NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Both Death of a Salesman, and The Glass Menagerie have many things in common. They are both great plays, and both concern dysfunctional families. But there is a deeper similarity to these great literary works. The similarity between the parents.
Due to Willy Loan and Amanda Wingfield's lack of coping skills, as well as their inability to let go or accept their past, their children are ill-equipped to deal with the future. Willy and Amanda are parents who love their children very much. They can't accept the mistakes they " ve made in the past. This inability to deal with the past leaves them living in it. Their children are seldom given the example of how to work for the future. Amanda and Willy don't set goals for their children, they live life one day at a time and never think of what will happen tomorrow.
An example of this is when Willy is fired from his job, and he doesn't try to find a new one, only beg for his old one back because he doesn't know how to start anything new. Due to this, the children face everyday battles just to live a normal life. Willy Loan is the father of two boys, Biff and Happy. Biff is the star in Willy's eyes.
Biff is Willy's chance to make something of himself. He is a star athlete and popular student in school. Biff feels an extreme pressure to be idolized He always tried to show his dad how great he is, although he showed this through ways that were morally wrong, as well as illegal. Biff never learned how to do anything for himself. He always have people helping him with everything. No one realized this would ultimately ruin Biff's life.
Biff doesn't learn how to work hard to take care of himself. Due to Willy's expectations for Biff, Biff feels the need to succeed in everything he does. He often copies homework and tests from his neighbor, and when his neighbor refuses to give Biff the homework it is made into a very large incident. Biff steals to show his father how he could get away with anything (Kaprin, 17).
Biff is allowed to do whatever he wants because of Willy's idolization of him. In his youth, Biff is everything Willy hoped he would be. Willy lives through Biff's life, and when Biff's glory days are over, Willy is lost. He no longer could live through Biff's special life. Biff is no longer unique. He no longer stands out.
Biff was Willy's way to be special. Willy's other son Happy isn't in the spotlight. Willy doesn't pay much attention to Happy. When Biff and Happy are teenagers, Willy is too busy being proud of Biff to even consider Happy (Kaprin 71).
When the boys are in they are in their 30 's, Willy focuses on the past, too mentally ill to think of Happy or his feelings. Happy spends most of his life in the shadow of his brother. Nothing Happy did is ever good enough for Willy and Happy don't truly get to know each other. As shown in the text after Willy's death when Happy is speaking of memories of his father.
Willy's desire to live in the past comes from his loathing of the way his life turned out. Willy always wanted to be special and unique, he wanted to be idolized. He wanted to be smart, great, intelligent, classy, idolized. When Willy never achieved this greatness, he longed to go back in time, so he could redo things.
Of course, this is impossible. So Willy began to live in the past in his mind. Willy also tried to make Biff into everything Willy always wanted to be, yet never was. Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie, has the same parental problems.
However, Williams' novel shows a mother who has trouble leaving her past behind her, and accepting what he children are, and what they will never be. Amanda Wingfield's two children, Laura and Tom have many issues, and are very complex characters. "If there is a signature character type that marks Tennessee Williams's dramatic work, it is undeniably that of the faded Southern belle; Amanda is a clear representative of this type." Amanda fits into the category of a typical William's southern belle. She grew up traditionally, and has endured tough emotional and economical times. Amanda feels like she must always portray the perfect image, of a woman who has the perfect life and that has it all together.
However, Amanda's lack of this forces her to try to make her children perfect, by denying they " re natural flaws. Laura is Amanda's only daughter, she is both physically and emotionally crippled. "Laura is the only character in the play who never does anything to hurt anyone else" Although Laura has experienced many hardships throughout her life, she is not bitter. In fact, she is quite compassionate, forcing the audience to feel sorrow for Laura. She was never given any kind of break in her life, yet she still has a purely kind heart. "Laura contrasts the mood of the Wingfield household, which is one of selfishness and grudging" (Crandell 77). Amanda uses the differences between her and Laura to emphasize how glamorous and special her youth was. Often Amanda shares memories with Laura who hardly had any friends in high school and never felt accepted.
Through Amanda's pushiness to get Laura to speak with her high school crush, Amanda shows how confident she is with men. "Amanda subconsciously continues to put Laura down, to make herself feel better." (Crandell 89) Amanda had many hopes and dreams for herself, and when none of them come true she tried to live through her daughter. Unlike Willy and Biff however, Laura didn't have the mental capability to live up to her mothers expectations. Causing Amanda to brag about her past to make herself feel better. Tom Wingfield is yet another lost soul.
His character plays two parts. A man recollecting on his past and himself within the past. Tom is full of contradictions. On the one hand, he reads literature, writes poetry, and dreams of escape, adventure, and higher things. On the other hand, he seems inextricably bound to the squalid, petty world of the Wingfield household (Martin). Another example of Tom's contradiction, that he truly cares for Amanda and Laura.
An example of his concern for Laura is when he has a heart to heart conversation with her at the end of the play. He tries to help her understand life, and guide her in any way he can. However throughout the play he deserts both her and Amanda, being selfish and not caring if they are worrying or what they are doing. An example of this is his going to the movies every night getting drunk returning home at very late hours. This contradiction comes as a result of Tom never finding his true identity. "Amanda's constant nagging of Tom and her refusal to see Laura for who she really is are certainly reprehensible, but Amanda also reveals a willingness to sacrifice for her loved ones that is in many ways unparalleled in the play" (Colin 14). Although Amanda isn't a selfless mother, she truly does love her children.
She does the best she can do and tries to deal with the situations the best she knows how. Amanda's own insecurities about herself are reflected in the way she treats her children. Her love for them is obvious. She wouldn't nag Tom to be successful in life if she didn't want the best for him, and she wouldn't shelter Laura if she thinks Laura has the capability to be independent and learn things through experience.
Although Willy and Amanda are undoubtedly dysfunctional parents, there is no doubt they do love their children. Yet their insecurities about themselves and the way their own lives turn out, forced them to live in the past and remember their glory days. Whether it may be Willy reminiscing on days when Biff was a football star, or Amanda telling Laura and Tom stories about jonquils, both seem to lack the power to move on from the past. This could be a defense mechanism (Kaprin 2) or just a way to remember their favorite time of their life. The lack of coping skills and the inability to accept the way their lives have turned out makes them try to fulfill a whole in their lives through their children.
Free research essays on topics related to: biff and happy, amanda wingfield, southern belle, glass menagerie, laura and tom
Research essay sample on Laura And Tom Biff And Happy
