Female identity is constantly being influenced by men. In Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, the theme: The Continuation of Female Dependence on Men Leads to Their Downfall, is communicated through symbolism because of the portrait of Laura and Tom’s father, Amanda’s dependence on a gentleman caller coming to save her and Laura, and Laura giving Jim her most prized glass ornament, a unicorn, to hold, which he eventually breaks. The portrait of the father represents the two men that Amanda depended on to provide for both her and Laura. The gentleman caller represents the man that gives Laura a false hope of being taken cared for and loved by a man. The unicorn represents Laura fragility and how she relied on Jim on taking care of her, …show more content…
Laura has a glass menagerie and out of all of them, the unicorn is her favorite because it represents her. A unicorn is a special animal that is different from others, so it stands out, which is similar to Laura because she is handicapped, so that makes her stand out. When Laura and Jim meet, Laura gives Jim her glass unicorn to hold and says, “Go on, I trust you with him!” (Williams 83). Laura saying “I trust you with him” is her saying that she trusts Jim with taking care of her. Jim then sets the unicorn on the table. As their “date” went on, they hear music from the Paradise Dance Hall and Jim tries to convince Laura to dance along with it. They dance and as they moved around the room, Jim hits the table that he sets the unicorn on, and breaks it. As stated in scene seven of The Glass Menagerie, “Aw, aw, aw. Is it broken? Now it’s just like all the other horses. It’s lost its― Horn! It doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. You’ll never forgive me. I bet that that was your favorite piece of glass. I don’t have favorites much. It’s no tragedy, Freckles. Glass breaks so easily. No matter how careful you are.” (Williams 86). The glass unicorn breaking and Laura saying how “now it’s just like all the other horses” show that now Laura is also now like the other horses. Jim being the one …show more content…
The portrait of the father constantly reminds Amanda, Laura, and Tom about a man that they depended on who left them for traveling. The gentleman caller was what Amanda relied on to save her and Laura from the financial condition that they are in, but in the end he turned out to be engaged. The unicorn represents Laura, so when she gave it to Jim to hold she was giving Jim her, but he ends of breaking both the unicorn and Laura. Therefore, relying on others will lead to the downfall of one
Unforgiving Life… Everyone learns lessons in life. These lessons can come from a book, experience and legends. Books have a theme that you can learn from that is what make books important. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry both have the themes of responsibility, family and dream that runs through the main characters Tom Wingfield from The Glass Menagerie and Walter Lee Younger from A Raisin in The Sun.
She shows her low self-esteem referring to her leg when she tells Jim, “To me it sounded like-thunder!” (The Glass Menagerie 1.7.35-36). Not only does she have low self-esteem, but her self-esteem is so low that she could not handle finishing Business School as she drops out. Through Laura’s small lies to Amanda, her mother, Amanda finds out and explains while quoting Laura’s teacher, “ And she said, “….. The first time we gave a speed-test, she broke down completely- was sick at the stomach and almost had to be carried into the wash-room!...”.”
In her society, it is the woman that is left to be alone in her own thoughts, shown through her husband’s freedom to leave the house and not come back until he wants to versus her confinement to the house. This is reflected through the various “hedges and walls and gates that lock”, making her stay isolated in the house. Ultimately, the character is overtaken by the imagination and through the
In the beginning of the story, the narrator believes she is free to become who she wants. As the story advances, her female role models, quickly ignore what she wants –for example working with the foxes– and set expectations for her to ‘act like a lady’, thus forcing the narrator to become a new highly feminized version of herself. Since the story is written in the 1950s, the mistreatment of women is permitted. The narrator’s society is extremely sexist. When
Lastly, the two words the son and the man add to the complexity of the relationship. This shows that the man can’t picture himself being a father, especially after knowing he can’t meet the child’s expectation, but will always picture his son being a child in his eyes. In conclusion the author uses literary devices to add depth and emotion to the complex relationship between the two characters. He does this by changing the point of view throughout the poem from son to father. He uses a purposeful structure from present to future coming back to present to demonstrate with the complexity of the father's
It is heavily demonstrated that women are reliant on men when O'Connor describes how the Grandmother lives, “Bailey was the son she lived with, her only boy” (O’Connor). This suggests that because the Grandmother seems to
Alice Walker uses imagery and diction throughout her short story to tell the reader the meaning of “The Flowers”. The meaning of innocence lost and people growing up being changed by the harshness of reality. The author is able to use the imagery to show the difference between innocence and the loss of it. The setting is also used to show this as well.
The cat, the L shaped barn, the red pickle dish, and the elm tree all have an important symbolic meaning to the story. Wharton uses all these objects as a way of creating and developing the theme of failure in this story. One major, but not the most important symbol used in this novel is the Fromes family cat. The cat is used symbolically throughout the book.
His reason for creating this fantasy is, because the real ranch is bleak, and depressing. Secondly, Chris’s innocent and childlike behaviour is symbolized by Vanessa and the other children. His love for children and innocence is illustrated by the stories he shared with Vanessa about the dinosaurs and the ranch. Finally, the horses “Duchess and Firefly” are another symbol for Chris’s need to escape from reality. These imaginary horses show just how much Chris prefers imaginary over reality.
The play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell is largely based on stereotypes. The most prevalent one explores the difference between gender roles. Glaspell exerts the repression of women in the 1900s. During that time, women were highly looked down upon by men, and were only seen as the housekeepers and child bearers. This example is displayed throughout the play with the men, however, the women in this play prove that the stereotypes of gender roles held against them are completely wrong, which is shown through the characters, set design, and symbolism.
Like the bird, she had to break her own cage before she found freedom. Like Chopin and Gilman before her, Glaspell uses an irrational character to illustrate the way men often rejected and looked down upon women, especially in the 19th and 20th
Another major character in the book, Sally, marries a man. Sally may think that she has escaped from her dad’s cruel treatment but has not realized that being dependent on another person will only end her up in the cycle of abuse again. For many women on Mango Street, looking out of the window is seen as the last hope of freedom, and her husband even bans her from doing so. “ She likes looking at the walls, at how neatly their corners meet, the linoleum roses on the floor, the ceiling smooth as wedding cake. (102)”.
The plays, "Trifles" by Susan Glasspell and "A Doll 's house" by Henrick Ibsen portray the way women were treated throughout the nineteenth century using the literary tool of symbolism. In Susan Glaspell 's "Trifles" she uses the bird cage and the dead bird to present the role and life of women in marriage and society, whereas Henrik Ibsen uses the dollhouse as a way for the reader to recognize the plays main similarities in the treatment of women. Even though the women in these plays share different lifestyles, they all face the same issues in their lives. In "trifles" Mr. And Mrs. Wright 's relationship can be described as abusive and lifeless.
In the plays Trifles and A Doll House the reader can see the portrayal of a male society and the way women are where dominated and abused by their husband in the nineteenth century. In A Doll House Nora’s Husband Treats her as if she is and absent minds doll wife that is incapable of thinking for herself. In Trifles Mrs. wright is a woman that have been oppressed and abuse by her husband for so many year that she need to escape one way or another. The woman in the play both took steps to gain there independence in society by any means
For example, Mabel‘s brothers did not want her to be on her own when they moved out. Since they are all in debt, they try to convince her to go live with their married sister (Lawrence 455). This conflict between siblings shows that because she is a woman, she is seen as lesser than her brothers. It is suitable for the men in the family to live on their own and make a living but she needs to be taken care of. Another example occurs when Mabel has an internal conflict with herself when she attempts to drown herself in a lake (Lawrence 460).