The Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie, a play by Tennessee Williams, is set in the apartment of the Wingfield family, housing Amanda Wingfield and her two children Tom and Laura. The father left many years ago, and is only represented by a picture on the living-room wall. The small, dingy apartment creates a desperate, monotonous feeling in the reader. None of the Wingfields has any desire to stay in the apartment, but their lack of finances makes it impossible to move. Escape from this monotonous and desperate life is the main theme throughout the play.
The different characters in 'The Glass Menagerie' have their own individual ways of escaping from their realities. Tom Wingfield, the main character and narrator, probably has the one that most clearly relates to what we usually call escaping. His dream is to get away from the entire place in which he is currently living. He is tired of supplying his mother and sister without getting anything but remorse in return. Early in the play we can see this urge to get away through his frequent visits to the movie theatre. To him the movies serve as windows into another world, an exiting world filled with fun and challenges. Another thing that it is worth mentioning when speaking about this is Amanda's attitude towards the movies. She thinks that he spends too much time on the movies, and she keeps haunting him for it. I believe that this is supposed to tell the reader that Amanda has some kind of feeling that Tom sometime will follow in his fathers footsteps, and that she is trying to prevent this from happening. For Amanda this is a very natural reaction; with Tom out of the apartment there would be nothing left for her and her daughter to feed from....
... middle of paper ...
...ot a way of solving your problems, and that true freedom only can be found through confronting your problems, not by running away from them.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Bloom, Harold. Introduction. Tennessee Williams. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 1-8.
King, Thomas L. "Irony and Distance in The Glass Menagerie." In Tennessee Williams. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 85-94.
Levy, Eric P. "'Through Soundproof Glass': The Prison of Self Consciousness in The Glass Menagerie." Modern Drama, 36. December 1993. 529-537.
Thompson, Judith J. Tennessee Williams' Plays: Memory, Myth, and Symbol. New York: Peter Lang, 1989.
Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. In Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. 1519-1568.
The atomic bomb was one of the most powerful weapons to be built during this time. Truman may not have been aware of the aftermath causes and effects it would have but he knew just how powerful this weapon was. If I was in Trumans place I would not have dropped the bomb. Many military leaders urged the President against dropping the bomb as they believed it was not a military necessity. Several of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan project quit or resigned in protest over Truman’s decision to drop the bomb. Einstein, the mastermind behind the idea, was not fully supportive with Truman decision. If I was in Truman’s place, I think I would have listened to the scientists and military leaders who were more knowledgeable than me in this area. The majority of expertise are against my decision so that should tell that what I’m doing is wrong. After dropping the first bomb, Truman saw the automatic impact that it had on the people. He could have just dropped the first bomb and realized what he had was a mistake. The fatalities and causalities lost by one bomb should have been enough to convince Truman that the second bomb was not necessary. Justifying the second bomb is harder because you have the results and proof of what occurred from the first bombs. If Truman was unaware of the ramifications of the act from before then by the end of the first bomb he had a clear idea of what the atomic bomb was capable
Susan B. Anthony is the most well known name in women's rights from the 1800s. Most people who are not familiar with the history of this time are aware of Susan's reputation and nearly everyone of my generation has seen and held a Susan B. Anthony silver dollar. For these reasons I was greatly surprised to learn that Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the original women's rights movement spokeswoman and Susan B. Anthony her protégé.
President Harry Truman’s use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during the Second World War is the most controversial decision in history. While it was an undoubtedly difficult decision, it was indeed necessary in order to end this six-year war that had ravaged the world. While many critics argue that the bomb was used primarily as an act of vengeance toward Japan, simplifying such a crucial moment in human history downplays the very real risk invading Japan posed to the United States. While avoiding strained relations with the other Allied countries, Truman had to assess the possible danger of the Soviet Union in a post-war world. Furthermore, the possibility of an arms race, the moral implications of using this weapon, and the number of American lives that would possibly be lost invading Japan were among the numerous pros and cons Truman had to consider when contemplating the use of this powerful weapon never before unleashed on humanity.
