argumentative essay on the glass menagerie
What is a good mother? Many people would immediately think of the cheery, bright-eyed, always willing to help her kids type portrayed on television oh so often. If so, then what is a bad mother? Could it be someone like the wicked stepmother in Cinderella? It might be a somewhat less mean spirited person like Peggy Bundy, but then again, even she came through for her children occasionally. Overall, a good mother ought to possess qualities such as caring about what her children want or need, being there for her children when they need a shoulder to cry on but backing off when they want to be left alone, and most of all, she must not superimpose on her children and attempt to use them as tools for any reason. One should realize that children are human beings too, at all ages. Amanda Wingfield possessed none of these qualities. She had her own intentions for her children, and was determined to have her children live these out. To be successful in raising a child, one must always take into consideration what the child itself wants. There is no use in trying to raise a child to be something that it has no intention of being. This is something of a common occurrence, and it is unfortunate how many young dreams are
smashed by parents who want "only the best" for their children. Not every child is destined for fame and fortune. Many may simply wish to lead a happy, mundane life much like Laura. Amanda fails to realize that she is putting Laura through hell with her gentlemen callers and her nagging about the typing class that Laura did not want to attend in the first place. Amanda wants Laura to want what she herself wanted, and although parents raise their children and in that children inherit some of their parents' tendencies, they will not grow up to be exactly as their parents were, no matter how hard a parent may try to make it so. Furthermore, Amanda never even attempts to understand Tom on any level. She simply expects him to conform with all of her wishes. By her logic, since she does not like the fact that he goes to movies, Tom should not go to see movies. If his life were clay for her hands to mold, she would have him home every night, or possibly out looking for "gentleman callers" for Laura to marry. She fails to realize that her children are people too, and in that aspect, she is a failure as a mother. While Amanda was not a mean spirited individual, she failed at all the tasks set out for a mother to face. She did not raise a functional family, she let her son run out of her life, she forced her standards and former way of living on her daughter and worst of all, she manipulated her kids to live through them (or off of them as was the case with Tom). Supposing one read the play thoroughly, it is hard to believe that one could possibly think otherwise of Amanda. She is a self- serving, uncaring woman who needed a good bite of a reality sandwich, which sadly enough, she did not get until it was too late. At times, it may be hard to distinguish when one is truly needed, and when it is appropriate to just leave somebody alone. A good mother ought to be able to realize this eventually and not to pick and persist with obviously annoying demands and questions. When a person is h
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1349
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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