Discuss one symbol of your choice. What does this symbol represent, and what theme for the work does it support? Please use an example or paraphrased quote to support your answer. 100 words-
Then, respond to another's post. Do you agree or disagree? 50 words-
All is due by Friday!!!!! Happy Holidays!! Merry Christmas!! Falalalalalalalalala.- 50 points
I think the glass unicorn from the glass menagerie is an example of symbolism. I think when O'Conner knocks it off and the horn breaks it symbolizes what Laura wants him to help her do. To because like the rest. Laura is ashamed of her limp but O'Conner tells her it's hardly noticeable, that he sees her as normal. She gives him the now-horse used to be unicorn, symbolizing her letting go of her dream to be "normal". This symbol supports the theme of change being difficult for most people. Laura can not change her opinion of herself. Merry Christmas!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. I think the glass unicorn is so important to this idea. I do find it rather sad that Laura in this place of self-pity, but I do agree that she cannot change her opinion of herself. I had not thought of Laura giving O'Conner the unicorn-now-horse glass figurine as symbolic of her dream being given up, and I'm glad you pointed it out. I do enjoy the idea of O'Conner seeing past her imperfections and helping her to see that she is not less than anyone else.
DeleteI agree with you MacKenzie. As evident by my comment that I made. But I do disagree with one thing and that is that I believe that Laura could change if she found someone that made her forget the disability, her shyness, and her past. She can't change right now because she has no reason to. When she was with O'Conner she was able to forget all the things affecting her. Until she was told that all that talk was for nothing. After she was told that she went back into her own little world.
DeleteI believe Laura's limp in The Glass Menagerie to be symbolic of uniqueness and pity as subjects to the play. Laura's being constantly reminded of her limp by her mother represents the idea of parents, in general, sometimes "babying" their children to so much of a point that it affects their psychological health and social skills. Even Tom is dragged into to this unnecessary pity for her, saying, "But she's crippled." towards the end of the play. These examples support the theme that children that are told that they are to be treated differently from the beginning of their lives are likely to believe it as truth.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying with this idea. Children can be manipulated into thinking something is different about them, and so they "have" to be treated differently. With Amanda always coddling her with the constant reminder of her walking disability, Laura develops a mental limitation on herself. She gets the idea that her limp sets her back much farther in life than it really does, with herself being the real obstacle to overcome.
DeleteI never really thought of her limp as a symbol. Now that you have pointed it out thought I completely understand. Her mom has always treated her differently because of her limp when she really should've been telling her that it is okay to have a limp and to be different even if it is something that some people wouldn't think is a positive trait such as a limp.
DeleteIn the glass menagerie, I think the fire place is a part of symbolism. It's meaning is an escape from the dysfunctional Wingfield house.During The Glass Menagerie, Tom occasionally steps out for a smoke; it shows his decision to eventually leave and go on his own. In the part when Laura slips on the fire escape, that shows her inability to leave from the situation. The theme that the fireplace supports is the fact that there is always a way out. While you can take the way out, it can be difficult and also seem impossible. In this case Tom was bold enough to take the way out and Laura was still stuck in what seems a somewhat endless trap for her case.
ReplyDeleteThat's true! I never thought of the fire escape as one! I also think along witht the fire escape being a sence of escape for tom I think the Paradise Dance Hall is as well. I think the fire escape sybolises Toms want to leave but the Dance Hall symbolizes all that Tom and Laura are missing out on because their mother keeps them on such right reigns.
DeleteI think "Blue Roses," Laura's nickname given to her by O'Conner in high school, is a creative symbol. The name describes an unusual yet special kind of beauty Laura has. She, at first, seems odd and a little strange when you first meet her. Once you get to know her, though, she's sweet and caring and a great lady. Once O'Conner got her to overcome her blue (awkward) qualities, she was able to show her true rosy beauty. I think the name also portrays how delicate Laura is, and how if she isn't treated with gentle care she will wither and easily discouraged. I feel O'Conner realized that after their kiss and felt obligated to try and let her down as easy as he could with him being engaged.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, the nickname "Blue Roses" symbolizes Laura's awkward personality until you get to know her and understand her more. This also happens when we meet people sometimes, we're too worried about their outward personality instead of getting to know the people for who they really are inside.
DeleteI think the music during times of reflection and memories is a large symbol use many times throughout The Glass Menagerie. At then end when Tom is remembering his mother and sister you can hear the music. The music also comes up when Amanda speaks of the old south she remembers. I think the music is a symbol for Tom's regret and Amanda's longing for the past and the way things were. Amanda is stuck in the past, so I don't think the music is a necessarily positive symbol because since she is stuck it holds her children back. The music also isn't a positive symbol for Tom because he regrets leaving his sister behind with their mother.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. The music sets the tone of what's going on in their lives. Just by listening to the music you can tell what the mood of the scene is supposed to be. It helps you understand how much emotion there really is between the characters.
