3. I expected “Daddy” to be a daughter talking about her deceased father. I had read the Protean Poetic: the Poetry of Sylvia Plath before I read the poem and even that didn’t prepare me for what I read. There are some parts where it sounds like she’s really talking about her father, but really she’s talking about Nazi Germany and calling them daddy. In one stanza I questioned myself, “Was her mother a Jewish woman and her father a German man?” I remember hearing in one of my history classes that if you even looked like you were Jewish they sent you to a camp. So, I was wondering, was she a Jew or did she look like one to them. “I began to talk like a Jew. I think I may well be a Jew.”
The end of the poem sounds like it’s the end of the war and all the Jews were being set free. “There’s a stake in your fat black heart and the villagers never liked you. They are dancing and stamping on you. They always knew it was you. Daddy, daddy, you bastard. I’m through.” It sounds like a revolt almost. Overall this poem is interesting and kind of confusing.
4. A Chinese Banquet-
This poem caught me by surprise. I thought it was going to be about Chinese family tradition or Chinese family get together that was pleasant. Boy was I wrong. She talks about how it’s not a formal affair, saying all the women over a 12 wore gowns and corsages and mentions she is the only one that doesn’t. She then goes on to talk about the members of the family that pleased everyone. But then she says that her mom asks her when she’ll get a decent job since she is getting older and not any younger, but she no longer asks if she when she is getting married. She begins asking her a bunch of questions. “What are you doing with your life? Why don’t you study computer programming?” But her mother knows she won’t get married so she doesn’t ask. Her daughter is a Lesbian and has a lover. But she doesn’t approve and she makes sure her daughter and her daughter’s lover knows it. The narrator then goes on to the conversation she has to tell her lover, the reason she cannot come to a family event, because she is neither the husband nor wife. But, seeing as how her mother treats her daughter, I don’t think marriage would matter. If anything it would make the matter worse.
Because of my beliefs, I’m against Gay and Lesbian lifestyles, but really? This mother is being very rude towards her daughter. If it were my daughter, I would be shocked and a little sad, but I wouldn’t completely shun them. I wouldn’t ostracize them just because they like their same gender. The daughter would still be family to me and I wouldn’t treat her otherwise.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
4 & 5
Commitments
According to my interpretation, I decided to set the whole atmosphere of the poem somewhat fantastic as considering the speaking person as a dead guy, possibly due to his serve of duty (military or something), and looking at the pictures of his family members and indulges in reminiscence about his past with them. From the beginning, He vividly describes how he was happy about living with his family by stating his smiling face. In addition, he also enjoyed to have a barbecue and chicken party with music of pop songs. From his statement; I am the invisible son, I interpret it as that he does not exists anymore in presence, but wishing to look at his family members playing whatever they enjoy, and also wishes to be with them whenever they needed him. Although the reality does not allow him to be with them, his will is always with them and feels very proud of them by thinking of them consistently. Finally, he states that he feel also very proud of what he has done at his service of duty even though he became an “invisible person”, who cannot be with his family anymore in reality. In doing this interpretation, I felt very fantastic mood of this poem.
