Some critics say that Amanda (from The Glass Menagerie) is trying to relive her youth. How far do you agree with this comment?
Elaine Cox. Revision Essay Questions. Some critics say that Amanda is trying to relive her youth. How far do you agree with this comment? After reading The Glass Menagerie I would tend to agree with this comment for a number of reasons that I shall discuss in this essay, but do not agree with it completely, and feel there are a number of significant reasons as to why Amanda behaves in the way she does, and I plan to discuss this too. To begin with, throughout the play, Amanda constantly talks about the abundance of gentlemen callers she used to receive in her youth. This annoys her son and, I would suggest, embarrasses her daughter who has never has a gentleman caller. I do not think she talks about these men in order to bring out these feelings in her children, and may indeed be as a way of 'returning to' her youth by remembering the way she acted in her past. However, it seems strange to me that, just because she does reminisce her past, we should conclude that she is desperate to return to youth. I would argue that everyone thinks back to the good times in their life, especially if they are having a hard time in their present, as certainly Amanda is doing. I do not agree, therefore, on this fact that she is desperately trying to relive her youth. Indeed, it seems to me that she is simply telling her children the only story she has from her youth. Another argument
A Streetcar Named Desire Analysis of scenes 4, 8, 11:
A Streetcar Named Desire Analysis of scenes 4, 8, 11: A Streetcar Named Desire (both text and film) isn't split up into acts, but instead is a chronological sequence of episodes occurring between the months of May and September. Within these episodes beats a conflict and reconciliation rhythm, involving the win and lose of Stella's love. Scene four begins with a vendor shouting something that sounds similar to Stanley's 'heaven splitting' howl 'STELLLAHHHHH!', subtlety reminding us of the events of the night before. As you can recall, after hitting her, Stanley wins back Stella's love by offering her 'relentless' sex. By connecting the two scenes, Kazan suggests a continuation in character relationships. Therefore, at the start of Scene four, Stanley has possession of Stella's love over Blanche. This is echoed by Stella's response 'You should stop taking it for granted that I am in something I want to get out of' to Blanche when she proposes an 'escape' from Stanley's apartment. Kazan fuels further evidence to this argument by having Stella staged in between Stanley and Blanche at the end of Scene four. Intentionally, the camera dwells on Stella's expression as she shuns Blanche's grasping plea, and lovingly embraces her 'gaudy seed-bearer' Stanley. Nonetheless, Stella affection for Stanley is only momentarily. Her sympathy and thus her love is passed onto Blanche,
Tennessee Williams' main concern is to show that in this world escape is impossible. Is this a fair comment on the play, ' The Glass Menagerie'?
Tennessee Williams' main concern is to show that in this world escape is impossible. Is this a fair comment on the play, ' The Glass Menagerie'? The main theme in 'The Glass Menagerie' is escapism. It is a dominant motif, revealed through characters expression and plot. In, 'The Glass Menagerie,' many of the characters do not manage to efficiently escape life of the Wingfield apartment, consequently the statement of escape being impossible, is a just statement. The incapability to 'escape' from their microcosm is visible throughout the scenes. The father, Mr Wingfield, shows our first sense of escapism. A blown up picture of him still hangs on the Wingfield apartments' living room wall. Sixteen years after he had left. His symbolism associates with Tom, because the photograph can be a persistent reminder to Tom. Mr Wingfield got away, leaving Tom to fill his shoes, and to act as the 'stable father' in the Wingfield family. What Tom desires is; adventure and a career, by keeping Tom at the factory, he is contributing to his deprivation of his dreams and ambition. I think the picture of the father can show the potentiality of escaping the world of poverty, the symbol of the 'American Dream,' it is just a choice of when and how to escape. In Scene 3, Tom and Amanda are arguing about Toms' frequent trips to the cinema. The movies are Tom's escape from his everyday
The duality of the ever-dreamy Tom Wingfield.
