The “Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams shows a family facing economic and social hardships due to the father abandoning them. The father’s absence forces the rest of the family to fill roles that they wouldn’t be obliged to face if the father remained. The mother, Amanda, is a strong single mother who pushes her kids to be economically self-sustaining individuals. Amanda tries to impose her desires for her kids in a very direct and controlling manner which causes them to dislike her initiatives. The son, Tom, is the breadwinner for the family, however is dissatisfied with his situation due to his increased responsibilities. The daughter, Laura, is handicapped and dropped out of business school. Each member of the family is limited by their ability to grow out of their negative habits, however, it is likely that these habits or characteristics came from the family situation and the roles that each member was forced to fill.
Under those circumstances, a picture of the father hangs in the
Jim points out how Tom could be an enhanced person numerous times during the final scenes, including when he tells Tom that he will be fired if he doesn’t start working harder at work (935). Tom responds by saying that he doesn’t plan on working in the warehouse for long, as he plans to leave his family to be a merchant sailor. This illustrates Tom’s character and his tendency to follow unrealistic desires before addressing his responsibilities. He wants to be analogous to his father who abandoned their family. Furthermore, Tom refuses to move past his ways to accept the responsibility of his family to aid them. Amanda, shows a similar trait when she continually brings up her past life by attracting suitors. Moreover, Amanda remains stuck in her past glories and remains unable to move forward and support her children attain self-sustainability and
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a peculiar story about boys stranded on an island, and the plot and characters relate to many prevailing events and problems. A specific problem that is currently occurring is the mutual hatred and enmity between North Korea and South Korea. This is a current event, but the North and South’s hostility has been ongoing since 1945, when Korea was split into North and South, Communist and Capitalist. When the 38th parallel(Border between North and South Korea) was created, Kim Il-Sung ruled the North, and Syngman Rhee ruled the South. As of now, a power hungry dictator, Kim Jong-un rules the north, and an optimistic president who wants to see change was recently elected in the South, named Moon Jae-in. In Golding’s book, Ralph is a character who aimed to keep everyone alive and to stay together. Jack on the other hand, wanted to have fun and hunt, and although he also wanted to be rescued, he made no effort to help. In this sense, North Korea is a clear representation of the character Jack and his quest for power, and opposingly, South Korea is a representation of Ralph and his strive for order, democracy, and civilization.
In the novel The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, highlights a powerful drama based on the chaotic Salem Witch Trials. Salem is governed strictly where the bible is the law and anyone who doesn 't follow the law must be acquainted with the Devil. Witchcraft started by a group of girls getting caught "dancing in the woods" (Trevino). In Salem, dancing was prohibited and the girls knew they were in trouble so without thinking twice they started accusing others of being seen with the Devil. The main character in Salem is John Proctor that portrays the classic tragic hero who falls to his death. This allowed the reader to fully understand that he is a honorable, simple, virtue, and "sinner" man (Miller 19). In his lifetime, he runs into trouble with Abigail that ruined his relationship with God, his wife Elizabeth, and also damaged his self image. We see the external conflict that Miller illustrates with John and the Salem Witch Trials that is examined on his use of two tools: plot and characterization.
Later, Amanda once again harrasses Tom for jeopardizing his job and the family’s security, all to go to the movies and drink liquor. Foreshadowing his own leaving, Tom angrily gestures to his father’s picture on the wall saying to his mother, “you say self [myself], self’s all I ever think of. Why, listen, if self [myself] is what I thought of, Mother, I'd be where he is - GONE!” (3. Tom) To elaborate, Tom is saying that if he was truly as selfish as his mother describes, he would have left long ago, just like his father. Throughout The Glass Menagerie, Tom remains hateful to his mother, and even names her a witch during one of their arguments. It is safe to say that Amanda is the one person that really drives Tom
This play illustrates a lot of the struggles of family life and relationships between family members. In The Glass Menagerie we get to see how a girl deals with her handicap and how it changes how she views herself and the world. The play also shows a relationship between a vastly different mother and son and how, while she is well intentioned, sometimes it is best to
The quote written by british novelist Laurence Sterne, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” ties to the life of Laura Wingfield. Within the play, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Laura feels her mind being pulled in two directions, both by her family, and herself. Surrounded by a broken family, Laura shapes the play as a symbol of her family's relationship as she begins the play “crippled”- symbolizing a broken home- and heals over the course of the play due to conflicts and self realizations; showing the families final healing, even in an unconventional manner.
In the play “The glass menagerie” by author Tennessee Williams, he talks about real life situations. Even though the play was written in 1944, and the life style was different back then, these situations keep happening now in days. Parents provide a balanced family life style for their kids. Fathers are in charge of the safety, educations and provide shelter, while mothers provide the basics like cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids. What about when one of them is missing, if is the father, who will take care of the home, the mother or the oldest child. If, this is the case, is it ok to be forced to be in a home and take care of the responsibilities that belong to someone else?
