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Mental illness and oppression in literature
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In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, the glass figurine of the unicorn plays an inherently important role as a representation of Laura's self esteem. The collection of glass figurines is used by Laura to escape from the dangers of the outside world. The unicorn is the central piece to her collection and is important because it directly symbolizes Laura. The unicorn represents Laura's obsession with her handicap and also represents the uniqueness in her character. As the play develops, the fracture of the unicorn's horn represents a change in Laura's perspective of self and also gives a reason to why she parts with the figurine in the end.
The unicorn is a mythological figure. Closely related to the horse, it is uniqueness comes in the form of a long horn located on the center of its forehead. In Laura's menagerie, it is unlike the other figures. In fact, Laura refers to the unicorn as being "freakish." (109) Her characterization of the unicorn reflects how she feels about herself. It is because of its uniqueness that Laura chose to identify with it. She creates a world with her figurines in which the abnormal coexists with the normal. When Jim, the gentleman caller, inquires about the unicorn being lonely, she replies, "He stays on a shelf with some horses that don't have horns and all of them seem to get along nicely together."(101) In her imaginary world no one judges her because of her limp and it is that world she is capable of coping in. Laura's characterization of the figurines hints at her inner desires to be able to deal with the outside world and become less "freakish." Laura tells Jim, "[the figurines] all like a change of scenery once in a while." (102)
The delicacy of the glass unicorn reflects the fragility of Laura, emotionally and physically. Laura describes the unicorn as being the most fragile out of the group, indicating how she feels about herself in a world with normal people. Laura can be broken both literally and figuratively as easily as glass. "If you breathe[on glass], it breaks." (101)
Laura suffers from an "inferiority complex," much like how Jim described. She feels burdened with
The fracture of the unicorn converted the figurine from "freakish" to normal. At this point in the play, Laura is no longer retreating to her imaginary world.
In the beginning of “Barbie Doll”, pleasurable and unpleasurable imagery is given so that the reader can see the extremes girls go through to be considered perfect.
The characters inhabit their private realities in order to detach themselves from a world that confuses and alienates them. Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim prefer to immerse themselves in their narrow view of time rather than embrace the flow of time. Laura remains isolated as she has failed to find love. Amanda judges Laura as she imposes her own narrow expectations on her. Tom believes that he can escape reality and become inseparable from the imaginary worlds of movies. Jim's idealistic view of Laura suggests that he is out of touch with reality. The play demonstrates that the characters desire to escape reality due to their inability to live in the present and embrace the flow of
She uses third person diction to construct an image of what the male and female consider regarding a situation that is not declared. Just like every other girl, it is implied that the daughter in the situation wishes to conform to society by having a Barbie Doll. An ironic situation arises as a result because the father doesn’t want his daughter to be influenced by the doll. He is concerned with how she may perceive beauty as a consequence of it. He states, “It's not just the pointy plastic tits, it's the wardrobes. The wardrobes and that stupid male doll, what's his name, the one with the underwear glued on?” (Atwood 491). The situation is ironic because throughout this vignette, women are characterized as being “fake” or “plastic”. Although the father’s concerns are valid, he doesn’t realize that his daughter would otherwise spend the rest of her time wishing to have the doll. Eventually, she would become just like that doll. Atwood summarizes this by saying “repression breeds sublimation.” (Atwood 491)
The Glass Menagerie is a play about the character Tom trying to escape his living situation that traps him. He is doing to best to cope with his dependent, demanding mother Amanda and take care of his quiet sister Laura. Amanda and Laura solely depend on Tom’s income from his warehouse job, but Tom is desperately wanting to leave both his mother and sister to lead his own adventurous life. Laura is mainly embodied by her precious glass menagerie and Jim O’Connor’s nickname for her, “Blue Roses.” Her livelihood revolves around taking care of her glass animals and protecting them, and in doing so, she isolates herself from the normal world around her. In Tennessee William’s play The Glass Menagerie, symbolism is use to uncover the unearthly beauty and delicacy of Laura and to portray Tom’s need to escape from his oppressive responsibilities.
Laura is the owner and caretaker of the glass menagerie. In her own little fantasy world, playing with the glass animals is how she escapes from the real world in order to get away from the realities and hardships she endures. Though she is crippled only to a very slight degree physically, her mind is very disabled on an emotional level. Over time, she has become very fragile, much like the glass, which shatters easily, as one of the animals lost its horn; she can lose control of herself. Laura is very weak and open to attack, unable to defend herself from the truths of life. The glass menagerie is an unmistakable metaphor in representing Laura’s physical and mental states.
