S
Sir Calumn
Guest
Talking of arrogance, I was just looking back over some of my old essays to try and illustrate a point and I came across this one, which I actually handed in as part of my A-Level course.
I cant believe I did this, it really does show what an arrogant **** I was at school
You just need to read the first two paragraphs, it tails off after than when I start taking it seriously.
Name starred so it doesnt come up if people search for my name on google. Amanda Wingfield is a character in the Glass Menagerie by Tennesee Williams
Enjoy... and remember, I actually handed this in
I cant believe I did this, it really does show what an arrogant **** I was at school
You just need to read the first two paragraphs, it tails off after than when I start taking it seriously.
Name starred so it doesnt come up if people search for my name on google. Amanda Wingfield is a character in the Glass Menagerie by Tennesee Williams
Enjoy... and remember, I actually handed this in
The write Margaret Drabble has described Amanda Wingfield as a frigid and frustrated mother.
Do you think this is a fair assessment of William's presentation of the character?
... the new essay by Sir_Didier_Drogba H*m*lt*n....
Some time in the past, presumably when drunk on contemplating her own pathetic and insignificant career, the so called writer Margaret Drabble had the audacity to try and leach some fame by commenting on the work of someone who'd actually written something that mattered. It's not surprising really that someone who writes books with titles like "The Peppered Moth", "A Summer Bird Cage" and "The Red Queen" show's enough lack of imagination to have to attempt to seek writing credibility in this manner, however, when someone of such an obviously mediocre intellect stoops to making sweeping two word generalisations about highly developed and complicated characters one starts to understand why so many people watch TV. While Margaret Drabble even seems totally incompetant at standing in the reflected glory of others, she could hardly have selected two more boring subjects for her biographies than Angus Wilson and Arnold Bennett (no, I havent heard of the either), there is a serious risk that some naive person, who thinks Mrs. Drabble's opinion actually matters, may have taken her comments as completely correct and true. Therefore, in this essay I will subject Amanda Wingfield's character to the sort of detailed analysis that Margaret Drabble is obviously incapable of, while proving beyond all doubt that Margaret Drabble couldnt write a decent critical summary if it came to her in a vision from God, was typed out for her by Ian McEwan on benzedrine and had the finishing linguistic touches put on by William Shakespeare whom had just been discussing the matter in heavan earlier with Homer, Allah and Richard Nixon's speechwriter.
Even if the point which Drabble is trying to make has any credibility or foundation, her choice of words is rediculous. Frigid? Why Frigid? Do I sense that Drabble just tried to pick another word beginning with F to provide a rather basic form of alliteration in an attempt to feel she had some skill as a writer? According to Dictionary.com, the word frigid has for possible meanings, the first being "extremely cold" which is obviously not relevant. The second is "lack of warmth or feeling", which is something that Amanda Wingfield certainly could not be accused of, it is clear that she loves her children dearly from the way she tries to help and defend them an she is tremendously warm in her manner, especially about Laura. When she insists "don't use that word" about the word crippled to Tom, she shows both tremendous warmth in looking out for Laura's feelings and feeling in looking out for her own, and the whole book is riddled with such events. The third meaning provided is "persitently averse to sexual intercourse", something which, if Amanda's "Blue Mountain" stories are to be believed, is very far from the truth, and the forth is "stiff and formal in manner", something which Amanda is definately not, being both extremely friendly and talkative and expressing this in a down-to-earth, informal way. Just take her telephone manner, "you're a Christian Martyr" and "I just know you wouldnt want to miss is" are hardly very formal and the manner she speaks in is hardly stiff, therefore Drabble's first, and I use the term not without misgivings, observation is immediately proved to be totally unfounded - however, we will put this down to mischoice of words rather than inability to analysise text. The second word she uses is frustrated, which is atleast a little bit analysable, though it does somewhat depend on the sense inwhich you take the word frustrated, and as Drabble was obviously incable of making herself clear, I will do it for her. Let us assume that what she means by frustrated is that she is disatisfied with her current situation and with both her chances and her achievements to date in getting out of it - not perfect, but it seems to be the only way we can even form an argument from Mrs. Drabble worth debating.