The Glass Menagerie
This play certainly impressed me how literature can describe well about the human reality. Obviously, I did not live in the time of early 1980s’, however, I was able to feel the economic and cultural situation in those days. As a compromised analysis, I would start from the meaning of “the Glass menagerie”. If I take the meaning of the word as “strange or weird people”, there are many supporting points in the text, especially from the symbolic characters; Amanda, a lady bound to the past when she was in the aristocratic class, Laura, a lady who cannot overcome her disability and locked in her own world, and Tom, a boy who watches movies every night and dreams to take an adventure to some place. These people are all very peculiar and stuck in their own private structures, that nobody can touch and get in at any moment, which makes their family bonding relationship to be so weakened. In the conversations of Tom and Amanda at the scenes 3, 4, and 7, they show no effort of understanding each other and saying their one sided opinions in a parallel path, and Amanda’s attitude is shown to be forcing her children to achieve what she desires rather than letting them to do what they really want to do. Then, more problems subsequently show form Tom and Laura by not following what Amanda orders them to do even though it is not their desired things to do, but could be good things to do for their future; going to school or being married, and consistently sticking in their own frame, resulting in being a hands-off individuals. Their this kind of relationship indicates very fragile and weak, and this is directly linked to the title of this play – The Glass Menagerie, a glass. As an effort to resolve this problem, Jim, a character who represent a person of reality appears in the scene 7, however, his appearance even destruct their weak relationship and breaks their own fantasies by saying that he has a fiancée. Because of this, Amanda loses her dream that she attempted to get from the success of her daughter, Laura, and also Laura becomes unable to go back to her own world as Jim already broke her world as he gave her a hope to get along with, which makes her more misery. The incident of broken unicorn in the scene 7 is a good example of this situation. Finally, after Amanda expressed her madness to Tom due to failure of marriage of her daughter with Jim, Tom leaves house as he wishes, but I interpret that he realizes that the reality is not what he expected to be, and his family takes a hold on him whenever and wherever he stays. Therefore, his own dreaming world also has been destructed at the end. In conclusion, the Wingfield family members were all stuck in their own fragile fantasies(menageries), and really becomes completely fragile when they faced the reality.
Week 8: Q's 1 & 4
1. Chinese Banquet- Kitty Tsui
This poem is a kind of explanation to the person who was not invited, which half way through the poem we find out it is her partner. The poem begins with two contradicting ideas, she states "for the one who was not invited it was not a formal affair..." and later mentions it again that it was not a formal affair, however, she mentions that every women twelve or older is wearing a long gown and a corsage except her.
An internal contradiction is when her mother tells her that she is twenty six and not getting any younger, what is she going to do with her life? This question is emphasized by asking it twice and Tsui also states twice that her mother does not even ask when she is getting married anymore. Her mother knows that she is gay, but is not willing to accept it. Not only is her mother not willing to accept it but her whole family and that is why she was not invited to the Chinese banquet.
4. Before reading Chinese Banquet I imagined it would describe the Chinese culture, a celebration of something and I thought it was going to describe their customs.
At the beginning of the poem it starts off stating that it is not a formal affair. When reading that I imagined a Chinese family out at a park having lunch, but as i kept reading I learned that I was not close to what it really was about. She continues to explain how all the women are dressed in gowns, meaning it is a formal affair.
After reading that I predicted that it must be a special celebration, like the equivalent of a quinceañera. But it was not, it seemed like it was simply a family reunion. As I continued reading it all made sense when I realized that the author is writing this letter to her partner as a way of an explanation or an apology letter of why she was not invited. The author tried to disguise the importance of this event by mentioning twice that it was informal.
The poem was not what I expected and it made me change my approach to it from thinking that I was going to learn about Chinese culture to an emotional one where I felt sympathy for the author.
This poem is a kind of explanation to the person who was not invited, which half way through the poem we find out it is her partner. The poem begins with two contradicting ideas, she states "for the one who was not invited it was not a formal affair..." and later mentions it again that it was not a formal affair, however, she mentions that every women twelve or older is wearing a long gown and a corsage except her.
An internal contradiction is when her mother tells her that she is twenty six and not getting any younger, what is she going to do with her life? This question is emphasized by asking it twice and Tsui also states twice that her mother does not even ask when she is getting married anymore. Her mother knows that she is gay, but is not willing to accept it. Not only is her mother not willing to accept it but her whole family and that is why she was not invited to the Chinese banquet.
4. Before reading Chinese Banquet I imagined it would describe the Chinese culture, a celebration of something and I thought it was going to describe their customs.
At the beginning of the poem it starts off stating that it is not a formal affair. When reading that I imagined a Chinese family out at a park having lunch, but as i kept reading I learned that I was not close to what it really was about. She continues to explain how all the women are dressed in gowns, meaning it is a formal affair.
After reading that I predicted that it must be a special celebration, like the equivalent of a quinceañera. But it was not, it seemed like it was simply a family reunion. As I continued reading it all made sense when I realized that the author is writing this letter to her partner as a way of an explanation or an apology letter of why she was not invited. The author tried to disguise the importance of this event by mentioning twice that it was informal.
