Marge Piecys Barbie Doll Essays - Barbie Doll,

Marge Piecy's "Barbie Doll" Gender Identity in Piercy's "Barbie Doll" Dolls often give children their first lessons in what a society considers valuable and beautiful. These dolls often reveal the unremitting pressure to be young, slim, and beautiful in a society which values mainly aesthetics. Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll" exhibits how a girl's childhood is saturated with gender-defined roles and preconceived norms for how one should behave. In order to convey her thoughts, the author uses familiar, yet ironic, imagery, as well as uses fluctuating tone in each stanza to better draw attention to the relevant points of her contention. The first four lines of "Barbie Doll" are written in a trite, simplistic tone which represent the normality and basic needs of infancy. It is at this point in one's life that a child has no ability to deviate from the norm, simply because they have no knowledge of it and are completely influenced by what their parents present them with. The presentation of a doll and an oven, along with lipstick (1-3), ensure that the girl will know exactly which gender role she must be. These lines imitate the rigidity in which sexual and gender roles are defined. The tone of the introductory stanza changes abruptly in line five when the speaker relates "Then, in the magic of puberty, a classmate said/ You have a great big nose and fat legs." What is particularly ironic is that puberty is referred to as a "magic" time, when really it is a time for emotional crisis within many children as they struggle to develop their autonomy. This line is directed in a candid fashion which digresses from the mildness of the first few lines, rendering it quite more effective than simplistic speech. The second stanza of "Barbie Doll" starts off as normal as the first, but easily strays into different meaning. While "She was healthy, tested intelligent" (7) connotes positive aspects of the girl, "possessed strong arms and back/ abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity" connotes an entirely divergent idea. Gender roles always defined the man as"strong" and the woman as "weak," the man as "skillful with his hands" and the woman as "skillful with a cookie tin," and finally, the man as the "sexual aggressor" while the woman was the "submissive help-mate." In lines eight and nine, the girl is identified by the characteristics typically associated with the male gender, something quite unusual and completely opposite that of what line seven implies. "She went to and fro apologizing" (10) conveys that the girl recognizes her traits as disparaging and dishonorable. The last line of the second stanza again changes in tone from simple to forthright with the statement "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs"(11). This line re-emphasizes the ugliness of not measuring up to the standard of an ideal female, a standard set by society. Piercy addresses the stereotypical manners that women are pressured to perform in the third stanza when she writes "She was advised to play coy/exhorted to come on hearty/exercise, diet, smile, and wheedle"(12-14). By advising the girl to act enthusiastic in response to a man, starve herself to be thin, fake emotions, and influence men with soft words and flattery, the author makes a general statement about how women were practically forced to be something whether or not they wanted to. The words "coy" and "smile" conjure up images of a false passivity that women must endure, images that help to shape the poem by providing a better view of what the subject experienced. Line fifteen contains a reference to a fan belt, an object that, similarly to a person's "good nature," will wear out from use and abuse. The change in tone is repeated once again as the author switches from mild lines about personality to a dramatic line in which an analogy is made to represent an internal change in the character's mentality. With the beginning of the last stanza of "Barbie Doll," the reader can achieve almost a sense of relinquishment as the subject symbolically "...cut off her nose and her legs/ and offered them up." The reader is led to believe that the girl has come to a realization that she must account for the loneliness and emptiness that she has felt as a result of imitating a false person. This culmination is her death, an act of her surrendering herself to the pain. With line twenty's mention of an "...undertaker's cosmetics painted on," the author paints an image of concealment--the concealment of hurt and anguish suffered when a girl

