The Glass Menagerie
English and Literature
Paper instructions:
In an essay about “The Glass Menagerie”, the critic Benjamin Nelson writes of the characters: “They struggle and their hopes and the destruction of these hopes possess a sense of great importance because Williams has created genuine people in an intensely genuine situation, but they lack the completeness to truly cope with their dilemma.”
First, what could Nelson claim these characters lack in order to deal with their lives? Second, do you agree with him? Use examples from the play to support your answer.