The duality of the ever-dreamy Tom Wingfield. The faded southern belle who could not face the fact that her prime time is up. The shyly old-fashioned and fragile Laura Wingfield. How could Tennessee Williams daringly put these mixtures of personalities under one roof as a lower-middle class American family who lacked a father figure? All three characters are clearly described as characters who 'manufacture illusions' that, in the end, are finally destroyed by reality; thus how can it be possible for all three to live together as responsible family members? In Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie", it is all about the distortion of reality and the struggle between differentiating reality and appearance. Williams almost unrealistically and literally 'distorted reality' itself as he mixed the impossible Amanda, Tom and Laura Wingfield into one batter of bittersweet yet fragile family dependence and responsibility, whereupon Amanda acts as the second provider of the family and the one who ensures her children's success, Tom being responsible as the father-figure replacement in the family and Laura as the dependent character who is only responsible for minor domestic issues. Amanda Wingfield is a character of utmost complexity. Amanda, as had been explained by Williams himself, "is not paranoiac but her life is paranoia." A faded southern belle who had a traditional southern
Global organisation Laura Ashley Holdings plc has suffered differing fortunes since it was founded in the 1950s by Bernard and Laura Ashley.
Laura Ashley Global organisation Laura Ashley Holdings plc has suffered differing fortunes since it was founded in the 1950s by Bernard and Laura Ashley. It has been involved in the designing, manufacturing, distribution and selling of garments, accessories, perfume, gift items, fabric, wallcoverings, bedding, lighting, and furniture. Famed for its floral prints, the chain was highly successful during the early and mid 1980s but things changed in the early 1990s when various management and structural problems as well as those relating to growth, distribution, and various external influences such as global recession surfaced Laura Ashley herself died in 1985. There is a notable difference in the organisation up to and after this year. Up to 1985, it was a simply structured, steadily expanding organisation operating in a non-complex environment (complexity arises when there are numerous complicated environmental influences [Johnson and Scholes, 1989]). In the months and years after, many changes took place. Laura Ashley went public in flotation, acquired other companies involved in areas such as knitwear and perfume, made heavier investments in manufacturing and information technology (IT), moved towards segmentation with Mother and Child shops, exclusively home furnishing shops and unit shops (franchise operations). The organisation moved gradually away from vertical
How does Wilkie Collins develop Marian Halcombe compared to Count Fosco in 'The Woman in White'?
How does Wilkie Collins develop Marian Halcombe compared to Count Fosco in `The Woman in White'? In `The Woman in White' Wilkie Collins created some very memorable characters. In fact they have been so successful that they have been used by other authors, such as the book Dark Clue by James Wilson which included Marian Halcombe and Walter Hartwright. Therefore I have decided to explore how Wilkie Collins develops Marian Halcombe to see how he is able to create such a well made character. The point of view from which a story is told can greatly influence the way in which readers perceive the characters within the novel. If the narrator of the story is neutral and plays no major role in the plot, then the narration is likely to be objective, and reader response to the characters will depend on unbiased information provided by the narrator. On the other hand, if the story is narrated by a major character of the novel that is not neutral, then the readers are likely to adopt the general outlook of the narrator, and inherit the narrator's views and prejudices. Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins is told from multiple viewpoints, in the form of written documentation. The perception of the main characters in the novel, Marian and Fosco in particular, is influenced by the different and sometimes conflicting insights offered by the different narrators. The first
Which characters do you think Tennessee Williams feels closest to in his play? Do his feelings coincide with yours?
