Glass Menagerie

Mr. Harrington - Language Arts
Normal West High School

The Task
You will search the Internet and gather specific information related to our play The Glass Menagerie, our author Tennessee Williams, and the spirit of the 1930's. How does our author blend reality and fiction to create a truthful drama? Remember, everything in the play is there on purpose. Nothing is left to chance. So, why is it there???

The Process:
Exploring the Web, Creating a Product

Sample Questions:  These are the types of questions you should be investigating during this assignment.  You do have to add a few original questions for each site so you have sufficient information.

  1. Who is Tennessee Williams? Find out 3-5 interesting facts about him.
  2. What is the plot of The Glass Menagerie?
  3. What are jonquils? What do they look like and how much do they cost?
  4. What is Guernica? Describe it and note some background information. What famous person is linked with it?
  5. What does a Daumier print look like? Who is Daumier?
  6. What is the DAR and how does one become a member?
  7. What is the Frigidaire referred to in the play? What other products does Frigidaire manufacture?
  8. What is the Merchant Marienes? How does one learn?
  9. What are unicorns? Describe some websites.
  10. What are some problems relevant to absentee parents and the family unit?
  11. What is the American Dream? What is your American Dream?
  12. For bonus points, come up with your own topic and discover some Websites that link with it. Be prepared to defend you topic as to its relevance to the play.

Websites

Explore the following sites, noting interesting observations which you can use later in our unit. 
*You must have at least three bits of information per site.

Tennessee Williams includes a biographical article, publications by the writer, bibliography of resources, and more.  
Table Manners Neat site to explore manners in many situations...a site all students should visit! If you delve too deeply, though, you will end up in commercial pages and some culinary chat rooms.
DAR in St. Louis Very dense site but specific to the setting of the play and spans some historical time.
Daughters of the American Revolution : Excellent, colorful site which presents all the information one would ever want to know about the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Picasso's Guernica Excellent presentation of the mural. Actually examines specific aspects of the work.
Daumier Prints Wonderful site with over 50 scanned Daumier Prints. I did not include a site for his paintings since they are not part of the play.
Daumier Paintings You may want to wander over to explore the similarities and differences of the two media.
Artchive For even more art stuff go to this site called Artchive.
Frigidaire Interesting commercial site to explore.
Deadbeat Dads One of many interesting sites which explore the challenges presented to families when a parent is absent from the family. It focuses on the father, but offers related commentary concerning an absentee mother. What might the Wingfield family life have been like if the father were to have appeared?
Mickey Mantle and the American Dream Neat page, but could be diversionary to the purpose of this project in it sports orientation. Be careful you don't spend too much time here. What in the world has this site to do with the play anyway??
Bulbs Good page about flowers and bulbs. Yes, there are more flowers than just roses and daisies.
Movies of the 30's What were the great movies of the 30’s?  Who were the stars?  This site has the answers.
17 March 2005 by Karen Slabe