T Matter example essay topic

Analysis on the character Amanda Wingfield of the play: The Glass Menagerie: Tennessee Williams wrote The Glass Menagerie, in 1945. It was a very successful play. It is included on the seventh edition Literature, reading and writing the human experience. It was edited by Richard Abaca rian, Martin Klotz with Peter Richardson; published by St. Martin's Press, Inc. In this play, Amanda Wingfield, portrait herself as a dominant, controlling woman with a need to force her children into doing whatever she wanted by saying annoying things in embellishing words. I can t say that she was evil, but that's the way her children, Tom and Laura think she was.

A manipulating woman who didn t let them think for themselves. She is the kind of person that could drive you crazy with her manias and obsessions. This manias certainly make Amanda's character more interesting, she could turn none-important things into issues. This way she let her children know what she expected of them.

For example: Amanda: Comb your hair! You look so pretty when your hair is combed! There is only one respect in which I would like you to emulate your father. Tom: What respect is that? Amanda: The care he always took on his appearance. He never allowed himself to look untidy (page 229) She also makes her obsessions very clear and she makes sure that they became a reality.

She is very persistent and will not stop until she sees accomplished whatever she wants. This is presented very clearly when she came up with the idea of getting a gentleman caller for Laura. She persevere on persuading Tom into getting his sister a gentleman caller by let it him know that this was the only way he could be free to do whatever he wanted to do in his life. She made it clear for him that until then, his responsibility was to take care of his sister. This tell us that Amanda thinks that woman are dependant, and even tough this characteristic is irritating to us she is trying to get the best things for her children the best way she knows how. For example: Amanda: I mean as soon as Laura has got somebody to take care of her, married, a home of her own, independent- why, then you ll be free to go wherever you please, on land, on sea, whichever way the wind blows!

But until that time you ve got to look out for your sister. I don t say because I m old and don t matter! I say for your sister because she is young and dependent Amanda: Down at the warehouse, aren't there some-nice young men? There must be- some. For sister! To meet!

Get acquainted! Will you? Will you? Will you, dear? (Pages 227 – 228) Even tough she wanted the best for her children; she came too far with that idea. She took their identities away.

She robbed them of their youth. She made them do every little thing that she wanted, it came up to the point that she was cruel. She was a well-known person. Involved in an exclusive society of woman, whose ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, (D.A. R) Her appearance was very important to her. Not physical appearance, but presence, she gave a lot of importance to other people's opinion.

She would exaggerate everything. To the point that she didn t attend to a Daughters of the American Revolution meeting because she didn t wanted those people to know that her 23 year old daughter wasn t attending to the Republican's Business College and didn t have a job and wort of all, wasn t married. This was a terrible tragedy to her, she became hysteric didn t deal with the situation properly. She believed that Laura and Tom wasn t going to achieve anything out of life. She couldn t understand that her son's happiness wasn t in a warehouse and didn t accept the fact that her daughter was crippled and unusual. She didn t like to face the facts.

She made her mind very clear about that Tom: Laura seems all those things to you and me because she's ours and we love her. We don t even notice she's crippled any more. Amanda: Don t say crippled! You know I don t allow that word to be used! Tom: But face the facts, Mother.

She is and that's not all- She is very different from other girls. Amanda: I think the difference is all to her advantage. Tom: Not quite all, in the eyes of strangers, she's terribly shy and lives in a world of her own and those things make her seem a little peculiar to people outside the house. Amanda: Don t say peculiar (Page 234) Somewhere almost at the end of the play she admits with certain pain and shame that she can t hide the fact that no matter what she do, it was something that wasn t going to disappear because it was a concrete reality. A reality that she uses to make her son feel guilty about their living situations; Using their unpleasant lives to get into his mind and made him feel sorry for them, manipulating him into doing what she wants. Amanda: That's right, now that you ve had us make such fools of ourselves.

The effort, the preparations, all the expense! The new floor lamp, the rug, the clothes for Laura! All for what? To entertain some other girl's fianc! Go, to the movies, go! Don t think about us, a mother deserted, an unmarried sister who's crippled and has no job!

Don t let anything interfere with your selfish pleasure! Just go, go, go to the movies! (Page 259) In the play, The Glass Menagerie, Amanda Wingfield, keeps the story interesting. She is the one who moves the other characters like puppets. A single mother who is trying to make something out of her children's lives by persuading them and manipulating their every move. She is the kind of person that always wants to get away with everything.

This things make her character annoying, dominant, obsessive and cruel. She makes a big deal of everything and she likes to make a big fuss over little things. If she notices that she still isn t getting what she wants she will transform herself into a hysteric, shouting machine who will start saying every little thing that pops up in her mind, no matter if it is cruel or not, in order to manipulate your thoughts and making you do whatever she wants. That's what make us hate her but love the play.