It certainly could be argued that Amanda Wingfield is frustrated in the sense that she is not happy in her current situation. This is blatantly clear from her constant desire to forge a better life for her children than she has. She feels she deserves to have a better quality of life than what she has, and this would be enough to frustrate any woman. We can get a little evidence for this from the quote "I dont wish it for me, but for my children", showing that her frustration has almost caused her to give up hope for herself. The choice of the word "wish" in particular implies a certain air of desparation feesible in someone who feels trapped in a lifestyle they are not happy in, and frustrated by this. However, to be frustrated, you sort of feel that Amanda should have given up, resigned herself to what she's got, but this is far from the truth. She is constantly trying to improve her situation by all sorts of methods, sending Laura to business school for example, trying to find her gentlemen callers, encouraging Tom to take up night classes - all of these things are aimed at helping her children find a better standard of living. She undergoes them with zest and vigour and certainly feels they are not beyond her reach - whether someone can be frustrated and still carry this attitude is debateably, I suppose they can, but it certainly takes away from the general air of frustration, disatisfaction and, dare I use the word, frigidity. Let's take what is generally considered to be the play's most important quotation, "you are the only young man that I know of who ignores the fact that the future becomes the present, the present becomes the past, and the past turns into everlasting regret if you don't plan for it!", that's not a quotation full of disatisfaction and frustration - Amanda relishes in the challenges put before her, she is in her element when making "plans and provisions". She certainly acknowledges "everlasting regret" as an option, but surely a frustrated woman would have resigned herself to it, not be talking about it as something that could and should be avoided. One almost feels Amanda would be more frustrated in a better life, with her children married/away on work and happy, then there would no longer be any need for her beloved "plans and provisions". All of this is very much speculation, but I think that the way Amanda is presented in ways like this makes her seem like a woman who, despite being in a bad position, is not frustrated by it, and, even if she is frustrated with what she's got, is trying her best and taking steps to get rid of this frustration.
Let's now take a look at another way in which Amanda could be frustrated. Could she be frustrated with her children? This is certainly one thing which seems very plausible to me, for it is certain that her children are not as active in the persuance of a better life as she is, though maybe Tom would argue this is her fault. In occasion when Tom first announces he has arranged for a gentlemen-caller, for example, certainly seems to show frustration on Amanda's behalf - she is trying to extract all the details she feels are essential and to her, it would seem, Tom is being slow and non-commital, showing a lack of interest and care in this thing which she considers so important to the development of Laura, and this could certainly frustrate her. Equally, one can see her frustration when she learns her $50 tuition fees have been wasted when Laura drops out of college, and importantly, it is not the money she cares about but Laura. She would feel that she has done all she can and that the least Laura could do was attend, the fact she didnt and didnt even make any effort to have must seem very frustrating, especially after all the effort she must have expended in raising the $50, not to mention preparing Laura for it. After her glorious days in Blue Mountain, she must consider it very disappointing that her daughter doesnt command the same attentions from the men, and she must put some of it down to Laura. Also, being a woman who likes to get her own way, a stubborness which can be seen in her refusal to speak to Tom until he apologises back in scene 2, it would frustrate her that Tom constantly argues with her and feels the need to rebel against her authority. When she repremands Tom for smoking, she gives what must have seemed to her as a detailed speech on an alternative and better use of his time and money, and his disregarding of it with a simple "I'd rather smoke" could well be very frustrating for her. However, she's not afraid to take action when she doesnt get her way, such as taking Tom's books back to the library when she considers them "unsuitable", showing again that, if she is frustrated, she does all in her power to act to relieve it.... it stopped being funny some time ago and if you've read this far i pity you