Fashion Identity Essay Example

Fashion Identity Essay Example Fashion Identity Essay Fashion Identity Essay Essay Topic: Push Precious Fashion (is) a key resource through which individuals in late modernity construct their identities and position themselves in relation to others. Bennett, A. ( 2005). Culture and Everyday Life. London Sage. P. 115. Discuss this statement with reference to individual examples. This essay will explore the importance of fashion, and how style is used to construct identities of individuals in particular those who followed the New Romantic movement of the late Seventies through to the early Eighties A movement of posers, who cared for dressing up in their flamboyant finery, experimenting with gender stereotype and being as unique as possible at the start of a new, emerging London nightlife with the pioneering music of the time. It will discuss how subcultures and style-tribes position themselves with in society, using topical theories from academics such as Joanne Entitles and Ted Blasphemous Identity, in social science, is described as an individuals conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations, taking into account their characteristics, attitudes and so on. It is a label to the individual, either given by another party or by he individual itself and more often than not also consists of using stereotypes to pin these labels to each individual. Subculture is a ways of breaking down the mass culture of society into smaller pockets, usually of the youth group. Again, much relying on stereotypes, these gangs or groups are broken down by their overall look as an obvious factor but also other areas which bind them together such as the music they listen to, activities they undertake and their behaviors. : How this is done is all together tribe like and are usually, via the media, feared or mocked. The urge to arm tribes is part of being human, and should be celebrated for the strength it gives. We want to belong to something and ideally feel smarter, cooler or more dangerous than the rest of the public. (Robinson, 2012) so not only does society get sorted into tribes by the media but society splits itself up. From the Teddy Boys of the fifties and Moods and Rockers of the Sixties, each of these style-tribes has lived to show a definite style of its decade and sent out messages of how society was back then and shows a new youth wanting to belong The New Romantic movement, is en as a direct response to the over commercialese Punk movement, which had become a parody of itself, an anti-establishment uniform, attracting hordes of dickheads (Dodd, 1995). The new trend-setting posers who held a greater interest in dressing up and partying rather than causing anarchy to society. This new vogue rejected Punks austerity and anti- fashion ideologies although keeping a grip on the styles original use of counter-sexual clothing and strong use of cosmetic make-up, the result a glamorous, flamboyant yet androgynous style-tribe of gender benders, typified by characters such as Boy George and Marilyn. Every ages uses dress and body decoration to signal what is most important at that historical moment. Throughout most of our history that message has been I am rich, or I a powerful. If today more and more people use their dress style to assert I am authentic, (Polishes 2010) Style of dress was aesthetic and visually striking, with inspiration was a violent mix-up taken from clowns, Hollywood startles of the sass, Bonny Prince Charlie, highwaymen to Russian constructivism. The idea was to be as individual, authentic and creative as possible. The movement substituting the elegant for the slovenly, the precious for the vulgar, Dressing Up for Dressing Down. (Polishes 2010), they dressed as if their life depended on it. The movement was set to a soundtrack of an emerging new sound of electronic, synthesized pop. Free from the political, anarchy messages of bands who were associated with the Punk movement such as The Sex Pistols and making room for Duran Duran, Visage and Spanned Ballet who openly acknowledged that the look was as important as the sound, individuals in contemporary construct and play out identities in the course of everyday lives, fashion plays a central role. Bennett, 2005). Against a backdrop of riots and unemployment, this new sound, dressing up and being part of a growing London night life, was a way to glamorous their glum, horrible boring existence with no future. Egan). Subcultures or style-tribes have flourished at precisely the time in history when individuality and personal freedom have come to be seen as the defining features of our age (Polishes 2010). The New Romantics not Just celebrated being individual and different but used every opportunity to showcase what set them apart from others, from the hangouts and haunts of this tribe to how and when they did heir s ocializing and partying, was all to keep them elite from the rest of society. This flamboyant flock took to the clubs on a Tuesday night, ruling out any chance of their fun being ruined by the City Nine to Five Set, or the average normality. Before its closure in 1978, SOHO Lesbian club, Louise was the place to be seen for this group of Romantic posers. Once closed, the fabulously overdressed moved on to smaller clubs in London Soho, such as Gossips and Billys, before being re-homed to the legendary Blitz club in Covent Garden, giving the first media name to this tribe, Blitz