Comparisons of Maggie of "Everyday Use" and Laura of "The Glass Menagerie"

Tennessee William’s renowned play, The Glass Menagerie, is a tragic tale about a family that doesn’t live in reality. Instead, the Wingfield family is constantly trying to use whatever means to escape their harsh and unsatisfying lives. Laura Wingfield, the daughter in the play has extreme social anxiety stemming from her own insecurity about her defective leg. She uses her defective leg as justification for becoming more introverted, participating in her own world rather than the one around her. Due to Laura’s insecurity about her leg she develops extreme social anxiety that prevents her from doing anything productive in the world around her. At the beginning

Maggie was so traumatized from her house burning down that she became a timid and under appreciated little girl. Maggie is so self conscious that her mom says she walks like a dog run over by a car: “chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground.” This

Throughout the story Mama made it seem as if Wanergo had an outgoing personality and that she always got what she wanted. Mama even says that Maggie “thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that “no” is a word the world never learned to say to her” (pg.64). Mama made Maggie out to have a very shy personality, due to how ashamed she was of the way her burn scars made her look. Wanergo wanted to go to a good school in Augusta so her mother, along with the church, raised the money to send her to college. Maggie, on the other hand, would seem like the type to go to school in the same place she grew up in.

Momma's point of view defines how she feels about her daughters and the degrees of separation that exist between the two girls. Momma describes Maggie as a partially educated child who does not look as appealing as her older sister. Maggie was burned in a house fire that left her scared all over her body. She does not wear revealing clothes, nor does she attract men as Dee does. Dee, on the other hand, is described as an educated young woman who is ready to take on any and every adventure. Momma says that Dee used to read to her and Maggie without pity (94). She describes Dee as the stylish child; she always prepared dresses out of momma's old suits and is always up on the current style. Momma likes the different qualities Dee possesses, but she is slightly threatened because they are unfamiliar to her. From the description that momma gives of her daughters the reader can feel the differences that exist in her thoughts about her daughters.

     Maggie is shamed from her scares of being burnt by their previous house. As her mother describes, "She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to

In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the two main characters, Maggie and Dee, are sisters who are very opposite to each other. Throughout the story, the girl’s differences become evident through their physical appearances, personalities, lifestyle decisions, and the way they feel about their heritage.

The way the burning house, her stuck-up sister, and society influenced Maggie make her unique in relation to others. Maggie was so damaged from her home burning down that she turned into a meek and undervalued young lady. Maggie is so unsure that her mother says she walks like a dog run over by a car: “chin on chest eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house on the ground.” This demonstrates that Maggie absence of self-confidence make her frightened to look. She imagines that on the off chance that she can’t see the individuals around her, then they can’t see her. What’s more, Maggie’s discernible scars have impacted on the way she conducts herself. As indicated by Mama, when she was pulling Maggie out of the fire, her arms were adhering, “her hair was smoking, and her dress was tumbling off her in minimal dark papery pieces.” This is huge light of the fact that indicates how much the flame really physically scarred her. This additionally clarifies why she is so apprehensive about individuals seeing her. Maggie’s apparent compressed version of confirmation in herself is created basically by the fire. The barbaric way Maggie’s sister, Dee, presents herself awful impact on Maggie’s certainly. At this point when Dee inquired as to whether she can have some unique quilts and Mama says no on the grounds that she

Tennessee Williams is regarded as a pioneering playwright of American theatre. Through his plays, Williams addresses important issues that no other writers of his time were willing to discuss, including addiction, substance abuse, and mental illness. Recurring themes in William’s works include the dysfunctional family, obsessive and absent mothers and fathers, and emotionally damaged women. These characters were inspired by his experiences with his own family. These characters appear repeatedly in his works with their own recurring themes. Through The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams presents the similar thematic elements of illusion, escape, and fragility between the two plays, proving that although similar, the themes within these plays are not simply recycled, as the differences in their respective texts highlight the differences of the human condition.

Walker's shallow perception of beauty changed following a tragic accident when she was eight. Her brother shot her

She shows herself as cowardly when she was reeling after the accident, “For six years I do not stare at anyone, because I do not raise my head.”(444), she says, portraying her disgust for herself. Walker utilizes the tone of her writing to manipulate the progression of her attitude shift. For instance, in the stages soon after the accident she uses a very morbid and pessimistic tone to describe the events that are transpiring at that juncture of her life. Stating, “I do not pray for sight. I pray for beauty.”(445), proving that even though this accident has occurred she has still remained very resistant to a change in attitude. She also couples detail to multiply the effect that these strategies have on the reader because when she describes these events, the details she uses reflects the tone, so it visibly transmits the idea of her attitude at that phase, which would be much harder to achieve without these rhetorical techniques used appropriately. The dialogue also plays into this idea as well as it also reflects the current mood of the stage. For example, when she was still very young she used very flattering words as dialogue to complement the tone where she thought beauty was everything and being most beautiful was most important. “That girl’s a little mess.”(442), “And got so much sense!”(442), people bombard

In Alice Walker's “Everyday Use” she uses a tactic to set a mood for the reader by bringing in the character Maggie. Walker's use of language when describing Maggie creates a picture of a physically scarred and unintelligent girl. Maggie's physical scarring is pointed out

It is crucial to first fully understand the character Maggie in “Everyday Use” and “Recitatif.” This will help the readers have knowledge of the characters so that they will have a first-hand grasp on the physical similarities of these characters. In both stories, Maggie is described as having a physical deformity. In “Everyday Use,” Maggie is described as having “burn scars down her arms and legs” (Walker 315). Mama still remembers how she carries out Maggie, badly burned out of their previous house. When Maggie showed herself wearing the pink skirt and red blouse later in the story, she is described by Mama as a “lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks” (Walker 316). The reader becomes aware that she

Often siblings are brought up in the same environment and turn out completely different. This is the case in Alice Walkers, “Everyday Use”. Although two sisters, Maggie and Dee, are raised by the same woman and in the same home, their similarities end here. Both are different in their appearance, personalities, and ideas about family heritage. Each having opposing views on value and worth of the various items in their lives. Walker uses this conflict to make the point that the use of an object and of people, is more important than style.

Another social difference Walker uses to illustrate a disconnection within the family is education. Mama only has second-grade education due to her school burning down and never getting rebuilt. Mama explains how Maggie has a hard time reading and “knows

Maggie lives with her older sister, Dee and mother. Living with her sister is a struggle within its self. Walker writes in the second paragraph of the story on page 120 that, “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe.” This description proves that Maggie is embarrassed and ashamed of the burn scars that line her arms and legs. This explanation also expresses Maggie’s feelings towards her sister—she is envious of her. On page 121 of the text Maggie says, “How do I look, Mama?”, while half of her body is hidden behind the door as she peeks out. This action shows that Maggie is shy and doesn’t have enough confidence to expose her entire body. In a later part of the story, Walker writes, “He moves to hug Maggie but she falls back, right up against the back of my chair. I feel her trembling there and when I look up I see the perspiration falling off her chin.” This phrase gives a description of how Maggie acts when she is around other people. She shuffles while walking, and she is very shy around other people. Although we can’t completely blame her lack of confidence on the fact that she was burned severely in a house fire causing her skin to scar, but we can give