Free Essays on Glass Menagerie

Coping with Sin The first mention of sin in the bible is mentioned in the fifth chapter of Romans, written by Paul. â€Å"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned† (Rom. 5:12). According to Paul, humanity was cursed because Adam sinned when he ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Since the creation of Adam, all is guilty of sin. Every living soul will have to face judgment on the second coming of Christ, and not everyone handles sin in the same manner. Lucky for us all we have a loving and forgiving father. A fictional story titled The Minister’s Black Veil was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in the year 1836. Mr. Hawthorne illustrates how a clergyman deals with his guilt of sin. This remarkable story features a main character, Reverend Hooper, who is deemed a mysterious man because he wears a black veil to conceal his sin(s) from others until his death. Reverend Ho oper was a good preacher because his veiled face was of a physical symbol for his parishioners to concentrate on, although he was not overly energetic to help influence his parishioners. Reverend Hooper demonstrates his inability to cope with sin by hiding his face, by not conveying a needed reason for wearing a veil, and by using the veil as a tangible presence to cover his physical fear of others. The first way Reverend Hooper displays his inability to deal with sin is by concealing his face from everyone. The piece of crape that formed the veil was always in place even as he performed his religious duties or regular daily activities of his life. His parishioners thought something must be wrong with Mr. Hooper’s mentality because of the point of view that was created by the people who observed the veil. One example of this is when an elderly woman muttered, â€Å"I don’t like it. He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his ... Free Essays on Glass Menagerie Free Essays on Glass Menagerie Broken Glass In the play â€Å"The Glass Menagerie,† one of the central themes is people must grow and change throughout life. Some people change and grow gradually and some people all at once have change for life. Though all the characters in the play do not change and grow. Laura has the most significant and noticeable changes and growth in the play. Tom changes and grows too but it is much more subtle than Laura changes. Though Amanda does not change or grow at all in this play but she sticks with her old southern heritage. Laura makes the most apparent change during the play. She starts out as helpless as a puppy. Amanda says, â€Å"resume your seat, little sister-I want you to stay fresh and pretty-for gentlemen callers† (1,942). Everything is done for her she has no responsibilities at all. â€Å"No, sister, no, sister-you be the lady this time and I’ll be the darky† Amanda says (1,941). Amanda says, â€Å"stay fresh and pretty!-It’s almost time for our gentlemen callers to start arriving†(2,943). Laura is always down on herself she never says a good a thing about herself. Laura says, â€Å"I don’t believe we’re going to receive any†¦ it isn’t a flood, it isn’t a tornado, Mother. I’m just not as popular as you were in Blue Mountain†(2,943). Later Laura goes on to say, â€Å"I’m-crippled†(2,947). She is unsure of herself and is just waiting for something to happen to change this perception she has. That’s when the gentlemen caller Jim is on his way over for dinner. Amanda has worked Laura up so much Laura can’t handle it. Laura says, â€Å"Mother, you’ve made me so nervous†(6,965). Laura really gets fired up when she finds out that the gentlemen caller is Jim, the Jim she had a crush on in high school the only crush she has had in her life. When Laura finally sits down and starts talking with Jim, Laura is changed for life. Jim warms her up by having her sit down next him on the floor. ... Free Essays on Glass Menagerie Coping with Sin The first mention of sin in the bible is mentioned in the fifth chapter of Romans, written by Paul. â€Å"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned† (Rom. 5:12). According to Paul, humanity was cursed because Adam sinned when he ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Since the creation of Adam, all is guilty of sin. Every living soul will have to face judgment on the second coming of Christ, and not everyone handles sin in the same manner. Lucky for us all we have a loving and forgiving father. A fictional story titled The Minister’s Black Veil was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in the year 1836. Mr. Hawthorne illustrates how a clergyman deals with his guilt of sin. This remarkable story features a main character, Reverend Hooper, who is deemed a mysterious man because he wears a black veil to conceal his sin(s) from others until his death. Reverend Ho oper was a good preacher because his veiled face was of a physical symbol for his parishioners to concentrate on, although he was not overly energetic to help influence his parishioners. Reverend Hooper demonstrates his inability to cope with sin by hiding his face, by not conveying a needed reason for wearing a veil, and by using the veil as a tangible presence to cover his physical fear of others. The first way Reverend Hooper displays his inability to deal with sin is by concealing his face from everyone. The piece of crape that formed the veil was always in place even as he performed his religious duties or regular daily activities of his life. His parishioners thought something must be wrong with Mr. Hooper’s mentality because of the point of view that was created by the people who observed the veil. One example of this is when an elderly woman muttered, â€Å"I don’t like it. He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his ... Free Essays on Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie The Characters’ Escape From Reality in The Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams centers around a dream of escape. Although everyone wants to escape from a different reality, they all feel that need to get away. The father is the most successful in his escape because he never has to deal with anything at home. He actually leaves and doesn’t look back. As for the other four: Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim, they seem to be stuck throughout the play. Jim seems to be the only one with a real chance at breaking away from his reality. When Tom breaks free, his memory brings him back to that place. Each person escapes their reality in some way and is somewhat successful at it. Whether through dreams or actually walking away, everyone manages to break free. Tom is, by far, the biggest dreamer. Tom dreams of leaving the â€Å"†¦over crowded urban centers of lower middle-class population† (1267). Tom envies his father who actually had the guts to walk out. Tom expresses this when he tells Amanda, â€Å"†¦Mother, I’d be where [the father] is!† (1277). Tom wants to leave so desperately that he â€Å"†¦paid [his Merchant Marine] dues this month, instead of the light bill† (1295). Tom would rather think of himself and let his mother and sister sit in the dark, alone, than take responsibility for his family. Tom says he is â€Å"†¦tired of the movies† (1294) meaning that he is ready for his own adventures. He â€Å"†¦[retires] to a cabinet of the washroom to work on poems when business [is] slack in the warehouse† (1289) By doing this, Tom is looking for yet another escape from the reality of working at a job he hates. Tom also loathes his mother in some way. This is most evident when Tom calls Amanda an â€Å"†¦ugly –babbling old- witch†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1278). When Tom does finally escape his realities they continue to haunt him. Every time Tom sees â€Å"†¦a pi ece of transparent glass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1310), or hears â€Å"†¦a...