The poem was not what I expected and it made me change my approach to it from thinking that I was going to learn about Chinese culture to an emotional one where I felt sympathy for the author.
Blog 4, Week 8: Question 1&4
The poem "A Chinese Banquet," by Kitty Tsui has a lot of emotion involved, and conflict as well. The author expresses the mother, and daughter to have a close relationship. I think the theme, and words have a few areas where it completely contradicts the daughter and mothers loving relationship towards one another. The lines 25-28 explains that the mother no longer asks when her daughter is getting married. Her mother wants her to be married, but as her words show she clearly has doubts about her daughter, and marriage. I think she feels her daughter is sidetracked, and cant focus on things in life such as marriage, and work. She says"you're twenty six, and not getting younger," this showcases that she feels her daughter is wasting away her ideal image of perfection for her daughter meaning having all the things in life at a young age she wants her to achieve. In the lines 26-28 she explains how she does want to get married, and bridge the boundaries that separate her and her mother. I found this to be the contradiction of her wanting to be close to her mother, and her mother thinking otherwise. In lines 41-44 its shows that the daughter is not accepted by the mother although, she has such pride in her. She neglects her as a mother because the daughter admitted to saying "I love a woman". She does not want her around for anything, but yet she has all these expectations for her daughter. This particular poem has a theme of a loving relationship, although it has lots of contradictions it appears the mother is confused of her relationship she wants for her and her daughter. In the end I think it creates a image of the daughter trying to be close to her mother, regardless of the circumstances involved. It is showcased in lines 49-52. The sentence saying my home is in her arms.
The poem "Commitments," is written by a gay black man, Essex Hemphill. He conveys how it is to be different through writing and poetry. He is a powerful writer. He can portray all his emotions in just this poem alone. He revels the need of acceptance for gays, and their families with same sex marriages working together in their communities, although Hemphill hesitates with his family to discuss his own homosexuality. To me the author portrays that his family had no inclination about his disposition. This short story stands out in front as I have a friend who is gay. My friend struggles to express his identity with his family, because he is afraid of what they will think about him. I go visit him at his house, and his own mom acts like he is an invisible person. It's really sad to see this type of position he is in. He tells me his mother is a very religious individual, and if he conforms to showing any kind of different sexuality she will kick him out. I think this is morally wrong, because that is her own child she needs to be supportive of. This must be awkward, I can empathize with the author as well. The end of this poem stood for me on how many expectations family can have. He expresses that he is the "invisible son in the family photos".He is not in the spot light with a beautiful family like the cameras sight, and focus is on the families, and their children. He conceals himself hiding his display, a smile he must smile as he states "this is his duty to his family". You can see how much expectations can come from a heterosexual family. In lines 13-18 he conveys how his arms are empty in the photos with children being held by their parents. He states that his family has "unsuspecting aunts who will be throwing rice at his wedding some day". The author also revels how a typical family barbecue would be with "blackened chicken, glistering ribs, bottles of beer, and pop". This seems like a good time, but to him there is still a yearn for a secret to reveal.This poem met my expectations with how hard it is to be different, with the strong demands from a family.The lines 13-18 he really touches point on how he felt. I admire how he can put so much emotion in just 6 lines. This would inspire any writer to write with so much substance.
