distant figure in the play, but his portrait continues to loom over the family throughout the play.

Both the mothers in the plays and the children in the plays are trapped inside the lower middle class world that they live in. Mother Courage aims to live off the war so she can make a profit and come out wealthy, while she drags her children along with her. While in the Glass Menagerie Amanda Wingfield takes control of her children, while she is still trapped in the lower middle class.

Both mothers feel the importance of money and material wealth. Amanda Wingfield likes to make herself feel wealthy by wearing clothes from her past, when she was in a wealthier class. Amanda makes her son work doing something he doesn't enjoy due to her want for material wealth.

Both Female protagonists are depicted by Brecht and Williams in a manner that ties them to their houses, which prevent them from escaping from their lives which they aren't content with.

The Glass Menagerie: Scene One, Lighting and Music Thoughts

From the production notes in the play we see that the lighting for The Glass Menagerie is set up to promote to and constantly remind the audience that the play is in fact a memory, and also sentimental. Lighting is used to show this through the stage set in a dim light, while when Laura is on stage she has a bright light upon her. This distinction of different lighting for specific characters illustrates that Toms memories are based upon the story of Laura.
In scene one when the audience is first introduced to Laura the stage directions show that "the interior has lit up softly and through the scrim we see Amanda and Laura..." This promotes to the audience the significance of an aspect of the stage when the lighting is intensified, in this case the central character in the play, Laura is now on stage.
Towards the end of the scene Amanda is questioning Laura on whether she will have any gentlemen callers. After Laura insists that there won't be any she laughs nervously at her mothers response. At this moment the stage directions state, "a shaft of very clear light is thrown on her face against the faded tapestry of the curtains". This bold amount of light is significant compared to the dim light usually established in the play. It is seen as significant in the play that Laura slips through the portières, and the light on her face makes the audience aware that Laura's actions are significant in Tom's memory.
Throughout scene one the lighting upon characters is associated with music. During the scene Tom motions the stage directions to place "a pot of light on Amanda" and he also motions for music. Also at the close of the scene the light "dims out the 'Glass Menagerie' music". This use of music throughout the play illustrate to the audience the emotion behind the memory being portrayed by Tom, but it also distances the play from reality, again signifying that the play is non-realistic. The music played throughout the play is light music, which expresses a delicate but also sad feel. This light music relates to glass, which becomes a motif for Laura in the play. There is beauty about it, but also the tendency for it to be so easily broken.
Throughout the scene music is often played during a characters dialogue. During Amanda's speech the stage directions indicate for the music "'The Glass Menagerie' under faintly. Lightly". This use of music can be seen to express emotion on what the person is saying, but it could also express satire towards the character. The music of 'The Glass Menagerie' sounds similar to clown music, which is often associated with hiding behind something the character is not, which is a mockery for Toms life and his memory.
Therefore, the use of music and lighting in the play is significant in portraying to the audience the depth and importance of Toms memories, but also reminding the audience that what they are viewing is just a memory, which is subjective to Toms thoughts and opinions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUnS1mK9ibo - The Glass Menagerie Music