DeleteI think that the candlestick from the dinner scene in the Glass Menagerie is a great example of symbolism. At the dinner scene it brings light to the room when there is none. And even though it's all bent up and melted it still works just fine. Kind of like Laura herself. And in the last scene of the play when Tom is reflecting upon his family and he tells Laura to "Blow out her candles" I believe that is a way of him saying 'move on' from him and from their mother. It also closes the play with the darkening of light when she blows them out I think that is a way of saying that Tom can finally say good bye because they are no longer there.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this. Especially with the comparison of the candlestick to Laura. No matter the way her mother raised her and how she messed up her she still is a beautiful person and works just fine. The candlestick is a great use of symbolism because it portrays Laura so well.
DeleteI would agree. I thought about that as a symbol a little, but didn't give it too much thought. It not only represents Laura and her uniqueness, but also the family's all together dysfunction and uniqueness. The thunder could also be symbolic for the bad things about to come, like Jim already having a girlfriend, and Tom leaving.
DeleteI think that a good symbol in the story is the broken unicorn. It symbolized people's deficiencies. Whenever the unicorn had its horn it was different than all the other horses. When the horn broke it became normal.
ReplyDeleteIt also symbolized Laura coming out of her "shell." O'Conner was able to make her forget that she was shy by making her dance. This broke the unicorn.
Another symbol it could be used for is O'Conner always being able to remember Laura because he's the one that made her feel like a normal person.
I agree in a way Devon. But I also feel like the unicorn stood for how rare and unique Laura was and the other horses represented society and the need for every person to conform to others idea of normality. It is easy to see that Laura is different, but is that necessarily a wrong? O'Connor did help her feel normal, and she did feel she was different, but the reason she felt that was because she felt her limp was way wore than it was and had a crazy mother to blow the reality of life out of proportion. All in all I feel sympathy for Laura because born herself into another family she would not of felt like a unicorn.
DeleteA good use of symbolism in The Glass Menagerie is Laura's glass unicorn. It's small and fragile just like Laura. The unicorns horn is what keeps it from being like all the other glass horses. The unicorn symbolizes Laura, and its horn represents her limp; which in her mind separates her from everyone else.
ReplyDeleteThe scene where Mr. O'Conner hits the table and knocks the unicorn to the ground, breaking off it's horn, shows that no matter how different something/someone is from everything else, it doesnt take much to change it.
I agree, Laura is so skittish and everyone but Mr. O'Connor thinks she's fragile. But Mr. O'Connor helps her feel more confident about herself and she doesn't feel as different. The when Mr. O'Connor and Laura bump into the table and the unicorn breaks it shows that everything can change.
DeleteI believe that the Unicorn is a symbol for Laura's child in herself. She sees these menageries as toys and things of her childhood. When Jim breaks the unicorn I feel like that is a part when Laura starts to change. When she's with Jim she no longer sees herself as a child, insecure and shy person she feels like an adult. When he breaks it it's like he is making her more adult, and less childlike. When she was growing up her mother treated her like a child, and acted like she was so much different then everyone else. When the unicorn breaks she kinda realizes that she can be like everyone else just like the unicorn can be like the horses without his horn.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I had not made that connection, about her childhood. She never really had a chance to mature and grow because of her over bearing mother
DeleteThe unicorn from the Glass Menagerie is very symbolic I think. It's different like Laura and she treasures the Glass unicorn. Mr. O'Connor helps Laura come out of her shell and helps her realize that just because she has limp, it's not the limp that limits her it's herself thinking she is so different but in reality she is normal. And then the unicorn gets broken and its horn falls off making it a normal horse. It helps show that everyone is the same even if you are different, you are what are limits yourself.
ReplyDeleteThe glass unicorn that Laura gives Jim is a very important symbol to this story. It represents Laura because it's different from the other horses. She is different from other people because she has a slight limp that she is overly self-conscious of. When the unicorn's horn is broken off, Laura says, "now it's just like all of the other horses." Jim says she is making her limp a bigger deal then it is. She realizes that when she looks past her slight limp she is just like everyone else, much like the glass unicorn without it's horn. This helps support a theme that everyone is different for the simple fact that if everyone did not have at least one different thing about themselves, everyone would be just the same.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this, but I'm sadden that Laura doesn't react in much dismay over the unicorn breaking. It was her favorite only because it was different. It was special. I wish Laura would accept that she is special and not want to change just so that she can fit in and be a boring, ol' horse.
DeleteMy symbol of choice for the Glass Menagerie would be the coffin Tom mentions. During one of Tom and Laura’s rare times alone, Tom entertains Laura with a story of a magic show in which the magician managed to escape from a nailed-up coffin. Clearly, Tom views his family, life, and job as a kind of coffin, suffocating, and one that he feels he does not deserve to be in. The promise of escape, represented by the fire escape outside the apartment, haunts Tom from the beginning of the play, and in the end, he does choose to free himself from the confinement of his life.
ReplyDeleteIn the Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, an often overlooked yet glaringly obvious symbol is the fire escape. It is exactly as it's name implies; an escape. The fire escape is a setting used often in the play, and many times Tom goes out to smoke on it to get away from his mother and their tiny, cramped apartment. When Laura slips on the fire escape, it's almost as if this moment is used to reflect Laura's inability to escape her life and overcome her shyness. This symbol represents the impossibility of true escape used in literature that carries out into our lives.
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