The poem "Commitments," is written by a gay black man, Essex Hemphill. He conveys how it is to be different through writing and poetry. He is a powerful writer. He can portray all his emotions in just this poem alone. He revels the need of acceptance for gays, and their families with same sex marriages working together in their communities, although Hemphill hesitates with his family to discuss his own homosexuality. To me the author portrays that his family had no inclination about his disposition. This short story stands out in front as I have a friend who is gay. My friend struggles to express his identity with his family, because he is afraid of what they will think about him. I go visit him at his house, and his own mom acts like he is an invisible person. It's really sad to see this type of position he is in. He tells me his mother is a very religious individual, and if he conforms to showing any kind of different sexuality she will kick him out. I think this is morally wrong, because that is her own child she needs to be supportive of. This must be awkward, I can empathize with the author as well. The end of this poem stood for me on how many expectations family can have. He expresses that he is the "invisible son in the family photos".He is not in the spot light with a beautiful family like the cameras sight, and focus is on the families, and their children. He conceals himself hiding his display, a smile he must smile as he states "this is his duty to his family". You can see how much expectations can come from a heterosexual family. In lines 13-18 he conveys how his arms are empty in the photos with children being held by their parents. He states that his family has "unsuspecting aunts who will be throwing rice at his wedding some day". The author also revels how a typical family barbecue would be with "blackened chicken, glistering ribs, bottles of beer, and pop". This seems like a good time, but to him there is still a yearn for a secret to reveal.This poem met my expectations with how hard it is to be different, with the strong demands from a family.The lines 13-18 he really touches point on how he felt. I admire how he can put so much emotion in just 6 lines. This would inspire any writer to write with so much substance.
Week 8 Questions 1 & 4
1. “A Chinese Banquet,” by Kitty Tsui is a perfect example of internal contradictions. She repetitively says that “it was not a very formal affair,” but in words the informal affair is made formal because she describes how she can not talk about her feelings, and that her mother “sits across from her.” The distance between her and her family members suggests that what is suppose to be an informal occasion has really turned out to be informal. This great piece of literature also hinges on the contradiction that it is suppose to be a family affair, “just the family getting together,” yet her lover is “not invited.” This further illustrates the contradiction that the informal family affair really is not informal and really is not a family affair. Other internal contradictions that make this poem a great piece of literature is the conflicting ideas. “Her eyes are wet but she will not let tears fall.” Inside her mother I crying but outside she pretends like the problem does not exist. This is why she says that her mother “no longer asks when i'm getting married.” Instead her mother shifts the subject to “you've got to make a living,” even though her daughter being gay is eating her up inside.” She ends the poem with the idea that even though she is surrounded by her family she is not at home but instead her home “is in her arms,” (her lover's arms). Her conflicting theme is that her home is where she is accepted, but it is outside of her family.
4. I expected that the poem “Commitments,” would be on gay love, based on my knowledge of the author. Based on the title I expected the poem to be on a man's commitment to his relationship to another man. “I will always be there...I will be pictured smiling among siblings, parents, nieces and nephews.” I interpreted this to mean that he was rejected by family members, and that they buried (because exhumed can mean to raise from a grave) their memories of him in silence because of the fact that he was gay. I expected him to talk about being gay when his families dug up (or remembered) those memories of him when he was a boy. I stopped when I read “I am always there for critical emergencies, graduations, the middle of the night.” The text pointed out that he was constantly there for his family, and that his family was constantly calling him. So instead of them rejecting him and forgetting about him, he kept a relationship going with them. This helped me look at the poem in a new light- he was describing being someone close but nobody really saw him or knew him. “I am the invisible son...nothing appears out of character... I smile as I serve my duty.” He felt obligated to be a part of the family, because it was a job or duty as a son, but truly he was invisible because nobody saw that he loved another man.
4. I expected that the poem “Commitments,” would be on gay love, based on my knowledge of the author. Based on the title I expected the poem to be on a man's commitment to his relationship to another man. “I will always be there...I will be pictured smiling among siblings, parents, nieces and nephews.” I interpreted this to mean that he was rejected by family members, and that they buried (because exhumed can mean to raise from a grave) their memories of him in silence because of the fact that he was gay. I expected him to talk about being gay when his families dug up (or remembered) those memories of him when he was a boy. I stopped when I read “I am always there for critical emergencies, graduations, the middle of the night.” The text pointed out that he was constantly there for his family, and that his family was constantly calling him. So instead of them rejecting him and forgetting about him, he kept a relationship going with them. This helped me look at the poem in a new light- he was describing being someone close but nobody really saw him or knew him. “I am the invisible son...nothing appears out of character... I smile as I serve my duty.” He felt obligated to be a part of the family, because it was a job or duty as a son, but truly he was invisible because nobody saw that he loved another man.
