The Glass Menagerie #6

The stage movements and gestures are very important throughout the play. Many of the emotions described in the play are not in the dialogue. "Laura turns away, nearly faint with the novelty of her emotions" (pg 1283, vii). If the play had just stated, ''Laura turns away,'' the reader would not understand her emotions as she turned away. The lighting is also important to pay attention to. There is one instance when Tom is talking about a magic trick he saw involving a coffin, the light shines on the photo of Tom's father. Tom says, "But who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail? As if in answer, the father's grinning photograph lights up" (pg 1249, iv). The light shining on the photograph answers Tom's question.