Kids. Although these later clubs were not labeled as gay, the emphasis freedom of expression and individualism drew in an alternative gay youth culture. The original Blitz Kids icons, Boy George, Marilyn and Steve Strange, made no secret of their homosexuality and paved the way for a style for the movement which encouraged men to become gender playful wearing skirts, dresses and mixing elements of both male and female dress. Encouraging a wave of young gay men to follow suit, and to celebrate their difference and homosexuality identity. The Culture Club frontal George Dodd, better known as Boy George, epitomized the look and pushed its boundaries. Known for his rawboned plaits, over-done Geisha like make up, smocks and matching trousers, he shocked with these creations and his mix of ethnic, cultural looks and due to taking these extremities was ladled a transvestite and cross-dresser I dress in a similar way to a priest or archbishop. I wear robes, not dresses, and to be a transvestite you must wear womens clothes. I dont. Im not fighting an oppressed need to be a woman. Im proud to be a man. Dodd 1984) It is important to remember that it is the society in which we live, which dictates and ivies structure to gender what is masculine, what is feminine and what each of the genders should wear. Boy George stated his smocks and skirted tops as catholic camp and have been described as similar garments to that of the shallow kamikaze, which is traditional adornment of both men and women in Pakistan and Northern India. Research shows that age an d geographical location make strong links to the publics aspirations responses(Gill et al. 000), which may explain why the young men of eighties London were more willing to experiment with gender bending, or confusing gender signals given through clothing, make-up and overall appearance. Within bigger cities, people are more anonymous, therefore clothing and appearance are said to be of greater importance as they give clues to other city dwellers as to characteristics and interests. Although the New Romantic movement was popular with both men and woman who both experimented with their appearance, both gender bended and adopted the androgynous look it only appears to be the men who are remembered. As stated by Microbes and Gerber, very little seems to have been written about the role of girls they are absent from the classic subcultures ethnographic studies, the pop histories, the personal accounts and the Journalistic rivers. (2005), in regards to this style-tribe it may be that these men sporting a full face of make-up, ballet pumps, frills and lace gave more shocking imagery than the women. Androgyny had already been played with in the sixties Hippy movement, through men growing long hair but it had never been never been experiments with the full throttle of the New Romantics. Even in todays age, the public would be more likely to give a second look at a man on the street wearing lipstick than a female with a short haircut. This group of posers were the first youth of an age driven by the Edie, the children of the television age wise in the ways of the popular media, and they set out to subvert the realms the young know best music and fashion. Monsoons 2009). The media, much like most of the clubs and fashion stores were run on the masses by people so out of reach with the wants of the youth. Then in 1980, The Face magazine was launched, showcasing the latest London stressful and what was happening in the new, hip clubs. From this more magazine publications such as I-D were produced, more the fashions of the London street were beamed length and breath across the country. Many of the New Romantics found fame through music and took over the I-J and American charts, bringing the storyteller more and more into the media spot light, this is when the label New Romantics was coined up, as the look was taken out of the Blitz Club of London and being copied by the youth in other town and cities. This growing media spotlight and new found fame of the icons caused the downfall of the New Romantics Fashionably depends upon distinction or differentiation which, once copied universally, is neglected. A trend setting group whose identity depends upon being hip will therefore move on to adopt another style. (Intensities, 2000) Their flair and looks were being copied by the masses, young girls took to small plaits and ribbons in their hair and imitated the look of Boy George. The ability to look and be unique became harder and harder and in the space of a few years it was the death of this movement. In conclusion, fashion is a important and very key resource which is used to construct identity with great ease In everyday speech We speak of body that is subject to the clothes that literally en-clothe it with significance. (Gill, 1998). However there are other resources which can both be controlled and uncontrolled to help and aid in these constructions of identity. Closely linked with fashion is obviously the music in which individuals listen to, they both interlink and influence the other. The subculture and activities in which individuals wish to partake in also helps to in this building up. The media is a great factor which also must be considered media effects society way of life and thinking if the media portray a negative image of a style-tribe or an identity then this is how the public will view the individuals. To construct a chosen identity all these