As an ambitious, disciplined, and devoted woman, Susan B. Anthony was a prominent women’s right activist who established the women’s suffrage movement in the nineteenth century and advocated equal rights for all women and men throughout her life. Born and raised in a Quaker family that considered women equal to men, Susan B. Anthony developed a sense of impartiality and wanted to ignite equality throughout all men and women. After teaching for fifteen years, Anthony became active in the temperance movement and the anti-slavery movement. However, since she was a woman, her right to speak publicly was denied which is one of the most significant concepts that encouraged her to become an effective woman’s suffrage leader. With the help of her
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was exceptionally good friends with Susan B. Anthony. One of her greatest speeches was The Seneca Falls Keynote Address. She was the president of the National American Women's Suffrage Association (NAWSA). She not only did speeches about women’s suffrage but also talked about divorce, property rights, and other topics. She was also an american social
Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, proved to be the best he could have made considering the position he and America were in and due to the fact that it prevented worse tragedies from occurring. The dropping of the atomic bomb had many positive effects. For one thing, the end of the war would not have been coming soon if Truman had not ordered the bombs to be dropped. The dropping of the bombs did cause tragedy and death, but not as bad as the death rate would have been if the bombs had not been dropped. It all boils down to this: if you were in President Harry S. Truman’s position, would you have let the world’s deadliest war prevail until there was no one left to
Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. In Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. 1519-1568.
Puerto Rico’s size of 3,515 square miles is comparable to three times the size of Rhode Island1. The island is located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, just east of the Dominican Republic. Politically, Puerto Rico is divided into 8 senatorial districts, 40 representative districts, and 78 municipalities. Ponce De Leon founded San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. Many popular city destinations of Puerto Rico include such places as San Juan, Ponce, Bayamon, and Caguas2.
Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration the atomic bomb was being developed. After Roosevelt died, his vice president Harry Truman was appointed President of the United States. Truman was never informed about the bombs development until an emergency cabinet meeting (Kuznick 9). Truman had to make the fatal decision on whether the bomb was to be dropped on Japan. With the idea of going to war, Truman had to think about the lives of the thousand American soldiers. The American soldiers had begun using the method of island hopping, because the bomb was not available. The idea of dropping a bomb was that the war itself could possibly end in its earliest points. The dropping of the atomic bomb could also justify the money spent on the Manhattan Project (Donohue 1). With a quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt “This will be a day that will live in infamy”, Pearl Harbor was a tragic day for Americans. The United States had lost many soldiers, which they had claimed that they will eventually get revenge. The alternates of dropping the bomb was also discussed at the Interim Committee. The American government was trying to get an invitation response from the Japanese government. If the United States did not drop the bomb and ‘Operation Downfall’ ha...
President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the direct cause for the end of World War II in the Pacific. The United States felt it was necessary to drop the atomic bombs on these two cities or it would suffer more casualties. Not only could the lives of many soldiers have been taken, but possibly the lives of many innocent Americans. The United States will always try to avoid the loss of American civilians at all costs, even if that means taking lives of another countries innocent civilians.
Susan B. Anthony was an activist for the Women’s Rights Movement. As a child, she was raised to be independent and outspoken. As a leader, she did just that. She stood up for what she believed in. Anthony organized, traveled, and spoke to people about what needed to be modified for women. Her parents were Quakers, which is a branch of christianity. They believed that all men and women should study, work, and live as equals (“Biography of Susan B. Anthony”). She adopted these thoughts and became a leader of the movement for women. She recognized her passion for women’s rights and dedicated her life as a suffragette, an advocate of women’s right to vote (“Biography of Susan B. Anthony”). A meeting with Elizabeth Cady Stanton led to lifelong friends in political organizing for women’s rights and women’s
Levy, Eric P. "'Through Soundproof Glass': The Prison of Self Consciousness in The Glass Menagerie." Modern Drama, 36. December 1993. 529-537.
Dropping the atomic bomb was a decision that no man would want to take on. Truman went with all the facts and his gut feeling. There was Great loss for Japan but even some of the Japanese soldiers were happy that the United States dropped the bomb. For it most likely saved their lives the emperor was willing to sacrifice everyone so he wouldn’t have to surrender. Whether you decide to agree with the bomb dropping or not it wasn’t about the bomb it was about ending the war. The atomic bomb is what ended the war quicker than any other options the United States had making it the best choice.
The Nuremberg Trials is considered being both a step forward in for society as it brought the birth of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. However, the tribunal was a step back for society, this is because the Allies implicitly designed it to be a show of ‘Victor’s Justice’.
Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. In Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. 1519-1568.