Which characters do you think Tennessee Williams feels closest to in his play? Do his feelings coincide with yours? Elia Kazan once said of Tennessee Williams that 'Everything in his life is in his plays, and everything in his plays is in his life.' This statement could not possibly be more correct as every main character in 'A Street Car Named Desire' whether it is their situation, physical description or personality traits can be linked to somebody who had played a role in Williams' life. Firstly, the relationship between Stella and Stanley reflects that of Williams' own parents. His family life was wracked with violent arguments and a tense atmosphere, which is clearly displayed in the play by Mr and Mrs Kowalski. Stella's attitude towards her marriage can be compared to that of Williams' own mother Edwina. Stella says of Stanley's violent behaviour that 'people have got to tolerate each other's habits', I feel that Williams depicted his own mother when creating Stella as he and his sister Rose often encouraged his mother to leave their abusive father but she was adamant to stay. It could be also said that the relationship between Stella and her sister Blanche is like the one Williams had with his sister Rose. Blanche is obviously mentally unbalanced and requires constant care and attention from Stella, however she is mortified when Blanche is committed to the asylum
High Fidelity This film is built around different top 5 lists. The protagonist Rob Gordon (John Cusack) lets us into his life and through his depression
High Fidelity This film is built around different top 5 lists. The protagonist Rob Gordon (John Cusack) lets us into his life and through his depression and self-analysis he describes us his top 5 all time break up list, throughout the film. Stephen Frears uses a wide range of narrative techniques to make the film have a more entertaining yet poignant look at breaking up. Frears uses a non-linear narrative to lay out the film so we can gain different information as the films goes on. When the film begins we start at the middle; this is the day when he and Laura (Iben Hjelle) first break up. Then eventually as his depression and self-analysis develops, flashbacks are used and we go to the beginning. This is where he begins to show us the start of his top 5 all time break up list. The film soon jumps back to where it left off and as Rob continues to describe his thoughts and feelings as he begins to show us more and more about his life. Frears uses a restrictive narrative so we don't have any more knowledge about the break ups than Rob. This also gives Rob power over us because we will only know what he shows us. Frears also uses little cause and effect narrative in his film, he does this when Rob thinks about his top 5 break up list (cause) and then when he actually goes to visit the girls some time after (effect). During the middle he goes into more self-analysis
Anger oh yes! And envy, yes! But not hate. I think hate is a thing, a feeling that can only exist where there is no understanding said TennesseeWilliams of his work. Do you find any hate in the street car named desire?
Anger oh yes! And envy, yes! But not hate. I think hate is a thing, a feeling that can only exist where there is no understanding said Tennessee Williams of his work. Do you find any hate in the street car named desire? The street car named desire is a play based upon anger rather then hatred. The anger starts off with Stanly when he see's the unexpected arrival of his sister-in-law Blanche. From that point on his mind is filled with curiosity & he begins to get extremely suspicious of the sudden arrival. Stanly is a loud mouthed, opinionated, sexist, aggressive and animalistic- all overriding characteristics of Stanly Kowalski the man who in no small part is responsible for the dramatic collapse of Blanche. Due to anger of her behavior and fake mask that she is wearing he does not agree in the dream world that she lives in constantly. On first impression there is very little reason for the audience to feel sympathetic towards Stanley, but in my opinion it is unfair to hate Stanley for actions and characteristics that he has little or no control over. Stanley's actions are largely motivated by his wish to protect his wife and unborn baby, surely a natural reaction for which he should not be judged so harshly. Stanley sees Blanche as a threat, an invasion of territory, something that needs to be dealt with. In my opinion Stanly has nothing personal against Blanche,
How much sympathy do we feel for Blanche in the opening scenes of the play and why is this?
Kat Budd How much sympathy do we feel for Blanche in the opening scenes of the play and why is this? In what way do the stage directions contribute to our understanding of her character? Blanche's first appearance in the play is in the first scene, at the train station. The stage directions imply that she is daintily dressed, in "a white suit with a fluffy bodice". She appears very fragile and delicate, though not necessarily vulnerable. Even though we have only known the character of Blanche for a very short time, we already feel that there is something suspicious about her nature and behaviour. The line "her delicate beauty must avoid strong light" suggests something shadowy about her past, and the direct comparison with a moth makes her sound fluttery and instable. Blanche's speech near the beginning of the play does not make the reader feel empathy or sympathy for her, though perhaps pity. Her desperation to attract men is revealed in her trying conversation with the other characters. In the first scene, when Blanche in talking to Eunice, the stage direction "with faintly hysterical humour", gives her the deceitful air of trying to appear naïve and innocent as she describes where she is going. Even in the first scene she already seems an irritating type of person, though her constant effort to be liked and attractive means the audience does feel some pity for her.
