Krantz
English 2330
Discussion Questions
The Glass Menagerie

1. One way to look at William's Glass Menagerie is as a tangle of deceptions. List five deceptions that occur in the play. Compare your list with those of your group. Discuss how you would rank the seriousness or harmlessness of the deceptions you have identified. Be sure to consider self-deceptions of each character.

2. If you were to act Amanda, Tom, and Laura, which qualities would you choose to emphasize and how would you get those qualities across in your acting?

3. In Scene IV, Tom says, "Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter,and none of those instincts are given much play at the warehouse!" How might this fit in with Aristotle's notion of tragedy?

4. How is tradition important to the characters of The Glass Menagerie?

5. Reread Tom's closing speech. Why is he unable to leave Laura behind him?

6. In what ways is Laura merely a victim of circumstances and in what ways does she bring tragedy on herself? Is she responsible for what happens to her and to others in the play?

7. Choose a character from The Glass Menagerie and argue that he or she is a hero.