234:
Critic
William H. Peden comments on Williams's inept handling of the comic elements: "The humor in the story 'The Yellow Bird' is more often than not elephantine, the irony ponderous. The narrative method is similarly heavy-handed … which to most contemporary readers are likely to be as objectionable
239:." Peden adds that aside from these defects, this allegory serves as "a searing indictment of the cruelty and injustice of the world as the author sees it. Even at their least successful, they have about them the same curious pathos that characterizes Williams' fiction in general."
163:
father. She takes up what the minister considers disgusting and sinful behavior: cigarette smoking, commandeering the family automobile, staying out late with young men. She peroxides her hair. Alma and her father come to blows, and Alma departs her home without regrets for
204:
The infant begins to display magical powers, toddling out-of-doors and returning to his mother holding precious gems and gold. Alma grows rich. When John reaches manhood the largess ceases and he disappears, but a deep bond between mother and son persists.
215:
When the son returns home, he erects a monument to his mother and father. Three figures, one bearing a crucifix, another a cornucopia, and one a
Grecian lyre, are mounted together on a leaping dolphin, with the name Bobo inscribed on the mammal's side.
344:
Vannatta, 1988 p. 50: "a generally comic story in which the usual
Williams pattern of punishment for pleasure is reversed; here, those who give themselves up to desire get their just desserts, and those desserts are
212:, laden with a cornucopia filled with the treasures from a sunken Spanish galleon. He and Alma depart together to his ocean realm. The abandoned fortune is bestowed upon "The Home for the Reckless Spenders."
372:
Falk, 1978 p. 46: "...a comic narrative that contrasts the
Puritan-Cavalier tradition, ends in fantasy…" And: p. 65: "...the humor of the story 'The Yellow Bird.'" And p. 162: "...can spin a humorous yarn…"
231:" The story is "interesting to an extent, but fully enough realized to contribute measurably to Williams's reputation as a short story writer" and concludes the story is "rambling and shallow..."
242:
Critic Signi Falk also emphasizes the "comic narrative" and the protagonist's cheerful abandonment of her
Puritan antecedents, in a tale that ends in fantasy.
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152:, Alma's direct ancestor, the Reverend Tutweiler, condemned his own wife, Goody Tutweiler, to death after she was accused of communicating with the
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Acknowledging its "comic overtones", literary critic Dennis
Vannatta regards the piece as merely "the prototype for Williams’s great play
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When Alma's parents send a young married woman to determine her financial circumstances, the following exchange occurs:
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176:. Alma takes to prostitution as a vocation without remorse, embracing her cavalier and anti-authoritarian heritage.
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omniscient perspective. The focal character is Alma
Tutweiler, the daughter of a minister and wife. They live in
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Now an aged crone, Alma is visited by the father of her son in an apparition in which he appears as the sea god
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The themes and characters in the story provided a selected basis for
Williams's plays
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In time, Alma discovers she is pregnant. She names her son John, after her favorite
1183:
522:
403:
Peden, William (1964). "Mad
Pilgrimage: The Short Stories of Tennessee Williams"
27:
467:
136:
Alma's family heritage is mixed: one side the family descends from the stern
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Shortly before her 30th birthday, Alma begins to rebel against her
153:
407:
Summer 1964 in
Tennessee Williams: A Study of the Short Fiction.
471:
453:. New York: New Directions Publishing. pp. 221–228.
144:, the other side tending toward the licentious Anglican
432:. Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers, G. K. Hall & Co.
389:. Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers, G. K. Hall & Co.
844:
The Knightly Quest: a Novella and Four Short Stories
272:
Vannatta, 1988 p. 133: Bibliography, primary sources
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37:
21:
856:Eight Mortal Ladies Possessed: a Book of Stories
838:Three Players of a Summer Game and Other Stories
429:Tennessee Williams: A Study of the Short Fiction
193:"Yes, on a give-and-take basis," Alma told her.
181:
483:
8:
326:Williams, 1985 p. 226: Quoted dialogue here.
281:Williams, 1985 p. 574: Bibliographical Notes
1258:List of one-act plays by Tennessee Williams
691:Will Mr. Merriweather Return from Memphis?
490:
476:
468:
415:, Boston, Massachusetts. pp. 116–122
189:"Oh," said Alma, "people give me things."
667:The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore
265:
191:"You mean you accept gifts from them?"
18:
450:Tennessee Williams: Collected Stories
88:which first appeared in the magazine
16:Short story by Tennessee Williams
7:
183:"How do you live?" asked the woman.
94:in 1947 and was first collected in
14:
771:Something Cloudy, Something Clear
84:" is an American short story by
787:In Masks Outrageous and Austere
747:A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur
317:Bloom, 1987 p. 65: Plot summary
156:via a yellow bird name "Bobo."
115:Eccentricities of a Nightingale
1240:The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
1133:The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
938:The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
805:The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
308:Falk, 1978 p. 28: Plot summary
187:"I mean how do you get along?"
185:"What?" said Alma, innocently.
1:
1168:Ten Blocks on the Camino Real
1069:The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone
922:Ten Blocks on the Camino Real
831:Hard Candy: A Book of Stories
811:Moise and the World of Reason
1117:Last of the Mobile Hot Shots
675:The Seven Descents of Myrtle
447:Williams, Tennessee (1985).
