English 1302
11 July 2013
“Two Different People, Same Problem”:
A Comparison of Maggie and Laura’s Physical Defects We are sometimes known as our own worst critic and after reading Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” and Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie”, we experience two characters that display this to be true. In “Everyday Use” we are introduced to Maggie, the timid and homely little sister who has burns throughout her arms and legs due to a house fire which occurred many years prior to when the story takes place. In “The Glass Menagerie” we read about Laura, an introverted character who suffers from a childhood illness causing her to have one leg shorter than the other leaving her to rely on the use of a…show more content… Cripple, which is defined as someone who is unable to walk or move properly. The causes of these emotional and physical scars were from great tragedies, but the results are made out to be even greater by the characters.
In “Everyday Use” Mama makes mention that Maggie was to marry an individual by the name of John Thomas, and though she is engaged to him, Maggie as well as Laura display times of discomfort when meeting new people especially from the opposite sex. When Maggie’s sister arrives to the house with her boyfriend, a brief and awkward encounter ensues when the boyfriend makes a simple attempt to shake hands with Maggie. “Maggie’s hand is as limp as a fish, and probably as cold, despite the sweat, and she keeps trying to pull it back” (73). Maggie’s scar run so deep that they prevent her from simple acts as a handshake to her sister’s boyfriend. Likewise to Maggie, Laura’s insecurities with her handicap have also prevented her from preforming simple acts of interactions with people outside their comfort zone. When Laura and Jim were reminiscing about their times in high school, Laura confessed her desire for his signature on the program. After Jim questions Laura for not asking him then, her explanation was his friends always surrounded him. “You were always surrounded by your own friends so much that I never had a chance to”(1012). Laura is so withdrawn from others that the presence of strangers can
