Discussion Questions

at least 2 about act 1, at least 2 about act 2, at least 2 about the characters or their relationship, at least 2 about staging (you might do some research online to help you find good questions). Other questions can be about symbolism of particular items/props or words, questions about what happened before or after the play i

1. How does Amanda assert dominance in a way that keeps her femininity to avoid seeming like another Troy Masson that is more physical and agressive?
2. Why would Tom help Laura with her glass menagerie, be willing to fix that mistake, but unwilling to fix one with Amanda?
3. When Tom leaves, why was this particular time different to other times when Tom left? What changed?
4. Why did Laura feel like Jim was any different than other gentlemen callers? Why was she putting so much hope into a man she had just began to meet? How is this similar to Romeo and Juliet?
5. Why would the author have Laura fall on the fire escape as opposed to inside the apartment?
6. If the author had chosen a house do you think Tom would still have gone out so much or just locked himself in another room? Why?
7. Do you think Tom cared more for Laura because of her leg, or was there something more between them as siblings that Amanda would never understand?
8. Do you think Amanda really thought she was a great mother or she knew how bad things were and that was a motive to push her children? How could she be different if the husband died or never even left?
9. Why would Tom drink and smoke? Was it something that many authors did as an outlet, like Edgar Allen Poe who drank all the time?
10. How would the story have changed if it were set in modern times and the were items in place for poor, shelters, food stamps, etc.?