Student Analysis of the Glass Menagerie: Scene 2
1. Quick Summary of what happens in Scene Two & summary of conversation
Scene two of the Glass Menagerie starts off with Laura’s mother, Amanda coming home in an unhappy state after
checking on Laura’s progress at the Rubicam Business College. Amanda finds that Laura has dropped out only after a
few days, but this is because Laura was uncomfortable with the thought of going to Business College and saw walking
in the park and other attractions in the cold as the ‘lesser of two evils’. However, Amanda feels that dropping out of
Business College will hurt Laura’s chances of attracting a gentleman caller. In this scene, Laura shows Amanda photos
of Jim, a boy she once liked in high school. She reveals the nickname Jim gave to her, “Blue Roses.”
2. Themes
1. Escape
a. Amanda is trapped by the idea that Laura will never find a husband and that she will just turn into an
old maid or that Laura may remain dependent on her mother and unable to cope with everyday
situations and relationships.
b. Laura – is trapped in her past (nostalgic for Jim) and her physical defect which emotionally “cripples”
her. Her physical defect makes her socially inept. (stops her from dancing, comes in late at school,
drops out of business college…etc) Laura also does not want to escape from the apartment, therefore
the apartment is not a prison to her.
2. Memory and the Past
a. Amanda – Amanda makes references to her past in the South and remembers these events as she has
previously referred to her seventeen gentleman callers and now refers to the people in her past “I’ve
seen such beautiful cases in the south…” “little birdlike women without any nest”. (Amanda’s speech on
page 8)
b. Laura – Laura brings back her memories of Jim and high school
Characterization in Scene Two of The Glass Menagerie
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER CHARACTERIZATION-NOTES
LAURA
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The blue roses flashed on the screen reveal the importance of her story about the boy Jim who refers to her as
‘blue roses’. This comments on the intertwining importance between the story told by Laura and the plot of the
play
The direction of Laura catches her breath’ features the theme of being trapped and shows the audience that
she is somehow trapped by her mother as Amanda soon appears.
‘Seats herself stiffly’ a very forced action showing her exhaustion from the continuous badgering of her mother.
It is learned through dialogue that Laura suffers from pleurosis (as the stage directions state that her handicap
need not be made obvious) and that she is attached by the pet name given to her by Jim: blue roses.
Laura’s lack of confidence is revealed in her frightened apology to her mother of “I’m – crippled!” as she blames
her not finding a husband on her ailment. This part of Laura’s character which is revealed during this stage of the
play therefore supports Jim’s analysis of Laura’s character.
AMANDA
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She is constantly worried about her future as she frequently questions what will happen of her future soon after
she interrogates Laura about her not attending the business college. Amanda questions “what are [they] going
to do, what is going to be…”
Amanda worries about her future and the playwright soon reveals their monetary problems as she is dependent
on “fifty dollars tuition… my hopes and ambition for you” this also foreshadows their loss of electricity due to
Tom’s duplicity.
Laura describes Amanda through simile, as her completion is compared to that of “Jesus’ mother in the
museum” this may also allude to Amanda’s hopes for Laura to live up to something great or an almost
supernatural occurrence.
Amanda’s nostalgia and longing for the past and her disappointment by the present is backed up through her
dialogue and the legend flashed on the screen. It becomes obvious through the legend: “The Crust of Humility”
that she is humbled by what is going on in her life. Her longing for Blue Mountain is seen through her recounting
of “[seeing] such pitiful cases in the south – barely tolerated spinsters living upon the grudging patronage of
sister’s husband of brother’s wife.” The latter statement also reveals Tom’s state of being trapped as he if
financially inclined to support his mother and sister.
3/5. Sagging devices/Symbolism
1. Darkness on stage & blue roses (Lighting)
a. The stage being in darkness symbolizes how the topic of Laura having a crush on a boy has not been
brought up before. Also it shows how what Laura has been doing instead of going to business school is
all in darkness.
b. It can also might be seen that the slowly fade out of the blue rose as the light increases on Laura could
be that she was thinking about how he used to call her blue roses, and her love for him, and as the
screen slowly fade out she is returning back to reality.
2. The Glass Menagerie (Music)
a. The music, the Glass Menagerie, is playing throughout this scene. This provides a great contrast at the
beginning of the scene when Amanda is angry. This suites the theme of expressionism theatre that the
playwright is trying to achieve. He clearly states that the technical aspects of this performance will not
always be a direct reflection of the what is going on, on stage. Further the music could represent that
emotions that Laura is feeling and how she seems to have no negative reaction to the information and
she is still in a world of her own, the world of the glass menagerie.
b. The stage being in darkness with just the music of the Glass Menagerie playing also results in the
audience starting to ask questions about the performance that they are viewing.
3. The screen –->legend
a. The Blue Roses that are projected onto the screen are unique and are foreshadowing the news of this
new character in Amanda life. Also Blue Roses are unique and are made up by humans. Just as the
unicorn that Amanda is so proud of.
Pictures:
Blue Roses:
Typewriter:
Winter Scene:
Mr. O’Connel
5. Symbolism
Type writer vs Glass menagerie
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The contrast between that she wants to do and what her mother wants her to do.
o Swarm of type writes vs winter scene in park & Rubicam’s Business college vs Big glass house
This is projected on the screen and mentioned shows what she enjoys doing and what she is being forced to do.
There are a lot of stage directions with the adverb ‘slowly’ to emphasize her clam characteristics amongst her anger and
frustration.
6. Connections to The Visit
Memory → Of the past and how that influences the decisions that are made.
Family Love → Love between Amanda and her kids vs Love between Mrs. Ill and her children.
Deception (7) Visit the blind pair try to deceive the court and Clara
Control –> Amanda controlling family || Claire’s control over the town
8. What is the purpose of the scene and what would be the consequences of
omitting the scene?
Purpose
3. Explore Laura’s past and physical defect
a. Jim – The scene shows that Laura has once liked a boy, but could not do much because of her lack of
confidence in herself
b. Fear of being around people due to her physical defect - This scene shows Laura’s fear of being
around people she is fond of or large groups of people and that the reasoning behind her hesitance with
being in the Business College is her physical defect. She is withdrawn, but so much that she cannot find
her way through life.
4. Expose Amanda’s worries about Laura
a. Fear that Laura will never have a proper relationship – Amanda is fearful that Laura will only become
a regular dependent housewife and that she will never be independent enough to cope with life on her
own. Amanda wants to make sure that Laura finds a gentleman caller
b. Mother/daughter relationship
i. The relationship between Amanda and Laura is shown at a more intimate level with the
dialogue between the two about gentleman callers and Laura’s past liking towards Jim.
ii. Amanda uses third person pronouns to strengthen the bond between her and her daughter and
put more pressure on Laura to find a husband.
Consequences of omitting the scene
If this scene were to be omitted, the audience would not know much about Laura’s past with Jim to understand the nick
name “Blue Roses” or the bond that they later develop in the later scenes of the play. The understanding of the
character Laura would be limited to the knowledge of her actions in the apartment and not from her interactions with
people out of her family. Without this scene, we would also not know about her physical defect, which later, Jim
compliments. This scene shows a lot about Laura’s coy personality which plays a huge factor in the role Jim plays.
Key Quotes:
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“So what are we going to be doing to do the rest of our lives?” (pg 8) reveals that Amanda is constantly
questioning her family’s fate and worries about her daughter’s becoming an old maid. This type of thought
becomes a key element of the play as her lack of ‘gentleman callers’ determines Laura’s fate.
“He used to call me – Blue Roses” is a major aspect of the play as it revolves around Laura’s past
relationship with Jim.