TL

What was Amanda’s problem? Amanda’s problem is that she is going through a phase of illusion VS reality. She knows that there are no gentlemen callers and she still continues to talk as if she’s going to have plenty of gentlemen callers. She also feels that she is losing her children, with Tom not wanting to be at home any longer and with Laura not going to school and having no gentlemen callers she feels like there is no hope for what she wanted for them.


 * //CassandraB: I would have to agree she denies the fact that Laura has a bit of problem that inhibits her ability to socialize with others.//**

JTS: I agree with what you are saying. The illusions are shown through her behavior, and they make her look crazy. I think that we see all these and we discard all the realities in her life. She calls people to sell magazines to get extra money, she understands the reality of her husband leaving and the possibility of Tom leaving, and she realizes that Tom may not be at the movies every night. I don’t think she is a crazy as we see her. PS: On my page you said you didn’t think he left because he broke the menagerie. I don’t either. I just think it is foreshadowing him breaking her heart again (by leaving)


 * //Katie Howells: I agree with what your saying about the illusion she is facing, but I think that she's going through much more than this, and you should ellaborate.

ZD: Amanda's problem....It is a very hard question to answer, because of how many problems she has. I think that her greatest problem, however, is that she feels alone. Her husband is gone, and she is the only one that really feels a dedication to the family. When Tom expresses his hatred of the apartment, she loses her son. When Laura refuses to work or go to school or do anything other than play with her glass menagerie, Amanda feels like she has lost her daughter. In her mind, she is doing everything that she can to support a family that doesn't appreciate or love her. That, I think is the root cause of her denial of reality. The truth is to hard to face, so she ignores it.

Mrs. S: You must elaborate. Think about the play -- Go to another level. You identified just a minor area. Why did she need to find a "gentleman caller" for Laura. What is her overall condition?//**

Kellie D.- I agree with you. Also, she is so afraid that Tom is going to end up like her husband and she is afraid he will leave her to fend for herself also. She is also worried that Tom will turn into an alcoholic and ruin his life like his father.

ASHLEY LIPSEY: Amanda has many problems. I think the root of it all, and what was probably the last straw to her plunge into insanity, was her husband walking out on her. Amanda has this view of how her perfect life should be with her husband and two kids, but since this is all falling apart and she is so obsessed with the American dream, she cannot handle herself any longer. She refuses to see that Laura has a disability and doesn’t understand why it should be so hard for her to complete business school. She says that her limp is “hardly noticeable”. But along with her limp, Amanda also refuses to see that Laura is socially incompetent. But realizing that business school is out of the picture, Amanda dedicates her entire life to the idea of Laura having a gentlemen caller. I agree with the point made that Amanda is lost in a world of illusion vs reality, for she is always rambling on about her past and has unrealistic views of the future. Also the pressure she puts on Tom to not be like his father and to help find Laura gentlemen callers is unrealistic.

Amanda is a women of many problems. I think her problem that effects her most is, like what is said is that she is facing illusion vs. reality. What she is blinded is by, is the youth that she experienced, which was she had a group of " Gentlemen Callers". Amanda simply thinks because Laura is her daughter she will have the same fate. This is the oppostie of the reality because Laura is a completly different person. She is not outgoing and friendly, but shy and researved. So for the reality Amanda wants for her daughter can never be because she is not that person Amanda thinks she is and never will be. - Murad Cofer

I agree thast Amanda has many issues. She is in absolute denial about her daughter. Amanda deeply cares about what people think about her and family. She forces herself to only see what she wants to see and puts a lot of pressure on her family. The reality of it is, is Amanda wants a life for Laura that she will never have. -Rachel Fenton

What does this incident reveal about Mr. Covey’s character? What this incident reveals about Mr. Covey’s character is that he has no heart and he does not care whether or not Douglass was sick. He still decides to kick him and hit him so he can do what he wanted him to do and when he didn’t do it Covey probably felt not as dominant and that is what got him even angrier. What this shows to me is that he is a coward because he is bullying someone who is not strong enough to fight him back (Fredrick was sick) so by hitting Douglass I guess he feels strong and dominant.