the glass menagerie
Mothers play an important role in people's lives. Yet, mothers are just the same as everyone else. They have their beliefs, morals, opinions, and not to mention their flaws. In the memory play by Tennessee Williams, "The Glass Menagerie," Amanda Wingfield is the mother of Tom and Laura. She is controlling, has very high expectations, and is living in the past. In "Two Kinds," by Amy Tan, the Chinese immigrant woman is mother to Jing-Mei. She is extremely demanding, stubborn, and is stuck in old traditions. Amanda and Jing-Mei's mother are doing what they think is best for their children, but sometimes mother is not always right. Both of these mothers are very similar in some respects, but they also have their differences. One of the traits that Amanda and Jing-mei's mother share is being controlling and demanding. It could be the motherly instinct within these two women that cause them to act this way, but it also hurts the mother-child relationship. From the first scene the controlling behavior in Amanda becomes apparent. She is constantly telling Tom and Laura what to do in an annoying and nagging sort of way. For example, Amanda tells Tom, "Honey don't push with your fingers. If you have to
In "Two Kinds," Jing-mei's mother sets an incredibly high standard for Jing-mei. She expects Jing-mei to become a prodigy. Jing-mei goes to piano practice against her own will and eventually enters a talent show. When Jing-mei does fail, she says, "My mother's expression was what devastated me: a quiet, blank look that said she had lost everything." Jing-mei's mother set an expectation that Jing-mei did not want nor was it achievable. The only thing that was to come of this high standard was an awful feeling for Jing-mei. The feeling of disappointing her mother. The high expectations of a parent can also hurt the relationship between a child and parent. Children hate the thought of disappointing their parents and when parents set high standards that are almost impossible to reach failure and pain for the child is inevitable. Amanda is definitely guilty of setting high expectations for her children. She expects Tom give up his dreams and provide for their family. She tells Tom, "What right have you got to jeopardize your job? Jeopardize the security of us all? How do you think we'd manage..." Amanda expects Tom to take the place of their father who left the family behind. Tom has bigger plans for himself. He is yearning for adventure and desperately wants to get out and live his own life. Eventually, Tom leaves the family and becomes exactly what Amanda dreaded the most, just like her husband. Amanda also has expectations for Laura to become a successful businessperson, but Laura fails and tries to hide the secret. When Amanda does find out Laura explains to her mother, "When you're disappointed, you get that awful suffering look on your face, like the picture of Jesus' mother in the museum! ...I couldn't face it." Laura
Some common words found in the essay are:
Kinds Jing-mei's, Ed Sullivan, Amanda Jing-mei's, Laura Amanda, Amanda Laura, Tom Honey, Fortunately Jing-mei, Eventually Tom, Mother Mothers, Tom Laura, jing-mei's mother, amanda jing-mei's, amanda jing-mei's mother, mother told, prodigy jing-mei, jing-mei mother, jing-mei prodigy jing-mei, jing-mei prodigy, setting expectations children, amanda laura, tells tom, play piano, mother tom, jing-mei mother able,
Approximate Word count = 1182
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
