Laura Vs Amanda

The characters that come alive in Williams' works represent people from his life. Amanda Wingfield from The Glass Menagerie holds strong resemblance to Tennessee's mother Edwina Williams. Williams described his mother as "a woman whose endurance and once fine qualities continued to flourished alongside a narrowness of perception and only the dimmest awareness of human feeling (Susquehanna. "Biographical Criticism)." Amanda easily mirrors this description of Edwina because of her selfishness concerning Laura's being unattached; Edwina was much like Amanda, getting numerous gentlemen callers as a young woman. Laura Windfield in The Glass Menagerie is very much like Williams' sister Rose Williams. Rose was institutionalized for having schizophrenia and was not able to interact with the outside world. Having pleurisy, Laura was also kept from being a part of the world she longed for. By using examples of people from his own life in

The moment she got trampled under the stomps and shoves of others, one could identify what she’d been feeling like previously - a witness to her own inconvenience. This incident not only exemplifies but also symbolizes the burden she feels having been born handicapped, unable to provide assistance or gain to the world. These feelings Adahs has for her life are later rebutted by her longstanding dreams of attending medical school and improving science. By achieving her academic potential, she finally recognized herself as an important asset to the world- no longer being seen as handicapped, physically or mentally.

Children born with disabilities have to learn to adapt to the fast paced world. Doodle, a young boy born in a caul, uses determination to try and be a normal kid. Ally, a young girl living with a vision impairment, uses determination to accomplish everyday tasks for kids of her age. These children learn what they can do, then push themselves to go farther, whether for the good or bad. Both Ally in “You Need to Go Upstairs” by Rumer Godden and Doodle in “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst show that determination is a useful tool, but too much can harm a person.

The glass menagerie symbolizes Amanda Wingfield's overwhelming need to cling to her past and her fulfilled fear of being alone.  Amanda resents the poverty-stricken neighborhood in which she lives so

In the book "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes" more than just one character figured out how to stand up for them selves, but I think that Sarah Byrnes was the character that stood up for herself the most. Sarah Byrnes had to go through alot in her life, like being burned by her dad, her mom leavung her and being called "Scar face" all the time. All of the tough times in her life made her start to think that if she stayed tough no one would mess with her and that she would not let things get to her. Sarah Byrnes had to stand up for her self alot in the book, she stood up for her self in CAT class when Brittian sayed that his and Sarah's life are both equal, also when she found her mom in Reno and had to tell her mom that she was a lier and that

Cassie proves her courage by standing up for her brother in school with the books. She also fought her Rival, Lillian Jean. She stands up for herself at the store by wanting to go before the whites.

Disabilities within the characters of “The Life You Save May be Your Own” by Flanner O’Connor

In these two life descriptions dealing with their disabilities, “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs and “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self” by Alice Walker, they both have had some similar difficulties, but each one handled their disability differently.

The Glass Menagerie symbolizes Laura. Tom really cares about his sister Laura. He is motivated by anger. Tom goes out to drink and watch movies just to get

In “Kylie’s Project” Kylie a disabled 12 year old girl, shows how she overcomes and copes with her disability, and the misunderstanding surrounding her disability. For example, in the text it says “You know, Kylie, I thought you still rode in a ring with a trainer next to you. How does it feel to be out there on your own? ‘ KYLIE (smiling): ‘Amazing. It’s only temporary, but I feel so free. I can go places I could never go in my chair, like this path through the woods’.” This

Laura is a woman who is constantly reliant on others telling her what to do because she is too reserved and shy to make any decision on her own. In his play The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams writes Laura saying, "It isn't a flood, it's not a tornado, Mother I'm just not popular like you were... Mother's afraid I'm going to be an old maid," (pg.754). This quote demonstrates Laura’s lack of self-confidence which causes not only herself to be concerned, but also the people around her. This confidence issue that Laura has is important because it shows how as a character, she has no drive or courage thereby preventing her from pursuing dreams or opportunities within her life.

In this quote, it becomes evident that Amanda is in denial of Laura’s popularity (or lack thereof) with “gentleman callers”, thus solidifying the concept that Amanda is in denial of the state of her family. She instead chooses to endlessly relive her youth as a southern belle, but this time, through Laura.

Laura Wingfield has chosen to hide from reality in the play The Glass Menagerie. She seems to live in a world of her own, and hides from everything and everyone outside of the apartment. Laura is terrified of anything new or different. Her mother sent her to business college, but Laura was so afraid that ‘The first time [they] gave a speed-test, she broke down completely – was sick at the stomach and almost had to be carried into the wash –room.’ (p 243). Laura uses her limp as an excuse to hide from the world. She believes that her slight limp makes her crippled and that she cannot be a part of the real world because of it. Laura’s glass menagerie and the victrola act as things which protect her from the real world in the play. Whenever she is

            Laura appears to be the most important character in the play, perhaps the main character intended by Williams.  Although she also engages in a world of illusion, hers is much different then Amanda's.  She has no pretenses, no real faults to speak of.  She is who

Since she has a disability, Laura finds it hard to communicate with the outside world around her and secludes herself within her fantasies that center on her animal figurines and musical demos. While scolding her daughter for quitting business school, Amanda exclaims to Laura: “So what are we going to do the rest of our lives? Stay home and watch parades go by? Amuse ourselves with the glass menagerie, darling? Eternally play those worn-out phonograph records your father left as a painful reminder of him” (Williams 1637). Laura receives harsh