5 Top Tips for NaNoWriMo Blog

5 Top Tips for NaNoWriMo Blog 5 Top Tips for NaNoWriMo It’s November! And for aspiring authors, that means one thing: National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo for short). The aim is to write a novel at least 50,000 words long in thirty days. And while that might sound ambitious, we have a few tips to help you get there. 1. Sign Up at the NaNoWriMo Website The official NaNoWriMo website provides lots of resources for writers. It also has a system where you can earn badges and track your progress, offering handy targets to keep you motivated. So before you begin writing, sign up and take a look at the tools available. 2. Write Every Day (And Plan for When You Don’t) You have thirty days to write 50,000 words, which works out at roughly 1,666 words per day. This is easily achievable if you put aside time each day to do a bit of writing. Don’t worry if you miss a day, though. The solution is to schedule â€Å"catch up† days when you know you’ll have more time to spare. This will ensure you can make up for days off, or even just boost your word count. Time to get typing!(Image: Kishore D R/YouTube) 3. Connect with Other NaNoWriMo Writers The best thing about NaNoWriMo is that you’re never alone. All around the world, thousands of writers are taking on the same task as you, so why not use this to your advantage? Whether on social media or via the NaNoWriMo forums, you’ll have plenty of chances to discuss the NaNoWriMo experience, as well as sharing tips for hitting that target word count. You can even look for other writers in the same part of the world as you. 4. Take Care of Yourself Just as with The Tortoise and the Hare, slow and steady wins the race when it comes to novel writing. So no matter how jazzed you feel about your novel-in-progress, remember that too many late-night sessions and skipped meals will lead to burnout. The hare stayed up too late writing and cant do anything useful today. Dont be the hare. Instead, make sure to eat healthily, get plenty of rest, and generally take care of yourself.   This will ensure you have enough energy to keep going and hit your target by November 30. 5. Avoid Perfectionism (For Now) It doesn’t matter if what you write isn’t perfect at first. The editing and proofreading comes later. And this is when you can turn your first draft into a polished manuscript ready for publishing. For now, concentrate on getting a first draft finished! Everything else can wait. Summary: 5 Top Tips for NaNoWriMo If you are doing NaNoWriMo this month, keep these tips in mind: Sign up to nanowrimo.org to access handy tools and resources. Try to set aside a time to write every day (and set aside days when you have more time to write in case you miss a day and need to catch up). Get in touch with other NaNoWriMo writers to share ideas and support. Make sure to eat healthily and get plenty of rest to keep your energy up. Don’t worry if what you write isn’t perfect; you can edit it all later! Good luck! And don’t forget to let us know if you need a proofreader.

Using Popular Culture in the Classroom Dissertation

Using Popular Culture in the Classroom - Dissertation Example The exploration of new techniques and methods is always on the educational horizon. The promise of the future has not eliminated the need for a refinement and validation of existing practices. In fact, modern technologies have allowed for a greater level of access to a variety of media and have increased the capabilities of the average educator. According to Jackie Marsh and Millard 2000, popular culture is a phrase which can be applied to a cultural text which are popular and attractive for majority of children around the globe. Popular culture has a vast variety of material which are attractive for children like bags, games, stationeries, shoes, character toys etc. This not only helps a child to get a better understanding but also encourages an educator to bring in new ideas to motivate young minds. Popular culture is first applied as a test drive but it proved to be an excellent motivational idea. In this era, where technologies and media power has no boundaries has an impact on c hildren. Animations of different strong characters, fairyland and wonderlands have made it easier for children to imagine and fit in a particular character. In early childhood education, it is observed that a child learns whatever is been taught to them, but it becomes easier for them to adapt and practice if popular culture is used while teaching. Use of PSPs , PS2, Nintendo’s and play stations for playing different animated games sharpen their reflexes and their cognitive power. In Early childhood education, Rhymes and songs were introduced to make a child learn colors, shapes and simple concepts while playing, singing and role-plays. Popular culture should be adopted by parents, guardians and educators not only school but also in the outside world, this idea is perceived from a theory of Jackie Marsh 2009 that popular culture should be applied in schools and outside both, which clearly refers to home. Popular Culture is adapted by different practitioners where some of them came up with a different feedback. According to their experience, the change which occurred in a child after the implementation of popular culture in the early education is the glamorization of violence and adds cheapness to the value of education. It encourages a child to praise the material things which blurred the essence of education of being good to every individual regardless of color creed or status.

Health and Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Health and Science - Essay Example of defense mechanism the person tries to repress any such undesirable feeling or thought or memory which causes any kind of mental turmoil to the person or which he wished not to have occurred ever. In this situation the person just wants to cut that portion of life away or just forget the situation. Hysterical amnesia is an example of this mechanism where a person performs or observes certain disturbing incident and then just forgets the incident and its surroundings. Repression is used in negative way when the person indulges in any harmful act and then forgets it. For example the person hurts or kills others at a certain state of mind or when finds others at a certain situation and then as soon as s/he is taken away from the situation or that particular state of mind s/he completely forgets the incident. Reaction formation is the kind of defense mechanism related to the fixation in consciousness of an idea or desire which is opposite to any unconscious fear. In this situation the person experiencing any conflict becomes obsessive with the situation either in positive or in negative manner. The person unconsciously tries to prove that s/he has completely accepted the situation which is opposite to her/his desire and in doing so s/he becomes over protective or solicitous to the situation. This may be expression of her/his internal guilt of not accepting the condition, e.g. an overprotective mother for her unwanted child. The negative reaction can be seen when this obsession affects the life of the child or others in a dangerous manner. Here the mother interferes too much in the life of the child and even hurts the child or anybody else who is trying to behave opposite to her obsession or notion. When a mother hurts the boyfriend of a girl child in order to keep him away from her daugh ter, it can serve as a negative reaction. Denial is the situation when a person consciously refuses to accept any painful incident. In this case the person tries to escape any