Week 8 - Questions 1 & 4
Blog Week 8
Question 1
In the poem “Heritage” by Linda Hogan there are several contradictory ideas throughout, but the one that is consistent is the good or bad caused by tobacco. The theme of “brown” of tobacco is linked to both good and bad things that happen, as one of her bad childhood memories was that of her grandmother spilling black saliva spilled on her “that covered my white shirt” and made a brown stain. Here it seems that her grandmother who was brown skinned, may have told her that it was good that the tobacco spilled on her and covered her white shirt, since “her whiteness a shame”, or her white skin a shame to the Native Americans. The brown that is referred to in a bad sense is that of the “brown cloud of grasshoppers that leveled her fields” which is the same color used in a bad happening to her grandmother. In another line, the brown of the tobacco is said to “purge your body of poisons” putting it in a good light. In the end, both the good and bad sides of the dark tobacco seem to come together at night when it reads “That tobacco is the dark night that covers me”, as she can go to sleep in comfort knowing that the tobacco “has more medicine than stones and knives against your enemies”.
Question 4 “My Papa’s Waltz”
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz”, Theodore Roethke paints a picture of the dance of his father, as seen through eyes of a young man who valued this tainted relationship. The first line cuts right to the heart of what is wrong about this “Waltz”, since it is whisky that fuels the dance and is obviously a distraction for Roethke. Based on this opening line, some may suspect that this poem is about abuse of the father towards him in a whisky induced rage. I interpret it to be about his relationship with his father, and various experiences they had in spite of the influence of alcohol. My initial expectations of the outcome of this poem turn out to be far from what actually happens, because after reading the first line took me down a road that ended in a drunken unhappy event. Several lines throughout the poem indicate that this was not a joyous time for him, such as “whisky on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” or “beat time on my head“, yet he still needed that time with his father. He wanted to enjoy his father, as any other boy does, but this is the father he had so tried to make the best of it. He found little comfort at the idea of his mother acting as someone who could have calmed the situation when they “romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf”, since all she could muster is an attempt to unfrown herself. Near the end, he says “You beat time on my head” which I think is referring to his father letting him know it is time for bed. “Then waltzed me off to bed, Still clinging to your shirt” shows the affection and love that he has for his father. The author wanted this time with his father to continue late into the night, just as any normal young man would in an attempt to avoid going to bed.
Question 1
In the poem “Heritage” by Linda Hogan there are several contradictory ideas throughout, but the one that is consistent is the good or bad caused by tobacco. The theme of “brown” of tobacco is linked to both good and bad things that happen, as one of her bad childhood memories was that of her grandmother spilling black saliva spilled on her “that covered my white shirt” and made a brown stain. Here it seems that her grandmother who was brown skinned, may have told her that it was good that the tobacco spilled on her and covered her white shirt, since “her whiteness a shame”, or her white skin a shame to the Native Americans. The brown that is referred to in a bad sense is that of the “brown cloud of grasshoppers that leveled her fields” which is the same color used in a bad happening to her grandmother. In another line, the brown of the tobacco is said to “purge your body of poisons” putting it in a good light. In the end, both the good and bad sides of the dark tobacco seem to come together at night when it reads “That tobacco is the dark night that covers me”, as she can go to sleep in comfort knowing that the tobacco “has more medicine than stones and knives against your enemies”.
