The three works chosen for this essay are The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, "Popular Mechanics" by Raymond Carver, and "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke. In the three works chosen many differences in the treatment of children appear. From love, to hate, and from anger to fear, many emotions are shown throughout these works. Not necessary do these emotions all come from the children but they also come from the parents. these emotions are also shown in many different ways. Some come from physical action, some come from words, and some come from simple absence, but no matter the form of emotion or the result of the treatment there's one thing they all share. They all leave an Impact!.
In "the Glass Menagerie" Williams lists five characters but in the play there only four roles. This comes because the father is non-existent and isn't in the family's lives, but don't count him out just yet his Impact may be the strongest of any parent. Amanda is the mother in the play and her treatment to her children is very unusual. Because there are two children in the play we get a different perspective than from the other works chosen. Amanda's treatment towards her children differs between the two. Amanda treats Laura as if her impairment is non-existent, trying to block this out of her and Laura's mind. Which leads to many problems in Laura's life. With this treatment Laura now has become very confused, if her mother tells her she has no impairment, then why does she have trouble walking up the stairs. This is the type of question she will ask herself when she's confronted by her own thoughts. Without knowledge of the impairment Laura cannot accept her impairment. The father is non-existent in this play but his treatment is truly felt in both children's lives, it's the feeling of absence. Absence is definitely a way of treating the children and seen by many as the worst treatment.
