The Glass Menagerie

Laura Wingfield is very different from any other girl, she is a 32 year old that still lives with her mother, is not married and has no children. Laura has a physical defect, a limp.  The physical and emotional stress has made Laura live in a world of her own, a world she created.  Laura is the only character within the play that never does anything to hurt others, she displays pure compassion and honesty.  In The Glass Menagerie, Laura Wingfield can be best described as shy, lazy, and modest.

​The first trait of Laura Wingfield is shyness.  Laura lives in a world of her own, a world of little glass ornaments and plays old phonograph records.  An example of Laura shyness would be when Jim O’Connor, her high school crush comes in for dinner.  Laura tells her mother that she will not open the door and will not stay for dinner, however her mother results in finally convincing  her to open the door. When Laura opens the door and O’Connor shakes her hand he notices that her hands are very cold, this possibly being a sign of shyness.  Laura is so nervous that she cannot even attend business school without becoming sick.  "I couldn’t go back.  I threw up on the floor.”  Laura is definitely sensitive in a way that at the slightest social encounter she freaks out.  She does not like being around other people other than her family.  “And everyone was seated before I came in.  I had to walk in front of all those people.  My seat was in the back row.  I had to go clumping all the way up the aisle with everyone watching.”  This suggests  Laura's extreme shyness and also the limping demonstrates how delicate she is.  Amanda, Laura’s mother attempts to get her involved with different people and takes her to a young people's league at a church but Laura speaks to no one  and nobody spoke to her.  When Laura sits on the couch and Jim sits beside her for company, she sits up nervously.  Laura can hardly speak because of the strain of being alone with a stranger.  Although she has feelings for Jim, Laura is unable to enjoy his company because of her shyness, she uses her shyness to avoid reality.  Laura also uses her glass animals as an escape, the glass ornaments represent Laura's fragility, Laura is fragile and delicate as is her glass figurine.

​The second trait of Laura Wingfield is lazy.  Laura in a way is lazy, she does not do much and everything she does is half way done.  Laura does not go to school and did not want to finish either, she started a business class and only went for couple of weeks and later dropped out.  Laura does not work, she stays home all day cleaning her glass collection and listens to records.  Amanda begins to notice how lazy Laura is when she says “I put her in Business College-a dismal failure! Laura was Frightened so it made her sick at the stomach.  Now all she does is fool with those pieces of glass and play those worn-out records.  What kind of life is that for a girl to lead?”  Even Amanda "Laura's mother" admits that her daughter does not do anything.  When Jim O’Connor asks Laura how she spends her time, she responds by saying she does not do alot  “I don't do anything much.  Oh please, don't think I sit around doing nothing!  My glass collection takes up a good deal of time.  Glass is something you have to take good care of.”  emphasizing Laura's  lazyness all she does  is clean her glass collection and uses her limp as an excuse.

​The third trait of Laura Wingfield is diffident.  Laura has a lack of confidence, she is very distinct  from the others around her and she knows it.  She is very different like the unicorn and it shows, Laura is very unsocial and unwilling to do anything that’s going to harm or make her feel uncomfortable. It is not until Jim O’Connor comes to dinner that Laura has confidence, she is willing to open up with Jim.  Laura transforms into a beautiful new girl, Jim made Laura feel secure and built up her confidence.  Jim even tells Laura that there is nothing wrong with being unique.  “I wish you were my sister. I'd teach you confidence in yourself.  The different people are not like other people, but being different is nothing to be ashamed of." Other examples of traits, Jim O’Connor sits on the floor and invites Laura to sit down; she does but sits far away from him.  Jim asks why she sits so far away that he cannot see her.  Laura also refuses to go back to school because she throws up, yes what she did was embarrassing but that is no excuse not to go back to school. Laura later begins to think that being out of her world is not as bad after all, after Laura dances with Jim she feels part of reality like everyone else.

​Laura Wingfield learns that she is capable of forgetting her physical limp.  Laura responds to Jim because he sees that she is different, Jim does not see her disability he sees her beauty.  Jim is able to push Laura to do things she would never do for example, asking for his autograph and to dance.  When Jim arrives Laura starts to bloom out of her shyness, she opens up revealing what is truly inside of her. She is willing to accept the outside world into her own.   

 

Schizophrenia in relation to a beautiful mind

An illness with psychological or behavioral manifestations and important in functioning due to a social, psychological, genetic, physical chemical, or biologic disturbance that is not limited to relations between an individual and society.  Mental illness is done by the mind relating or suffering from a disorder of the mind. 

Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others (Watkins, 20).  Some common symptoms are such as delusions some people think they have special powers.  Another is hearing, seeing, feeling, or even smelling things like hallucinations a good example is to hear voices talking.  A good example of schizophrenia is the movie called “A Beautiful Mind”.  John Nash starts seeing three people who are not real during the time when he entered graduate school.  He believed the visions that he sees were real, until his wife tells him.  People with schizophrenia are not normal however; they are still very brilliant people.  People who have schizophrenia cannot tell the difference between what is real and what their imagination (Watkins, 26) is.  This happens to 1% of the population and usually starts in early adulthood around 15 to 25 years of age, and usually happens after having a particular stressful time (26).  Some major treatments for schizophrenia are medications called “antipsychotics”, and they are usually taken with therapy.    Another treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy it has been successful for patients recovering from symptoms of delusions, hallucinations, or depression.  Schizophrenia can be treated however; a cure has not been discovered.

Anxiety disorder occurs when you’re confronted with a possible threat, danger, or negative event, particularly something over which has little control (Norton, 8).  It involves fear of embarrassment or humiliation in situations where someone is exposed to the scrutiny of others or must perform (Norton, 9).  There are many different types of anxiety disorder. Most people who experience a traumatic event will have reactions such as shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and event of guilt. The person may avoid people, places, thoughts, or situations that may remind him or her of the trauma (Norton, 102).  This causes them to detach and hide from family and friends, also lose interest in activities.  They also get excessive emotion; problems relating to others, including feeling or showing affection, difficulty falling or staying asleep, and irritability.  The person may also suffer physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, and diarrhea (Norton, 55).  One anxiety is obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a potentially disabling illness that traps people in endless cycles of repetitive thoughts and behaviors (Norton, 19).   One repeats things over and over, and wanting to be in control all the time.  Some examples are checking, washing, counting, and repeating, fear of making a mistake, and need for order.  OCD people do these things to reduce anxiety or prevent terrible things from happening.  The anxiety produced by these thoughts leads to an argent need to perform certain rituals or routines.  People with OCD may be aware that their obsession and compulsion are senseless or unrealistic, but they cannot stop them (Norton, 19).  Although the cause of OCD is not understood, studies have shown that a combination of biological and environmental factors may be involved.

Within the article Kim Noble the woman with 100 personalities,  Kim is a painter and lives in a small terrace house in south London with her daughter Aimee.  She has many personalities with their own names.  Some are children.  Some are male.  However; Kim has a dominant personality Patricia.  Patricia is usually the one that handles all the business and the money.  One of the many personalities is Judy she comes out at meals a 15 year old who believes she’s fat.  Kim states that this began when she was around three.  Doctors believe this happened to Kim due to her childhood, she suffered from abuse and her parents were never around.  Through time Kim started to refuge in these personalities to protect her from what was happening.  Kim is a brilliant woman no matter her struggle that did not hold her back.  She succeeded and became artist.

There are a lot of people with mental illness and just because of the mental disorders does not mean that they can’t succeed.  They are very intelligent people.            

 

                                                                  

                      

  

 

Reflection on artistic works

The On Stage at the Mat show was filled with several incredible performances that shared both similarities and differences. A particular piece that drew my attention was Tower performed by Rep 1. I definitely felt that the choreography was very hard hitting, edgy and also had a range of strength within the movement. The choreography was very precise, for instance in the beginning of the piece when one dancer comes out strong and is followed by a group of dancers who initiate everyone else’s movement. The costumes fitted the piece perfectly; the color choices were very organic and neutral which made the piece have a greater effect as a whole. There was great partnering work, the dancers worked extremely well together; there was a lot of weight transfer within the movement and a feel of the dancers being dependent of one another. The choreography made their connection stronger; there were a lot of slides incorporated within the piece which definitely displayed the dancers’ ability of control and really maintaining their center in order to not fall of the stage. The second piece that I really enjoyed was Pretty Gritty performed by Rep 2; Pretty Gritty is an extremely entertaining piece. I feel that it differs from Tower in a way that Pretty Gritty has more joyful movement in a sense. Although Pretty Gritty might differentiate from Tower both pieces do have similar qualities, for example both pieces are very demanding to the audience eye. Pretty Gritty incorporates the use of tambourines, at this point in the piece I feel is where the audience is fully engaged in the performance. The quality of the movement incorporated with the use of tambourines is so expressive, and exciting. The costumes for Pretty Gritty consist of very vibrant colors such as yellow and orange, the costumes truly make the work as a whole come alive. Overall the On Stage at the Mat show showcased many professional quality works that where very enjoyable and exciting to watch.  

 

(Tower)

 

 

 

(Pretty Gritty)