ENG111 Online June 13, 2011 Commitment to Family or Freedom to Self The three literary pieces The Glass Menagerie, Barn Burning, and Ulysses all have something in common. A significant character from each work abandoned his family to seek out his own needs. As I read the three different literary works recently I reflected on what a one-of-a-kind thing a family is to each of us. Is it wrong to put our own needs above that of our parents, our brothers and sisters, or even our spouses or children
Words: 1451 - Pages: 6
friends the Wingfields go, they are just the typical family struggling to get by. The biggest problem that stems from this family, however, is their inability to communicate effectively with each other. Instead of communicating
Words: 1413 - Pages: 6
year 1937. The main character and narrator of “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, Tom, is in a merchant sailor’s uniform and he details the setting even further, telling us that America’s lower classes are still recovering from the Great Depression. In the early stages of the plot of the Glass Menagerie, we also learn that his father left the family a long time ago, even though there is a picture of him that is plain sight throughout “The Glass Menagerie”. While Tom is speaking (as well
Words: 1245 - Pages: 5
are all different. And, just as every family is different, every family has its own problems. The Wingfield family, in Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie,” is definitely different with its own unique set of problems. Amanda, the mother; Tom, the son; and Laura, the daughter, are all extremely detached from reality. They all live in a live in a world of fantasy. But, out of all three characters the daughter, who appears to be the most detached at first, is forced to be the most in touch with
Words: 721 - Pages: 3
a play worked out in one’s mental process, rather than a realistic representation. Instead of external reality, the inner vision becomes the primary concern of expressionistic drama. Thus this paper focuses on the repressed state of each character in the Wingfield family, and tries to shed light on their inner psychology by means of psychoanalytical approach. As a mother figure, Amanda is quite distinctive from those in conventional drama. With the father absent for years, Amanda takes on not only
Words: 2012 - Pages: 9
Escaping from Reality: The Glass Menagerie In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, it takes a close and detailed look at the dysfunctional Wingfield family trying to get through the day to day living from the eyes of the son, and only male figure present in the family, Tom. In The Glass Menagerie Tom tells his story as well as the rest of his families, and presents how each family member deals with issues on their own. However it appears that each family member has problems coping with
Words: 991 - Pages: 4
their reality. Is everyone successful in escaping? Walter Mitty, Truman Burbanks, and Tom Wingsfield all suffered from the same thing, facing reality. So instead of facing reality they found a way to escape from what they were going through in life. Truman Burbanks and Tom Wingfield had a plan, and that plan was to escape their life and restart a new one. Many people like Walter Mitty, Truman, and Tom try escaping from reality because they didn't like the lifestyle that they're living
Words: 957 - Pages: 4
To conform is to comply with rules, standards, or laws-to behave according to socially acceptable conventions or standards, or to be similar in form or type. Partaking in these actions can lead someone to become so unhappy that they end up taking drastic measures in order to find satisfaction. In the playwright The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams suggests that conforming can cause to an individual to hate their life, so much so that they can even turn to harmful behaviors-such as drinking, to
Words: 292 - Pages: 2
life has brought to the Wingfield family. The characters of this play are people whose dreams and life expectations have been shattered by the cruel reality. This disappointment breeds unrest and dissatisfaction in them, they feel trapped in their lives and are seeking for escape. In this extract there is a mix of registers. Moreover, the registers differ even within the speech of individual characters. While Laura and Amanda are speaking exclusively in formal style, Tom and Jim speak mostly informally;
Words: 585 - Pages: 3
read, I continued to become more and more attached to the characters and drawn into the play. The use of the narrator, Tom Wingfield, who is also a main character in the play, was wonderful. I really enjoyed the parts where he was speaking to the audience and Amanda would call him in and he would answer, look to the audience, and walk onto the scene. In my opinion, that made the connection with Tom even bigger for the audience. Tom is the working man of the family, the breadwinner so to speak
Words: 812 - Pages: 4