She is a shy, quiet girl who keeps herself at a distance. She loves glass figurines and prides herself on them. To her brother, she is seen as crippled because she cannot walk well and is socially awkward. This results in Laura’s reality being different than the rest of the family’s because she closes herself off into a space where it is only her. Amanda wants the best for Laura, for her to have a husband or finish business school, because she wants Laura to get out of the house and get living. However, Laura does not want to live in that world, and it is shown when she skipped her business classes and through her interaction with Jim, her high school crush. Jim is the only person who is able to take Laura out of her own weird reality, and bring her into the reality of an ordinary girl. Laura breaks through her reality when she talks about the unicorn horn that Jim broke off her glass figurine, she tells Jim that, “It doesn’t matter. . . . [smiling] I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less—freakish!” (Williams, 2009). Therefore, Laura being with Jim makes her feel a little less odd. This brings Laura out of her own reality for a bit, but then she retreats back into it when she finds out that Jim is engaged to someone else right after he kisses her. He broke her free of her own reality for a bit, just like how he broke the horn off of the
In Tennessee William's play, The Glass Menagerie, the character of Laura is like a fragile piece of glass. The play is based around a fragile family and their difficulties coping with life.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a loosely autobiographical memory play this is enriched with symbolism. The play itself is symbolic and parallels with much of Williams own unhappy family background. The symbolism used by the playwright is used to represent the desire to escape or to distinguish the difference between illusion and reality. Much of the symbolism used is specific to each character, but the most important symbol is Laura’s glass menagerie.
how society forced them to change and Laura to lose her status in order to fit
At the beginning of the story she “shines” when people choose to see her in the right “light”, which is love or attention. However, at the end of the play when Jim accidentally breaks off the unicorn’s horn, it is no longer exotic or unique. At first, Laura calls this “a blessing in disguise” –that he has made her normal. But when he reveals to her that he is engaged to another woman, her hopes are shattered just like the unicorn’s horn. Now the unicorn is just like all the other horses, therefore, she decides it is more fitting for Jim than it is for her. When he asks what she gives it to him for she replies, “A—souvenir….” Then she hands it to him, almost as if to show him that he had shattered her unique beauty. This incident changes her in the way that a piece of her innocence that made her so different was now gone. She is still beautiful and fragile like the menagerie, but just as she gives a piece of her collection to Jim, she also gives him a piece of her heart that she would never be able to regain. Laura and her menagerie are both at risk of being crushed when exposed to the uncaring reality of the
Tennessee Williams's brilliant use of symbols adds life to the play. The title itself, The Glass Menagerie, reveals one of the most important symbols. Laura's collection of glass animals represents her fragile state. When Jim, the gentleman caller, breaks the horn off her favorite unicorn, this represents Laura's break from her unique innocence.
The main symbols in The Glass Menagerie are the glass menageries themselves. Laura, the daughter in the story, collects little glass figurines or animals; these figurines are called menageries. The small, glass, figures represent numerous elements of Laura’s personality. Both Laura and the figurines are fragile, whimsical, and somewhat behind the times. As Anita Gates writes, in her article "When Appearances Aren't What They Seem" Laura “is as delicate as the tiny glass animals she collects” (10). Laura is very fragile and weak in body, mind, and spirit. The menageries are weak also because they are made of glass. Therefore, both the figurines and Laura have to be cared for and treated lightly because of the possible damage that could be done to them if they were not properly taken care of.
Laura has one piece in her collection that wasn’t broken till later and means the most to her and that is the unicorn, Laura states this with “I shouldn’t be partial, but he is my favorite one” (Williams 1282).
Additionally, Kezia’s disposition is also symbolized by the traits that the lamp itself possesses. The warmth of the lamp correlates to Kezia’s acceptance of others, regardless of their social status. Finally, the lamp symbolizes the theme of belonging that is present in the story. By being invited to see the doll’s house and its furnishings, including the lamp, children in the story feel as though they are valued within a group of their peers. The lamp is a significant, recurring image in “The Doll’s House” as it symbolizes the separation between the rich and poor social classes, the compassionate personality of the main character, Kezia, and the theme of belonging that is seen in the story.
“Today, we are going to the toy store”, my mom proclaimed. Those words, though very rare, were magic to my ears. Magic, is what was awaiting me behind the doors of the toy store. I ran inside, the terrain somewhat unfamiliar, but worth exploring. The selves upon selves seemed so massive, towering over my little frame. The smell of delicately packaged boxes aroused by eagerness. The sounds of children’s footsteps, pitter-pattering about, muffled my hearing. Each footstep I made, closer to my destination, overshadowed by the immense blank of the floor. Alas, my kid radar peaked, and I found the aisle of treasures. A sea of pink paradise lay in front of me. My hands moist, ready to explore the blank. This sacred place was pure utopia; a fantasy land of escape; a place where all remnants of my life no longer existed. I was in Barbie land, surrounded by a copious selection of pink boxes. I, by innate nature I’m sure, reached for the box that held the most beautiful specimen I ever saw. She had blonde hair that flowed so gracefully. Her eyes of blue sparkled through the box. Then, that is when it happened. My mom slapped my hand, “Pick the Barbie that mostly looks like you”, she demanded. I was confused for a mere second. My eyes wandered to the lower shelf, where the black Barbie, marked on discount hung. The black Barbie appeared unsalable, no competition to the beauty