The Economical Benifits of Legalizing Marijuana Essay Example for Free

The Economical Benifits of Legalizing Marijuana Essay The Economical Benefits Of Legalizing Marijuana Marijuana has created a hidden market in the United States which accounts for as much as 10% of the American economy, according to a study. Laws punish marijuana cultivation more strictly than murder in some states, but Americans spend more on illegal drugs than on cigarettes. The American economy has been suffering a downturn, while in the shadow economy of the underground world there are high levels of success, mimicking the prohibition period of alcohol, which fueled the illegal markets in the 20s and 30s. No aspect of farming has grown faster in the US over the past three decades than marijuana, with one-third of the public over the age of 12 having used the drug. It is estimated that marijuana is the nation’s largest cash crop, producing $25 billion in revenue. Keeping marijuana illegal looks expensive and is expensive. Did you know that one important reason it was outlawed was because it could be used to make hemp. Hemp is a plant that is a valuable natural resource which has agricultural and industrial uses. Hemp could of been used to make paper, so no more tree chopping. Paper is made from dead trees so a DuPont chemical must be used, but this chemical is not necessary when it is made from hemp. The DuPont Company put pressure on the politicians to outlaw hemp. Marijuana can also be used to make other products such clothing and rope. We can even make marijuana oil which can be used as a renewable fuel. What a powerful economy we could create through the marijuana industry if only, The United States would legalize it. The various levels of American government have in the past, and will spend in the future, billions of dollars on marijuana enforcement alone. The laws against the drug are strict, as there were 724,000 people arrested for marijuana offences in 2001 and about 50,000 went to prison for possession. Commercial growers can serve sentences far longer than those for murder, but the high risks have had little effect on production or availability. When surveyed, 89% of secondary school students indicated that they could easily obtain the drug. We could save our government tons of money in all levels of federal, state and local areas who participate in the â€Å"War on Drugs†, by not using our tax dollars to support the people we jail for using, growing, and selling marijuana. It is extremely expensive to pay for their food, housing, health care, attorney fees, court costs and other incurred expenses. Instead we could be collecting taxes on its revenues and have more money to pay for effective drug education programs and other important causes. The billions of dollars that go to waste fighting the war against an inevitable activity is much less detrimental to our society then the war itself. With careful regulation of the drug, it could be beneficial to our society, with minimal risks accompanying the use and more economic advantages. Some such advantages would be creating a workforce. Farm lands would be needed as well as the laborers needed to help grow and distribute the plant. Pharmaceutical companies would then distribute the plant to pharmacies like Rite Aid or Walgreens and these places are going to need an extra helping hand too. The needed expertise of Marijuana would then have its effects on Universities, Community Colleges, and Certificate Programs. They are going to call on the experts to help teach classes for our future pharmacists of tomorrow. This will increase enrollment which helps the local economy as well. Purchasing Marijuana and paying a proposed Marijuana Tax would mean having more money to pend on important problems, if only it were legal. Some of the most expensive weed is grown indoors on the west coast using advanced scientific techniques, but the American heartlands account for the largest volume of it. Some statistics suggest 3 million Americans grow marijuana for their own use or for a freinds, and between 100,000 and 200,000 are belie ved to be doing it for a living. We are also being invaded by Mexican drug cartels that are growing marijuana from Humboldt County to Keokuk, Iowa. and no state, or national forest, is exempt from the invasion. The cartels are so sophisticated and well- funded that they don’t just stop at growing massive amounts of pot outdoors, they have also been setting up indoor grows from coast to coast that produce massive amounts of the popular herb. They achieve this by purchasing houses and putting their Mexican nationals in them, posing as normal families and â€Å"blow-up† all the room with indoor grow systems that yield surprising amounts of the billion dollar drug. The government admits they cannot control or keep up with them. These cartels do not help grow our US economy. They only help the drug lords in Mexico get rich and live like kings and laugh as they use our American land, people and government. To bust one of their numerous grows, at the most means we can expect to jail some poor Mexican nationals to which we will then support with our tax dollars. The future only promises more massive crops and profits going to the cartels, and not in the pocket of the Untied States. Profit will never leave them and they will never leave, if the U. S. does not legalize pot which will make the price plummet and that will take away the cartels profits. The reason they do so well here, is because we have created an atmosphere they can thrive in. We jail some of their workers and then we support them in jail. We get nothing out of the deal, and people here who want to smoke pot will. , but our government doesn’t get the money, the drug dealers do. We need to redirect our focus on marijuana and decriminalize what a majority of Americans want. If we took back our national forests and neighborhoods and stopped the Mexican cartel’s economic invasion of our country, we would be not high on pot as much as we would be higher in economical status. Canada, our neighbor to the north, is slowly but surly moving toward the legalization of marijuana. Marijuana is just months away from being decriminalized in Canada. This would mean the US government has two choices. Spend more money to fight the flood of marijuana that would be coming over the Canada US boarder or take the steps to decriminalize then legalize marijuana so the money saved from the war on drugs could be better used on our economy and not on this useless war on drugs. The medical benifit of marijuana includes good pain killing relief, reduction of pressure on the eyes for glaucoma sufferers, help with nausea in cancer patients from kemo therapy, and it helps restore an appitite in people who have lost weight from AIDS. The White House first declared the war on drugs 35years ago, and three hundred billion dollars up until now we have no victory but worse still, we have economic hardships up and coming fast on the rise. When will it be about time, to stop being so hypocritical because we all know alcohol and tobacco kill lots of people each year, but there is no evidence anyone ever died of a weed overdose. Legalization of marijuana would save law enforcement and the judicial system somewhere around 9 billion dollars a year off marijuana arrests. On harmful tax alone the government would raise between 2 and 6. billion dollars. If marijuana were legalized it would become the new cash crop in the USA,. If we brought in an estimated 2, 200-4,400 tons of marijuana to be grown commercially, the tobacco companies would have a serious competitor. Why should the international illegal drug business make as much as $400 billion in trade, which amounts to 8% of all international trade, while our economy weeps a nd our people pay for and smoke the weed anyway, no matter where it comes from. Let Hemp make the US huge amounts of money and help the environment too, if only.

