Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Spring Break

Over Spring Break '14, I decided that I would build on my paper about The Glass Menagerie. I developed some ideas about how fantasy and abandonment were prominent themes throughout the play and how they pertain to the three main characters: Amanda, Laura, and Tom Wingfield. After I worked on my draft for a couple of days, I tried to recuperate.  I've been really sick for the past couple of weeks. I was in the hospital over the break due to dehydration and flu symptoms. It was the worst. I'm still taking the medication that was prescribed to me over the course of this week and haven't been able to go to work or fully pay attention in class. Last night I had a fever again and tried to get some rest. I'm hoping that this illness will subside and that the weather will become less snowy and a lot more sunny. Over the break, the weather was really nice and I couldn't even enjoy it because of my being ill. But now that I'm back in Petersburg, the weather has been awful. It doesn't feel much like spring at all. Hopefully that will change soon. 

Thursday, March 6, 2014

3/6/2014

Today we had class and we talked about The Glass Menagerie yet again. We are supposed to figure out what it is that we want to right about. I want to try to tackle the theme of fantasy throughout the play which correlates with Sweeney's idea of escape. I think if I intertwine them, I can make the connection between abandonment and fantasy. Most importantly, I can talk about the impact that the Wingfield father's absence pushed each family member into their own fantasies. So far I have written up some idea about both Amanda and Laura:

Amanda Wingfield, the mother of both the narrator and the protagonist, continuously withdraws from reality.She believes that her son is to have a stealthy job to sustain their family since her husband is deceased and she lives vicariously through her daughter Laura while trying to find a well of gentleman caller to take care of the Wingfields.

Laura Wingfield, the daughter of Amanda, constantly shys away from excellence or any sense of normalcy. She attempts to go to business school and drops out unbeknownst to her mother. Wingfield also fantasizes through her 'glass menagerie', specifically from her glass unicorn which is broken by her childhood crush who also breaks her hopes of being with him when he reveals that he is already affianced. 

I think that this is a pretty good place to start. And tonight I hope to analyze the character/narrator Tom as well.