Question 4 “My Papa’s Waltz”
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz”, Theodore Roethke paints a picture of the dance of his father, as seen through eyes of a young man who valued this tainted relationship. The first line cuts right to the heart of what is wrong about this “Waltz”, since it is whisky that fuels the dance and is obviously a distraction for Roethke. Based on this opening line, some may suspect that this poem is about abuse of the father towards him in a whisky induced rage. I interpret it to be about his relationship with his father, and various experiences they had in spite of the influence of alcohol. My initial expectations of the outcome of this poem turn out to be far from what actually happens, because after reading the first line took me down a road that ended in a drunken unhappy event. Several lines throughout the poem indicate that this was not a joyous time for him, such as “whisky on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” or “beat time on my head“, yet he still needed that time with his father. He wanted to enjoy his father, as any other boy does, but this is the father he had so tried to make the best of it. He found little comfort at the idea of his mother acting as someone who could have calmed the situation when they “romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf”, since all she could muster is an attempt to unfrown herself. Near the end, he says “You beat time on my head” which I think is referring to his father letting him know it is time for bed. “Then waltzed me off to bed, Still clinging to your shirt” shows the affection and love that he has for his father. The author wanted this time with his father to continue late into the night, just as any normal young man would in an attempt to avoid going to bed.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Blog 4, Week 8: Question 4 and 5
4. The title of “Commitments” is interesting in the context that this poem is written by a gay man. Although I can only surmise here, it seems to me that because he is also a black gay man, there may be more social backlash in a community of black minorities. This author, Essex Hemphill, writes poems and other stories of being a gay black man, which conveys to me the taboo nature and ridicule he may have been subjected to by family, friends, and people in his community. The title of this poem, “Commitments,” strikes me because it appears that the author may have in mind of writing about relationship commitments as a homosexual man. The implications of this on the other hand could also be the lack of fulfilling other commitments that are traditionally and socially expected of a male. The one section that really stood out to me in this poem would have to be lines 13-18. It mentions here that photographs are taken and children are held by their parents. To me this sounds like the moment when parents raise children with hopes, aspirations, and dreams that one day their children will be happy. For society and many people alike, happiness also entails getting married and having a family. When I read the first few lines here, I imagined how parents are proud of their young children, and desiring to raise them the “right way” where one day such children would find happiness in life and ultimately also in marriage. However the latter portion, lines 16 through 18 of this poem, emphasize a depiction of loneliness as opposed to the former. The former embraces the youth and the hopes and dreams of their future, whereas the latter contrasts the reality of a life that has for the most part already played itself out. Things are already determined for this man and the hopes and dreams of the parents are not expressed, let alone present to reassure life has turned out well for the son. Additionally, the last line expressing, “…aunts expecting to throw rice at me someday.” comes to show some level of expectation and maybe disappointment. There isn’t a true, blatant strong sense of pride for this son if the poem’s tone is read and taken into context. In the end, the son states that he is “…the invisible son” which implies some sort of neglect and/or shame he experiences. From line 18 on, there is a congruity throughout the poem that I expected to see. There are more references to loneliness and being invisible, however there is also an allusion to “serving a duty” as a son and a man, which caught me off guard. After a bit of thought, I somewhat interpret this part of the poem as a way to nonchalantly reference that in photographs, this son appears to put up a veneer of fulfilling the prototypical “masculine role.” In essence, he may be a man that is working a good job, living life well, with a wife and family. The reality is not the same as the picture however, and he knows this. Yet to other unsuspecting viewers, they are unaware of this reality. The picture may show he is expected to fulfill certain roles, or certain commitments, which in reality he does as a son, with “critical emergencies, graduations, [and] the middle of the night.” Yet we as readers understand he does not fulfill one “commitment” that his aunts hope he would, so they can “throw rice at him.” Something that he cannot fulfill, something that may be socially taboo in a black community or any community, makes him an “invisible son.” This poem throughout meets my expectations in that it builds on what is previously stated. More allusions and examples are provided with each statement. It helps me as a reader because I can look at these holistically to see the overall point of the poem.
