The Glass Menagerie - A Review

"I didn't go to the moon, I went much further—for time is the longest distance between two places" - Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie

I've been reading a few plays by Tennessee Williams the past few weeks in our American Literature class, and one that has left quite a "mark" on me is "The Glass Menagerie". 

The Glass Menagerie is a quick and easy read as a play, but is memorable at best because of how the characters are written so intricately and of all the deep and beautiful quotes. The characters are also quite easy to relate to, in a sense, from the ever so anxious and shy Laura, to the realistic dreamer Tom and even the strong and proud Amanda. 

The story is a memory play, from the perspective of Tom Wingfield, who is stuck working at a shoe factory for most of his life trying to support his mother and sister in their St. Louis apartment after his father left. However, his picture still sat on the fireplace mantleplace and is often mentioned in the play during climatic moments. Tom is a man who often goes to the movies a lot, and notes that "people often go to the movies instead of moving" and yearns to leave the life he has behind, which he eventually did but cannot bring himself to forget the guilt of leaving his family behind and so he is stuck trying to "find what in motion what is lost in space" showing that he is still trapped.

Amanda Wingfield is reminiscent of Blanche from Tennessee Williams' Streetcar Named Desire, who once had gentleman callers from every corner of the state lapping up after her for her hand in marriage and also came from a prominent family in the South. Alas, she gets married to a man who "fell in love with distance" and that was the last she heard of him. I found her quite ironic as she, like Tom, yearns for another time and place - a time where she was a southern belle. She often scolds Tom for "living in a world of manufactured illusions", which ironically, is where she lives as well. 

And then we meet the sweet and very shy Laura, a pretty girl who finds comfort and refuge in her glass collection. She is painfully shy, and it was a noted aspect of hers throughout the whole play, where she once vomited during a business class in college. Later in the play, after a successful attempt of her mother to get a "gentleman caller", per courtesy of Tom, she falls deeply in love with Jim - a boy she knew in high school. But later gets her heart broken when Jim reveals that he is engaged.

I liked The Glass Menagerie because the characters were realistic and one could see that each character is noble in a way, because while Amanda Wingfield may seem annoying to the point of always pestering her son to get a gentleman caller or accusing him of being a dreamer, she has rather good intentions for her children. Tom Wingfield is a character I admire and at times, relate to - with his dreams and yearnings of travel; Laura is also a character I grew attached to, rooting for her when she meets Jim and finds love and despair when he reveals his engagement. 

In short, The Glass Menagerie is a memorable play and I would not probably grow tired of reading it. Or any of Tennessee Williams' plays for that matter.

"Good fences make good neighbors."

Do good fences make good neighbors? Or so to speak, do fences make good neighbors? In Robert Frost's poem, "Mending Wall", we see two sides of the story where one side is adamant about having a wall between them, repeating the phrase: "Good fences make good neighbors." Metaphorically speaking, the wall can represent a sort of misunderstanding between two people, or the communication barriers that go between them.

But does having fences really make good neighbors? One can look at it two ways: it either does or doesn't. Fences are there to protect or sort of set a boundary between areas of land. Dictionary.com defines it as "a barrier enclosing or bordering a field" or "used to prevent entrance, to confine, to mark a boundary". So a fence, really, is there to prevent people from getting in; to prevent one's neighbors from getting in or knowing about one's business, setting off a sort of mysterious aura. 

Mystery thus, leads to curiosity and like the cliched saying goes: curiosity often kills the cat. So having a fence does not necessarily bring a positive result, as oftentimes people with too-high-a-fence end up having nosy neighbors who want to know everything about their neighbors. But at the same time, a fence gives a person privacy, that little bubble of comfort everyone ought to have. And so I think having fences gives each neighbor a sense of protection and they learn to respect each other's spaces and remain civil and friendly to each other. A fence is there to mark a boundary and by doing so it indicates how one shows respect to each other's property, giving them a mutual understanding.

And so I think that fences make good neighbors because it gives each person a sense of mutual understanding or camaraderie through their fences, because indirectly, they respect each other's property.

Tourist Hotspot: Green Island

In the outskirts of the bustling city of Taipei, Taiwan, lies the ever sunny island known as: Longdong Island (a.k.a. Green Island). It's an hour boat ride off the main island and is a hotspot for snorkelers and hikers, and all kinds of nature lovers in general.

The island's rocky terrain is a great place for rock climbing and hiking, and from the picture above, is a great place for taking pictures once one reaches the summit. The island is also perfect for sightseeing, as there are bridges built upon the rocks that help one reach the top, and provides stellar views of the overall island and the sea.

Another favorite pastime for Green Island fans is snorkeling in the clear, blue waters of the seas. There are three zones to snorkel: Nanliao,Dabaisha and Chaikou. Nanliao is the best place to snorkel for beginners, but Dabaisha provides the clearest and prettiest views of the coral reef below. However, Dabaisha is only for the experienced snorkelers and wetsuits should be worn as the corals can be sharp and can cut through skin.

   Green Island also has natural saltwater hot springs for those keen on relaxing on the island, and costs NT200 and is open 24 hours in March to October. It's recommended that one soak in the hot spring at night to get a good view of the stars.

Food in Green Island is also just as good as the place, with their specialty being deer meat stir fried with vegetables. They also serve shaved ice in clam-shaped bowls, and there is a 7-11 and Family Mart nearby for those who feel like they're not up to trying deer meat.