Monday, February 27, 2012

The Glass Menagerie: I Think This One's Been Kept in the House Too Long

"LAURA: Go on, I trust you with him! (Places it in his palm.) There now--you're holding him gently! hold him over the light, he loves the light! You see how the light shines through him?" pg. 1281

So at first, I was sincerely creeped out by Laura. She seemed so delusional that it was almost psychotic. The way she fawned over her glass collection of animals and treated it like it was alive was enough to worry someone, and that combined with her overwhelming shy and introverted personality almost made you think she was crazy. It was also pretty frustrating that she would never face her fears. She quit college as soon as she started. She wouldn't talk to Jim and almost wouldn't even answer the door when he came. She just seemed like a big old quitter who would rather hide up in her room with her glass collection, polishing and polishing like a maniac, not socializing with anyone. But, by the end of the play, I'll admit I began to like her more. I had a little more sympathy for her. Though her handicap may have seemed not that bad to the audience, having a mother like Amanda who was only worried about public appearance and keeping up with the standards of society could certainly make someone feel inadequate if they weren't completely perfect. She had developed a shy personality because she had been made ashamed of who she was, but all she needed was a little coaxing out and as Him found out, she was a truly amazing girl. She had much to offer to anyone who would just take the chance to get to know her. Maybe that works the same way for the audience, or at least for me.

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