The Characters of For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls    For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls is Christopher Durang's hilarious 1994 parody of The Glass Menagerie, a 1945 play by Tennessee Williams. In both plays, the main characters must deal with several serious problems, including isolation, fear of the outside world, and the need for understanding. Whereas the characters in The Glass Menagerie handle their problems in a relatively serious manner, those in For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls take a more farcical approach. For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls offers an alternate view of the situations in The Glass Menagerie, and it comments on how the American society has changed since the 1940s. Durang's parody accomplishes its humor by developing extreme versions of the characters in The Glass Menagerie through magnification of their faults and idiosyncrasies: Laura's shyness toward the world, Amanda's lack of understanding for her children, Tom's anger with his family, and Jim's partial deafness (however minor in Williams' play). It is more difficult to sympathize with Lawrence in For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls than with Laura in The Glass Menagerie because he is so much more irritating and pathetic than his female counterpart. Laura is a young woman who suffers from extreme shyness and self-consciousness because she has a slightly malformed leg and needs to wear a leg brace; consequently, she is afraid to talk to new people and enter new situations. Laura's psychological problems are amplified in Lawrence, who fakes several ailments, including asthma, eczema, and a crippled leg. He never leaves the safety of his house, and his only friends are his glass swizzle sticks, which he gives such names as "Q-tip" (1942), "Ther... ...children's; in addition, Durang adds two homosexual characters: Tom and Ginny. This is evidence that For Whom the Belle Tolls does more than just provide a humorous approach to the situations in The Glass Menagerie: it shows how the American society and family have changed since Williams wrote his play. According to Durang, people have become more open with their personal feelings and sexuality, but they have also become more self-centered. Works Cited Durang, Christopher. For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls. Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997. 1937-1948. Williams, Tennessee. "The Glass Menagerie." Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997. 1704-1750.  Â
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12/16/2019 0 Comments Accidents Happen All the TimeNathaniel Leonard Gladden ENC 1101 39659 28 October, 2012 Accidents Happen Accidents happen all the time, to anyone and everyone. Sometimes we accidently run into someone on the street, and other times it’s a little more serious. On one particularly gray and gloomy day a mere fraction of moments lead to events with tragic consequences. It involved a car border line illegal with balding tires, and brakes set on suicide mode. The person driving the vehicle of doom was a struggling college student, with little and or no money.The lady driving a car right off the lot spoke with thick New York accent and had the temper to match. It’s funny how at any moment, thoughts turn into actions, actions turn into events, and suddenly were left to face the aftermath. That day specifically was a mess of intertwining events that lead to two people meeting in unfavorable circumstances. Everyone gets involved in accidents, whether they’re cautious or reckless. The driver of a black kia death machine was especially cautious considering she knew it was not the best in regards to safety.She knew it wasn’t long before some freak accident would cross his path, but she would try to avoid it like hell. The fact is life is a recycling wheel, in which past leads to present, and every action has its foot print in the future. It was early in the morning, around 7:30 and the streets were busy with stop and go traffic in every direction. The sky was overcast, gray clouds blocking all sunlight, with rain pouring down in scatters. The streets were glossy with rain, and the reflection of the lights shone on the surface.Traffic was absolutely ridiculous and early commuters are often aggressive if not outright maniacs. The young woman was driving her way home from a late night with friends, still a little groggy since she wasn’t use to being up so early. She had driven down that road a million times and never had any issues with the morning flow. She was just about to merge into the next lane, since the turn for the highway was coming up further ahead. She started to drive over and saw the car ahead break lights shining brightly through the light rain.She began to pump the breaks, when suddenly the car didn’t slow down as expected. The car ahead seems to being nearing quickly, and her heart started to race. She pulls the emergency break and feels the drive of the car as it pushes forward regardless. In mere moments a normal drive home turned into a scary event. The sound of screeching tires pierced the air, a loud thud broke the morning silence, and what followed can be described as an atmosphere of confusion and anger. The driver in the black kia didn’t know what to do.She had just hit a car from behind, and she knew he had to get out and confront the other driver. It was raining, which made it entirely more uncomfortable, and all around him cars honked and whizzed by in frustration. She opened the door cautiously with shaking hands. A head a lady comes at her with craziness in her eyes, staring directly at her. “You little punk, are you freaking blindâ€. The lady that hit the car was trying to stay calm saying “Lady, get a grip. Your car is still drivable… my bumper is sitting on the groundâ€.The lady was furious; she screamed for 5 minutes before she noticed the other driver wasn’t saying anything and then she apologized. The two began to explore the damage, which inflicted much more harm on the kia then the new 2013 escalade. The new car had a few scratches, but the young college student’s car looked like it had a head on collision with a semi-truck. It wasn’t even the worst Part of everything because the faulted driver had no insurance, and she knew she was going to get totally screwed by the man in blue because she has zero car insurance.The cops arrived on scenes approximately two hours later. The thought of fleeing the scene had cross the faulted drivers mind more than a few times. If it weren’t for a bumper half on the ground, and an exchange of information holding her back, she has been half way home and scott free. Three hundred dollars in fines, and lawsuit pending, that young driver figured something crucial out. Don’t drive without insurance, and if you are don’t do it with a car with bad breaks because you will inevitably screw your life over and get into an accident.
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