5. “The Glass Menagerie” seems to in some ways represent something that can be easily shattered. Something fragile, inanimate, and posing as fake or unreal comes to mind in my personal interpretation of this title. The author, Thomas Lanier “Tennessee” Williams seems to have written stories pertaining to the problems people face In life. Things such as depression, and incest were prevalent themes in many of his stories, and this seems to be attributable to his upbringing in some ways. The book states he grew up lonely and fought depression most of his life. He had an alcoholic father and this story is revealed to be about his life. The main character, or one of the main characters is named Tom as well, and this reveals the reflective nature of the story. “The Glass Menagerie” revolves around three characters, the mother Amanda, the daughter Laura, and Tom, who is the son. The story has characters who reveal elements of deception, selfishness, internal familial conflict, which in ways all allude or vaguely shadow the real life experiences of Tennessee Williams. In scene seven references are made to the different glass figurines that Laura owns. Laura tells Jim to “…be careful- if you breathe, it breaks. [And]… to see how the light shines through [the glass figurine]….” This fragility of the figurine may also represent the fragility of the people in this play. Laura in particular lacks much confidence and deals with a case of pleurosis while also having many problems with her mother, Tom also has problems and tells his mother that he is going to the movies, lies about paying bills, while the mother struggles with her selfish nature and the fact that life hasn’t turned out the way she hoped. This family is in essence a set of glass menageries of their own. However under certain conditions, “a light shines through” as Laura shows Jim that can she thrive when she is in comfortable situations. The tone of this portion of the poem also seems to connect back to the author, who had ghosts and skeletons to face in his closet. Although the problems may be different in nature, the fact is everyone still has them. People can all be glass figurines in some respects, fragile and easily breakable. In the same scene a unicorn’s horn is broken and Laura states, “Horn! It doesn’t matter… [smiling] I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less—freakish!” This goes hand in hand with the previous text in that the glass figurine’s fragility is still relevant and also represents Laura specifically. She once felt like an outcast of sorts, but after Jim “broke/molded” the figurine, she feels like he has done the same to her. The glass figurine represents the characters in this story fairly well, however at the end when Jim claims he has another girl. The glass figurines come to represent a broken hope or promise, where the beauty changes with context of the type of “light” that shines on it. The play enables a reader to see that something fragile and broken has different meanings under different lights. Being broken isn’t entirely negative or positive in and of itself; being broken is only negative or positive in context of situation or “…the[type of] light [that] shines through…”
5. “The Glass Menagerie” seems to in some ways represent something that can be easily shattered. Something fragile, inanimate, and posing as fake or unreal comes to mind in my personal interpretation of this title. The author, Thomas Lanier “Tennessee” Williams seems to have written stories pertaining to the problems people face In life. Things such as depression, and incest were prevalent themes in many of his stories, and this seems to be attributable to his upbringing in some ways. The book states he grew up lonely and fought depression most of his life. He had an alcoholic father and this story is revealed to be about his life. The main character, or one of the main characters is named Tom as well, and this reveals the reflective nature of the story. “The Glass Menagerie” revolves around three characters, the mother Amanda, the daughter Laura, and Tom, who is the son. The story has characters who reveal elements of deception, selfishness, internal familial conflict, which in ways all allude or vaguely shadow the real life experiences of Tennessee Williams. In scene seven references are made to the different glass figurines that Laura owns. Laura tells Jim to “…be careful- if you breathe, it breaks. [And]… to see how the light shines through [the glass figurine]….” This fragility of the figurine may also represent the fragility of the people in this play. Laura in particular lacks much confidence and deals with a case of pleurosis while also having many problems with her mother, Tom also has problems and tells his mother that he is going to the movies, lies about paying bills, while the mother struggles with her selfish nature and the fact that life hasn’t turned out the way she hoped. This family is in essence a set of glass menageries of their own. However under certain conditions, “a light shines through” as Laura shows Jim that can she thrive when she is in comfortable situations. The tone of this portion of the poem also seems to connect back to the author, who had ghosts and skeletons to face in his closet. Although the problems may be different in nature, the fact is everyone still has them. People can all be glass figurines in some respects, fragile and easily breakable. In the same scene a unicorn’s horn is broken and Laura states, “Horn! It doesn’t matter… [smiling] I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less—freakish!” This goes hand in hand with the previous text in that the glass figurine’s fragility is still relevant and also represents Laura specifically. She once felt like an outcast of sorts, but after Jim “broke/molded” the figurine, she feels like he has done the same to her. The glass figurine represents the characters in this story fairly well, however at the end when Jim claims he has another girl. The glass figurines come to represent a broken hope or promise, where the beauty changes with context of the type of “light” that shines on it. The play enables a reader to see that something fragile and broken has different meanings under different lights. Being broken isn’t entirely negative or positive in and of itself; being broken is only negative or positive in context of situation or “…the[type of] light [that] shines through…”
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