Free Glass Menagerie Essays: Symbols :: The Glass Menagerie

Symbols in The Glass Menagerie In the play, The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, Williams uses many symbols which represent many different things.   Many of the symbols used in the play try to symbolize some form of escape or difference between reality and illusion.   The first symbol, presented in the first scene, is the fire escape.   This represents the "bridge" between the illusory world of the Wingfields and the world of reality.   This "bridge" seems to be a one way excursion.   But the direction varies for each character.   For Tom, the fire escape is the way out of the world of Amanda and Laura and an entrance into a world of new dimensions.   For Laura, the fire escape is a way into her own world. A way to escape from reality.   Amanda perceives the fire escape as a way for gentlemen callers to enter their lives.   She is also trying to escape her own vacant life.   Our author, Tennessee Williams utilizes the fire escape as a literal exit from his own reality as well.   His wa y of escaping is through the play.   In Tom's opening speech, he says, "I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion."   This quote refers to Williams' own life told through the play.   Everyone in the play seeks haven from their lives, attempting to escape into an imaginary fallacy world.   In "The Glass Menagerie," Williams' fire escape portrays each of the character's need to use the fire escape as a literal exit from their own reality.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The Glass Menagerie is set in the apartment of the Wingfield family.   By description, it is a cramped place located in the city of St. Louis.   It is one of many apartments in the neighborhood.   Of the Wingfield family members, none like living in the apartment.   The only reason that traps them in their submissive dwelling is poverty.   The concept of escaping their own lives and retreating into an illusion world has entered each of the character's minds.  Ã‚   Escaping from this lifestyle, this apartment, and these relationships is a significant theme throughout the play.   These escapes are linked with the symbolic "fire escape" as well as the absent Mr. Wingfield.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Mr. Wingfield left his family for a life on the road.   "He worked for the telephone company and fell in love with long distances."   This action left Tom with all of the responsibilities in the family including taking care of his half-mad, overbearing mother, Amanda and a disabled sister, Laura.