Essay on The Complex Character of Amanda in The Glass...

The Complex Character of Amanda in The Glass Menagerie Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie furnishes an excellent example of a carefully crafted, complex character whose speech and action arise from the psychological being created by the playwright. In his character description, Tennessee Williams starts his reader on the road to discovering Amandas complexity. AMANDA WINGFIELD the mother. A little woman of great but confused vitality clinging frantically to another time and place. Her characterization must be carefully created, not copied from type. She is not paranoiac, but her life is paranoia. There is much to admire in Amanda, and as much to love and pity as there is to laugh at. Certainly she has endurance†¦show more content†¦Her actions often hide her intense love for her children, but it is an important driving force in her motivations. She loves them too well--at times to a point of smothering them (perhaps the reason for the departure of her husband)--which results in her attempt to push them towards all the good things she has known and remembered and away from anything that does not suit her ideal. As Amanda calls Tom to the table in Scene I and comments on manners and habits, we have our first glimpse of Amanda, the mother. She corrects actions much as mothers have done throughout time in accordance with her own sense of importance. Animals have sections in their stomachs which enable them to digest food without mastication, but human beings are supposed to chew their food before they swallow it down. Eat food leisurely, son, and really enjoy it. A well-cooked meal has lots of delicate flavors that have to be held in the mouth for appreciation. So chew your food and give your salivary glands a chance to function. (Williams 783 ll. 57-65) Thus, for Amanda, the variety of dishes to be savored during the elegant leisurely meals of her youth have become synonymous with the status of the leisurely life-style she so fondly remembers. Tom has no concept of dinner in the South so she adapts her correction to digestion hoping he will understand this more physical depiction as opposed to the one that is so vivid for her while lacking in reality for her children. For Amanda mealsShow MoreRelatedConflict Between Reality and Illusion as a Major Theme of ‘the Glass Menagerie’1718 Words   |  7 PagesConflict between reality and illusion as a major theme of ‘The Glass Menagerie’ Introduction The Glass Menagerie is a dramatic play about human nature and the conflict between illusion and reality. An illusion is pretense and not reality. In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams has made use of both reality and illusion together using conflict between them. Illusion is a misinterpretation of the facts. It is an opinion based on what we think is true rather than on what is actually true. In thisRead MoreLiterary Analysis of The Glass Menagerie by Tenessee Williams1462 Words   |  6 PagesThe Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams had ordinary people in an ordinary life that closely resembled the influences of Williams’ personal life while having reoccurring themes and motifs throughout the story. The play has been done by many with some variations in the scripts and setting while still clinging to the basic ideas of the original play. Amanda Wingfield was a complex character that encompassed many facets of her personality. She longed to have the life she had as a girl and youngRead MoreRole of the Characters in The Glass Menagerie Essay653 Words   |  3 Pagesof the Characters in The Glass Menagerie All of the characters in The Glass Menagerie have specific symbols in the play representing themselves. Some of the symbols for Tom are the Merchant Marine and the magician’s nailed coffin, while Amanda’s are the yellow dress and her membership to the Daughters of the American Revolution and some of Laura’s are the unicorn and blue roses. Tennessee Williams play has a simple face but the meanings behind the countless and increasingly complex symbolsRead MoreGlass Menagerie Essay1390 Words   |  6 PagesGlass Menagerie Written Responses Topic: Discuss how a theme is developed in the play through two characters. Provide 3 pieces of evidence to support the theme as it applies to each character. â€Å" The Glass Menagerie †, a memory play by Tennessee Williams, not only depicts the depressing andRead MoreMotherhood in The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun Essay771 Words   |  4 PagesMotherhood in The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun I have read the two plays, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, both of have a big impact on me. The two plays circle around the family values that convey the character of motherhood where mothers have to have a responsibility to raise, to provide their best and to sacrifice for their children. In these two plays, even expressing differently, mothers all show love to their children;Read MoreFacing Reality in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Essay1140 Words   |  5 PagesThe Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams was a confusing, astounding, and wonderful play that takes an in depth look at the complex relationships that develop between members of a family and then presents them for the audiences dissection. How did the characters in the play interact? What were the independent and dependent relationships between the characters? Perhaps most important, how did they cope with one another? That seemed to be the key questio n when looking at The Glass Menagerie. EachRead MoreLiterary Appreciation Essay1347 Words   |  6 Pagesthe major character must face with and hopefully defeat. What behind conflict is want. The author always creates situations where the characters crave something. Laura in The Glass Menagerie is the tragic heroine and so does the woman called Emily in the story of A Rose For Emily. Both of them have external conflicts with their parents, in other words, they are forced to submit to their parents. The difference here is that the conflict between Laura and her mother Amanda is that Amanda wants herRead More Essay on Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie1171 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism in The Glass Menagerie Symbolism plays an integral part in Williams’s play, The Glass Menagerie. Examples of the use of symbolism include the fire escape, as an escape from the family, the phonograph, as an escape from reality, the unicorn, as a symbol for Lauras uniqueness and the father’s photograph, representing something different to each character. Through regonition of these symbols, a greater understanding of the play’s theme is achieved. Throughout the play, Tom WingfieldRead MoreTennessee Williams’S, The Glass Menagerie, Is One Of The1283 Words   |  6 PagesTennessee Williams’s, The Glass Menagerie, is one of the most popular plays of all times and the play that started his success as a playwright. This play explores a dysfunctional family who has been abandoned by the husband/father and struggles to progress in an economically stressed time. The play showcases three extremely complex characters who each have personal struggles in their own lives which furthermore create tensions between each other as a family unit. As a true lover of this play, I hadRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie Individualism Analysis1302 Words   |  6 Pages Individualism is a staple piece of a person’s character not only in a book, but in life as well. Some people pride themselves on their individuality, while others spend their lives working to establish a concrete personality and purpose in life. In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, individualism is a key component in the themes of the story and portrayal of unique characters. With there being only four characters in the play, each of them have to be vibrant, diverse individuals in order