AW


 * Shackles Discussion

Question:** What dilemma does Mrs. Sommers face and how does she react to it?
 * Answer:** Mrs. Sommers faces the dilemma of finding fifteen dollars and spending it frivolously on herself, or spending it wisely on her children. She says, in the beginning of the story, that she is going to buy new shoes for Janie which cost a dollar or two more than the usual, or maybe new shirtwaists for the boys. She had every intention of doing these things, except that when she saw the silk stockings she was so mesmerized and reverted back to her old life of wealth. She gave up the thought of her kids and what they really needed, to satisfy her own feelings of greed.


 * //The Glass Menagerie// Discussion**

Jim replies among a few other responses, "Has anyone ever told you that you were pretty?" (1.7) Things begin to become serious between the two of them. Williams is saying that the unicorn with the horn represents Laura with her disability, but when Jim turns their conversation into something serious, Laura feels as if she is no longer the unicorn; she is now just a regular horse. Laura noticed her disability, but no one else had. In her mind she was a freak like the unicorn; she was crippled, but to everyone else she was normal like the horse.
 * Question:** When, in scene seven, the unicorn is knocked off the table and it loses its horn, how does this incident relate to Laura? What is Williams saying about Laura when she says, "Now the unicorn will be like the other animals"?
 * Answer:** There is hidden meaning behind the unicorn and why it is Laura's favorite animal. Laura says to Jim "I'll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less - freakish! Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don't have horns." (1.7)

Jamie Rico: This is a hidden meaning. The unicorn was Laura’s favorite animal, the hidden message here is the unicorn was different from all the other animals like Laura was different from everyone else. When the horn broke it made the unicorn like all the other animals. This symbolized Laura breaking free from her shackles and becoming like everyone else. TL: I like the way you expalined this and I really agree with you.

JTS: I like your analysis. If people saw the glass horse after it was broken it would just look like a horse, but she knows it is different. She is very similar to this, and I like the comparison. Good job.

ASHLEY LIPSEY: When this happened, I expected Laura to be crushed, but her reaction was the opposite of that. Laura looks at the unicorn as different from all the other glass animals because it is the only one with a horn. But when Jim knocks it off she is relieved because the unicorn no longer has to be different, it is just like all the other horses now. I think that Laura relates that to herself because she, like the unicorn, has always been different. She feels like everyone notices her disability when in reality people don’t mind it. Therefore when Jim breaks off the horn, she surprisingly doesn’t mind because she feels that if it were her, and she did not have her disability any longer, she would be grateful for it.

I completely agree. I think that Jim telling her that he had never noticed her disability reassured her that she isn't really that "freakish." I also agree that she felt that the unicorn would be grateful for the "operation" because he could be more like the others, just as she wishes to be. -Julia H.

Very well put, I completely agree. In many ways Laura is very similiar to the unicorn because it is different from the other menageries. It is more fragile then the others and when it is broken Laura is almost greatful because it will now be "normal" just as she aspires to be. - Lauren

I agree with Lipster ha. When the horse was broke I think it symbolized herself becoming just like everyone else and that she was normal. The unicorn’s horn was like her limp. She thought it was really bad but it wasn’t that noticeable. We all have flaws, but they are more noticeable to ourselves. – Hunter S.

Werica dos Santos: When Jim was talking to her and becoming serious, he was giving her the opportunity to become normal and reach out into the world. I believe that the broken horse represents that. Laura places the horse back on the shelf just like she is free for those few moments, she places her self back on the shelf and doesnt change.

Excellent comments ... Mrs. S