At this point, Tom becomes a more selfish character. There is less sympathy given in his direction. In fact, this is probably where we feel a little more sorry for Amanda. Amanda has probably not done everything right for her family, but her intentions have always been good. Tom has lost patience and wants to pursue his journey away now.
The three family members are adults at the time of this play, struggling to be individuals, and yet, very enmeshed and codependent with one another. The overbearing and domineering mother, Amanda, spends much of her time reliving the past; her days as a southern belle. She desperately hopes her daughter, Laura, will marry. Laura suffers from an inferiority complex partially due to a minor disability that she perceives as a major one. She has difficulty coping with life outside of the apartment, her cherished glass animal collection, and her Victrola. Tom, Amanda's son, resents his role as provider for the family, yearns to be free from him mother's constant nagging, and longs to pursue his own dreams. A futile attempt is made to match Laura with Jim, an old high school acquaintance and one of Tom's work mates.
Tennessee William’s “The Glass Menagerie” and John Updike’s “A&P” are both stories of anguishing confinement and the wish to escape. Tom and Sammy are trapped in a place where they work away their lives, unable to leave from their miserable situations because of their families. Both have jobs which are stable, however, they wish to do otherwise to pressure what they really want. Their families rely on them mostly for their income, and neither Sammy nor Tom wants to let down those who depend on him. The men have ambition to become independent. Sammy achieved his freedom, however; Tom is free yet left with the memory of his sister Laura.
When a marriage that has been together for a long period of time is broken, there are certain things that are seen to hold true in most of these cases. There is a renewed sense of individuality that grasps this person's life after the initial trauma of a significant other being absent. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour", this situation is presented as the characterization of Mrs. Mallard, whose husband has been pronounced dead, is displayed. She goes through three seperate stages in her personal grieving process. Chopin is attempting to show readers that although sadness is the initial reaction to this circumstance, Mrs. Mallard's sense of freedom brings her joy, but it is unfathomable for her to go back to the way that she used to live after she sees that her husband is still alive resulting in her death.
The Glass Menagerie centers on a small family—a young man, an over-controlling mother, and a lonely daughter. Of the three characters, Laura Wingfield—the daughter—is portrayed as the weakest and frailest. Born with a lame leg and therefore a “cripple” (1.2.82), Laura is constantly dealing with lowered self-esteem and a sense of worthlessness despite her mother’s feeble attempts to convince her that it is just “a little defect” (1.2.86). In addition, Laura is cursed with a naive and skewed view of the world.
Laura’s main escape is from her mother. Amanda puts so much pressure on Laura to be just as she was many years ago during a time with certain expectations that no longer exist. She pushes Laura with harsh actions, and even harsher words that break her down little by little. At one point in the story, and after Jim’s revelation about going steady with another woman, Amanda yells at Tom, and talks about Laura in a derogatory way, “Don’t think about us, a mother deserted, an unmarried sister who’s crippled and has no job …” (1425; 7; 320). Jim’s main escape in the story is also from Amanda. At one point there is a need to escape Amanda’s antiquated flirting, and at another point from her expectations. Tom may have brought him into the situation, but it is Amanda that puts the pressure on both Laura and Jim. Another way they are the same is the need to escape themselves. When Jim is first introduced, it is by Laura who tells of his popularity in school, and when Laura talks of her younger years, it is when she has a childhood illness that caused her to be “crippled” (1389). These characters have a need to escape these important years as Jim now lives an average life and Laura lives the life of an introvert who is self-conscious of her
providing for them. The idea of the sense of duty she has for Tom and
Amanda, like Laura, wants Tom to strive for is full potential and be all that he can be. Their relationship is strained because Tom reminds Amanda of her husband. He just does not quite fit in with the rest of his family. He aspires to travel and see the world. He does not want to just get by; he wants to live and experience life. Amanda sees this in his and acknowledges that he has the same flighty attitude as his father. Mrs Wingfield snaps at her son and exclaims, “Oh, I can see the handwriting on the wall as plain as I see the nose in front of my face! It’s terrifying! More and more you remind me of your father! He was out all hours without explanation—Then left! Goodbye! And me with the bag to hold. He is the major breadwinner in the family. He brings in all the income and if he leaves Amanda and Laura will not be able to make it. Amanda takes it upon herself to mold Tom into the man that she wished her husband was. Of course, he takes it upon himself to be anything but. He spends every night at the movies. Tom uses the movies as a form of escape form his home life and satisfy his urge to leave and explore. He says, “People go to the movies instead of moving.” Tom is more of a realist compared to Amanda’s hopeful view on life. He knows life will never measure up to his mother’s expectations. The world has changed and he feels his mother needs to wake up. His personality is a direct contrast
Alfred Lord Tennyson once said that “it is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all”. This quote frames a central theme in Of Mice and Men. It states that a lot of characters in the book struggle with loss but they still rise above and stay optimistic. They feel they can one day live out their dreams and desires. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Candy teaches the reader the valuable life lessons of always pursuing your dreams, learning to accept death, and staying optimistic in the face of adversity.