THE AMERICAN DREAM IN TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE

Abstract

This study focused to analyze the American dream reflected in Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie through the
dreams that each character in the play has. The analysis focused on what each character dreams for and how they tried to
make their dream come true, whether they succeeded or failed in making their dream come true or not. The writers used
the historical background and the concept of the American dream that holds three points, namely being a richer, better,
and fuller life. The writers used the descriptive qualitative method in analyzing the study. The needed data were collected
by doing library research. The main data were derived from the play itself and the supporting data are collected from
several sources such as journals, e-books, and other sources downloaded or accessed from the internet. To analyze this
topic, the writers traced the background of the play, when it was written by Williams, to find out the social and economic
condition of the play. From the study that the writers conducted, it can be concluded that all the characters in the play
have their own dream, but nobody succeeds to reach his or her dream.