The Characters in Whom the Southern Belle Tolls is Christopher Durang's hilarious 1994 parody of The Glass Menagerie, a play from 1945 by Tennessee Williams. In both plays, the main characters face several serious issues, including isolation, fear of the outside world, and the need for understanding. While the characters in The Glass Menagerie deal with their problems in a relatively serious manner, those in For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls take a more farcical approach. For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls offers an alternative view of the situations in The Glass Menagerie and comments on the evolution of American society since the 1940s. Durang's parody achieves its humor by developing extreme versions of the characters in The Glass Menagerie in magnifying their faults and idiosyncrasies: Laura's shyness towards the world, Amanda's lack of understanding towards her children, Tom's anger towards his family and Jim's partial deafness (although minor in Williams's play). It is more difficult to sympathize with Lawrence in For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls than with Laura in The Glass Menagerie because he is much more irritating and pathetic than his female counterpart. Laura is a young woman who suffers from extreme shyness and embarrassment because she has a slightly deformed leg and has to wear a leg brace; therefore, she is afraid of talking to new people and getting into new situations. Laura's psychological problems are amplified in Lawrence, who feigns several illnesses, including asthma, eczema, and a paralyzed leg. He never leaves the safety of his home and his only friends are his glass sticks, to which he gives names such as "Q-tip" (1942), "Ther...... middle of paper... .children's; in addition, Durang adds two homosexual characters: Tom and Ginny This is proof that For Whom the Belle Tolls does more than just take a humorous approach to the situations in The Glass Menagerie: it shows how society and society. American family life has changed since Williams wrote his play, people have become more open about their personal feelings and sexuality, but they have also become more self-centered: An Introduction to Fiction, to Poetry. and in the theater. Eds. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters Boston: Bedford Books. Williams, Tennessee.., 1997. 1704-1750.