Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller both use non-realistic memory techniques
so the audience can deeply understand the family dysfunction within the two plays.
Though, the techniques are similar, they are also very different The Glass
Menagerie is different from Death of a Salesman for the following reasons. Tennessee
Williams, the author of The Glass Menagerie, uses Tom as the main character to describe
his life in his memory so the audience can further understand what append to him, and
why he got where he is currently. The Glass Menagerie is always inside Tom’s Memory,
and only shifts to present day when Tom is speaking before a scene or in the end. The
onstage screen that displays pictures, or words are used to better describe what moments
are occurring, or what the moments are related to. Tennessee Williams way of
showcasing this style can be very questioning, leaving audience members wondering if
Tom’s dysfunctional family is outrageous as they appear to be or is it what Tom
remembers.
Arthur Miller is slightly different using the same non-realistic memory technique
as well, but the changes are noticeable. In Death of a Salesman, the Main character, Willy
Loman, has flashbacks of how things were in his past. These memory characters would
appear onstage. This difference is significant because the audience know his flashbacks
are only temporary and will return shortly. The flashbacks occur randomly throughout the
play and have no direct meaning, but do explain why the family is at a breaking pi=point
with one another. Such as, the flashbacks of Biff catching his father cheat on his mother
with another woman; this can explain why Biff and Willy can never agree.
Though, these two plays are different they are also similar in ways regarding to
help further understand why the families in these productions are dysfunctional.