The Glass Menagerie
Abuse that begins during early childhood is very detrimental to the one being abused. The child is just beginning to learn who they are as a person. Children who are abused or made fun of often feel that they are unworthy and have little or no power and that the bullies are superior and have all the power. They often grow into depressed teenagers. In addition, many of the children abused or tormented of lose all hope and become abusers themselves. Sometimes a mental disability is developed. Either way, childhood abuse has a lifetime effect on the personality of the abused. It is very unlikely that anything positive will bloom out of someone being abused or tormented as a child. Laura Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie is a great example of a person who was affected by tormenting. Laura is an extremely shy, sensitive, and self-conscious person by nature. Her shyness is even made worse by her mother's forceful and almost brutal nature (Roberts 30). Laura's mother, Amanda, puts an enormous amount of pressure on her daughter. Amanda definitely wants the best for Laura but she does not understand that her daughter is very different from herself. Amanda constantly tells love stories and tells tales of
As a result of the nagging from his mother and coworkers Tom became a more creative person. The people that poke fun at Tom do not change him in anyway. In fact, it encourages him to rebel even further and he decides not to change a bit, only be himself. Tom begins to go to the movies every night and to drink alcohol to escape reality. Tom realizes that these are only temporary psychological escapes and he must begin to live an adventurous life instead of watch adventure (Roberts 29). Tom begins to write poetry more often and reads many books. When Amanda began to confiscate the books which he had brought home, his life became almost intolerable. Some say that Amanda and the people that bullied him caused Tom to change for the worse and made him more selfish. He left his mother and sister to care for themselves at home and left the house in pursuit of adventure. In reality, Tom's rejection of his family was not a selfish escape. Instead, Tom recognized that he must escape in order to save himself. It was a means of self-preservation. He knew that if he stayed, he would be destroyed as a man and as an artist (Roberts 30). Some people believe that nothing positive can sprout out of abuse or being picked on. One must realize that the only way to defeat mental anguish is to fight against it. As proved with Laura, if one sits back and does not fight against it, the anguish will ultimately lead to despair. On the other hand, with To
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Approximate Word count = 980
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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