1284:Works by Tennessee Williams
683:In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel
172:and resides in a garret on
1305:
1101:This Property Is Condemned
957:The Catastrophe of Success
779:A House Not Meant to Stand
755:Clothes for a Summer Hotel
731:This Is (An Entertainment)
723:The Red Devil Battery Sign
964:A Streetcar Named Success
850:One Arm and Other Stories
426:Vannatta, Dennis (1988).
405:Studies in Short Fiction,
125:The story is told from a
97:One Arm and Other Stories
26:
1232:A Streetcar Named Desire
1208:A Streetcar Named Desire
1013:A Streetcar Named Desire
882:A Streetcar Named Desire
763:The Notebook of Trigorin
587:A Streetcar Named Desire
1093:The Night of the Iguana
981:In the Winter of Cities
659:The Night of the Iguana
1279:American short stories
715:The Two-Character Play
539:Not About Nightingales
195:
166:New Orleans, Louisiana
1200:Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1192:Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1037:Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
906:Suddenly, Last Summer
619:Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
299:Williams, 1985 p. 226
168:. She settles in the
100:(1948), published by
1085:Sweet Bird of Yourth
1077:Period of Adjustment
1045:Suddenly Last Summer
987:Androgyne, Mon Amour
707:Small Craft Warnings
651:Period of Adjustment
635:Suddenly Last Summer
413:G. K. Hall & Co.
385:Falk, Signi (1978).
335:Vannatta, 1988 p. 50
142:Salem, Massachusetts
1216:Sweet Bird of Youth
1176:The Glass Menagerie
1160:The Glass Menagerie
1125:The Glass Menagerie
1005:The Glass Menagerie
941:(1957, filmed 2008)
874:The Glass Menagerie
643:Sweet Bird of Youth
563:The Glass Menagerie
354:Peden, 1964 p. 122:
1289:1948 short stories
1224:Orpheus Descending
1152:Three by Tennessee
627:Orpheus Descending
579:Stairs to the Roof
515:Candles to the Sun
500:Tennessee Williams
387:Tennessee Williams
363:Peden, 1964 p. 122
220:Critical appraisal
161:fire and brimstone
150:Salem witch trials
133:during the 1930s.
86:Tennessee Williams
32:Tennessee Williams
1266:
1265:
1053:The Fugitive Kind
914:The Fugitive Kind
409:Twayne Publishers
290:Bloom, 1987 p. 65
78:
77:
22:"The Yellow Bird"
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1061:Summer and Smoke
997:Film Adaptations
595:Summer and Smoke
547:Battle of Angels
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110:Summer and Smoke
91:Town and Country
71:Publication date
64:Town and Country
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571:You Touched Me!
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531:Fugitive Kind
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421:0-8057-8304-0
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148:. During the
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40:
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1198:
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1184:The Migrants
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523:Spring Storm
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235:as those of
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140:of colonial
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127:third-person
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74:Autumn, 1947
62:
59:Published in
949:Non-fiction
866:Screenplays
823:collections
821:Short story
739:Vieux Carré
611:Camino Real
199:male client
113:(1948) and
54:Publication
28:Short story
1273:Categories
555:Auto-da-FĂ©
1029:Baby Doll
898:Baby Doll
498:Works by
261:Footnotes
146:Cavaliers
966:" (1947)
959:" (1947)
246:See also
138:Puritans
131:Arkansas
117:(1966).
46:Language
1251:Related
699:Out Cry
379:Sources
345:sweet…"
210:Neptune
49:English
38:Country
1243:(2003)
1235:(1995)
1227:(1990)
1219:(1989)
1211:(1984)
1203:(1984)
1195:(1976)
1187:(1974)
1179:(1973)
1171:(1966)
1163:(1966)
1155:(1958)
1136:(2008)
1128:(1987)
1120:(1970)
1112:(1968)
1104:(1966)
1096:(1964)
1088:(1962)
1080:(1962)
1072:(1961)
1064:(1961)
1056:(1960)
1048:(1959)
1040:(1958)
1032:(1956)
1024:(1955)
1016:(1951)
1008:(1950)
989:(1977)
983:(1956)
974:Poetry
933:(1968)
925:(1966)
917:(1959)
909:(1959)
901:(1956)
893:(1955)
885:(1951)
877:(1950)
858:(1974)
852:(1967)
846:(1966)
840:(1960)
834:(1954)
813:(1975)
807:(1950)
798:Novels
790:(1983)
782:(1982)
774:(1981)
766:(1981)
758:(1980)
750:(1979)
742:(1977)
734:(1976)
726:(1975)
718:(1973)
710:(1972)
702:(1971)
694:(1969)
686:(1969)
678:(1968)
670:(1963)
662:(1961)
654:(1960)
646:(1959)
638:(1958)
630:(1957)
622:(1955)
614:(1953)
606:(1951)
598:(1948)
590:(1947)
582:(1947)
574:(1945)
566:(1944)
558:(1941)
550:(1940)
542:(1938)
534:(1937)
526:(1937)
518:(1936)
457:
436:
419:
393:
255:(film)
1109:Boom!
930:Boom!
507:Plays
154:devil
455:ISBN
434:ISBN
417:ISBN
391:ISBN
121:Plot
30:by
1275::
411:,
201:.
104:.
962:"
955:"
491:e
484:t
477:v
463:.
442:.
399:.
229:.
80:"
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