Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie - Essay Example I traveled around a great deal †¦ I would have stopped, but I was pursued by something† (VII, 237). That something turns out to be the images and sounds of the sister he left behind. While Tom is now a member of the merchant marine and an accomplished traveler, living out the internal dreams of his youth in a way he had never thought possible, this outward show of personal dream fulfillment is revealed as little more than an illusion of its own. In truth, Tom’s heart remains trapped within the small apartment he shared with his mother and sister. Amanda attempts to live vicariously through her daughter and the future she envisions for her but is constantly disappointed. She indicates girls in her time â€Å"knew how to entertain their gentleman callers. It wasn’t enough for a girl to be possessed of a pretty face and a graceful figure – although I wasn’t slighted in either respect. She also needed to have a nimble wit and a tongue to meet all occasions† (I, 148). She continues to encourage Laura to hold out hopes for a good marriage. This starts with her own recitation of the quality of her suitors, â€Å"My callers were gentlemen – all! Among my callers were some of the most prominent young planters of the Mississippi Delta – planters and sons of planters† (I, 148). Yet this future based on the past will never happen. Laura is the only character permitted to live almost totally removed from the real world through her glass figures and old records. Laura’s habit of escaping backwards into childhood can be traced as she first dropped out of high school because she â€Å"made bad grades on my final examinations† (VII, 219) and then dropped out of business school: â€Å"I couldn’t go back there. I – threw up – on the floor!† (II, 155). She escapes instead into a romanticized world of early childhood. Her options have become

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five - Essay Example The focus on Billy’s self-awareness creates a crucial moment in his character development. This discovery paves the way for Billy to spread the Tralfamadorian gospel on earth. His recognition of the effect of Febs on his psyche demonstrates a great deal of self-awareness. The interaction of Billy and the historian in chapter nine demonstrates the interchangeable nature of history and fiction. Despite his spurious stories of time travel and alien abduction, it is possible that Billy had been a soldier in World War II. My understanding of reality is confused by the things that Billy sees when he visits the bookstore in Times Square. There are books by Kilgore Trout in the store’s window. The books talk about aliens abducting a man. This is the most difficult thing to understand in this novel because I am left to wonder whether it a coincidence that Billy looks at the Trout book before he talks about his experience that is similar to what the book describes. In the last chapter, the novel suggests that a bird-talk makes as much sense as the talk of anyone about war. The problem of dignity returns. Vonnegut talks about the equalizing power of death that brings dignity at high price. He shows how the war has made the idea of climax