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The Glass Menagerie
In reading Tennessee Williams' "memory play" The Glass Menagerie, students examine thematic topics such as individual freedom, obligation, reality and escape.
ELA
Unit 6
11th Grade
This unit has been archived. To view our updated curriculum, visit our 11th Grade English course.
Unit Summary
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In this unit, students read The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. According to Williams, it is a “memory play” that examines the lives of three members of the Wingfield Family. While the characters in the play bear significant resemblance to the playwright and his own family, the play is much more metaphor than memoir. In the opening lines of the play, Tom, who is both the narrator and a character in the play, tells the audience, “I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” Through every possible medium—the stage directions, character relationships, narration, and symbols—Williams questions reality. The question for the reader becomes, what lesson is he giving us about reality and escape? As they read the play, students will examine such thematic topics as individual freedom, obligation, and reality. As Robert Bray says of the characters in his introduction, “Each is trying to escape their own private hell and the hell they have collectively created. They all wish to ‘take flight.’” The thematic topics of reality and escape become the lens through which students read the play.
Reading some portions of the play aloud will help students experience the drama as it was intended to be experienced. In addition to investigating a new genre, this unit will have a heavy focus on SAT-style literary analysis writing prompts.
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Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Play: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (New Directions Books, 1999)
Supporting Materials
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Poem: “Ballad of the Ladies of Yore” by François Villon
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Excerpt: The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Assessment
These assessments accompany Unit 6 and should be given on the days suggested in the Lesson Map. Additionally, there are formative and creative assessments integrated into the unit to prepare students for the Performance Task.
Content Assessment
The Content Assessment tests students' ability to read a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer multiple choice and short answer questions. Additionally, a longer writing prompt pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.
Unit Prep
Intellectual Prep
- Read and annotate the play.
- Read and annotate all secondary texts.
- Take unit exam.
- Write sample responses for essay prompts.
Essential Questions
- Obligation and Individual Freedom: If an individual attempts to escape, what is the impact on his or her family and other obligations? Which is more important, our individual freedom or our responsibilities to others?
- Reality: Is it possible to escape reality? Temporarily? Permanently? What is the impact on others when one person decides to avoid reality?
Writing Focus Areas
The writing that students will do in this unit is modeled on the writing prompts included in the new SAT (2016). Students are required to explain how the playwright uses specific literary techniques to convey theme. Students must use evidence from the text to build a compelling argument.
Related Teacher Tools:
Vocabulary
Literary Terms
memory play, unreliable narrator, tone, stage directions
Roots and Affixes
be-, arch-
Text-based
menagerie (title), pathos (viii), deviations (xi), mastication (6), temperament (7), bewildered (13), spinster (16), fiasco (19), archetype (19), martyr (20), sullenly (29), listlessly (29), grotesquely (30), imploringly (36), demurely (40), executive (47), vitality (48), unobtrusive (51), imperiously (57), exhilaration (60), reverently (77), indolent (79), acutely (80)
Idioms and Cultural References
whatnot (4), “gentleman caller” (5), “skipped the light fantastic” i.e., “tripped the light fantastic” (5), blanc mange (7), DAR (11), “opium den” (24), “tommy gun” (24), D.H. Lawrence, Annunciation (38), Victrola (58), “sell you a bill of goods” (59), “Howdy do” (68), “The Pirates of Penzance” (77)
Content Knowledge and Connections
- American Dream
- Great Depression
Future Fishtank ELA Connections
- The American Dream as explored in 12th Grade ELA - Invisible Man
Lesson Map
Common Core Standards
Core Standards
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