Bear in mind that I did start reading some of scene 7 as I got caught up, lost track of pages and kept reading into the next scene without even reading it. I am actually really enjoying this play for what it is, a play. Reading books means getting descriptions of scenes and characters as they happen. Reading plays is quite a bit different. You 'see' everything in a play, so the playwright must be very descriptive in his setting, and he must do so and the earliest possible moment. This means that at the beginning of the scene, the setting is thoroughly described and images take perfect shape in your mind (well, that's the hope anyway). The playwright must be as descriptive as a chemist may be with his experiment, and for the very same reason, so that it is repeatable. Unlike in many of Shakespeare's play, setting is much more of a presence because it can be. The play is in an enclosed space (typically) with props galore.
What surprises me more about this story is that there are only a mere four characters in the entirety of the story and one doesn't even come in until act six. The story is a memory (more described as a dream, but I'll consider a memory), with unrealistic scenery, blurry areas and dims places because of their insignificance. The story takes place completely inside the confines of an apartment (I believe?) and its outside portieres. The story is of a family of three -- mother, Amanda, daughter, Laura, and son, Tom. There are two different conflicts within the story. One for each sibling. Tom works at a warehouse but spends his nights at the Movies, presumably with a bottle of alcohol at his side. He wants to escape to live a life roaming the earth. His sister, Laura, is a cripple (has a leg in a brace) and is very shy, getting sick a lot. She is single and spends her time collecting glass and walking. Her mother, Amanda, fear she will be an Old Maid.
The first five scene set up these two conflicts. They also mention the missing Father, who fled to adventure the world. He was a drunkard and listless. The last note they got from him was a postcard saying "Hello, Goodbye". Scene Six presents the fourth character (actor?), Jim Delaney O'Connor. He was a friend of Tom's in high school and works at the warehouse with him. He is invited to the house for a seemingly innocent dinner. Laura, in scene two, mentions her only love was a boy names Jim, who in high school, called her Blue Roses. When she fell ill, she said she had pleurosis (apparently actually called pleurisy or pleuritis) but Jim though she said Blue Roses. The name stuck.
Jim meets Laura but seems not to recognize her throughout Scene six. She acts very odd towards him, very shy and nervous. The scene concludes after the lights go out. Tom neglected the light bill this month, choosing instead to pay due for the Merchant Marines.
-Mark Todd
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