"The Glass Menagerie" p. 1119 #6

The various theatrical components of the sets help to reinforce the meanings and contribute to the emotional effects of the play. The picture of the father is always grinning from the living room wall. "It is the face of a very handsome young man in a dough-boy's First World War cap. He is gallantly smiling, ineluctably smiling, as if to say, 'I will be smiling forever'" (scene 1, page 1234). Throughout the play, this picture is the only presence of the father. However, it is symbolic of his constant influence on the family. After Tom returns from the theatre, he tells Laura of Malvolio the Magician. His trick was to escape from a nailed-up coffin without removing one nail. The stage direction that follows is for the father's grinning photograph to light up. The irony of this question is made apparent through the stage directions. Without all the theatrical components of this play, much of the meaning and irony would be lost.