Rebellious Element in the Characters of First

¶ … rebellious element in the characters of First Confession by Frank O' Connor, the Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and Homage to my Hips by Lucille Clifton. Themes of Literature Frank O'Connor has an artist's touch, primarily because he choose between becoming a writer or an artist. In his writing his talent as an artist is evidenced. This is specially true for his short stories. The First Confession is contained within a compilation of short stories. Most of the short stories contained in the book and set in Ireland.

The timing is of the years after the Southern Republic of Ireland became an independent nation. No play in the modern theatre has so captured the imagination and heart of the American public as Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie. The play marked the first success of the author and launched a rather brilliant career of lyric playwright. Part success of the play has been attributed to how easy the play is to follow and how interestingly it is built.

The story revolves around a dysfunctional family who are resident in St. Louis. The Glass Menagerie is set during the years of the Great Depression. Lucille Clifton is known for her wise and well rounded verses. Explanatory documents for her work are rare since her poetry gives a feeling that all that needs to be said has already been said. Her poems are quiet but also furious at the same time.

What is most entertaining about her work is how she has mixed grappling honestly with her experience as an African-American woman. In this mixture she also successfully covered universal human issues. Homage to My Hips is a poem attributed to the acceptance of changes in her body, specially her hips. The "First Confession" by Frank O'Connor tells the story of a boy, named Jackie. Briefly the author details into how the boy becomes a man by first going to the confession and recalling of his sins.

Jackie had issues with his sister Nora. The latter believed that Jackie was always involved in some form of corrupt practice. On his confession day his mother asks Nora to accompany him. She forces Jackie to admit to all his sins including his nasty behavior to his grandmother. In reality however Jackie was not a sinner but rather forced into believing that he was wrong by Nora.

He felt that his grandmother did not appreciate which is why he was involved in these mean practices like hiding under the table while she cooked dinner (Connor). While making the confession the fear inside Jackie created by Nora made him mess up. This resulted in the priest being amused, Jackie being asked to chant three times "hail Mary" and left Nora shocked and humiliated. In the process Jackie befriended the priest.

Religion played a very role in not only showing the Christian Catholic culture but also the effect it can have on a young boys life. Jackie, was given conscience by Nora. Although she was a bit extreme in her reaction it cannot be ignored that Jackie did feel a streak of guilt while he was confessing to the priest. By telling the priest all of his sins, Jackie was relieved of his guilty conscience and was finally able to feel good about himself.

Jackie found his true self while telling the priest all of his sins. This made him feel he can actually live with himself. The trait of rebellious behavior is most deeply rooted in Jackie's character. His rebellion not aimed at religion but rather the social norms developed my people and the individual standards enforced upon him. It is religion that allows him to break free from the clasps of these believes.

Had be not confined about his sins with the priest he would have still been forced to believe that his acts were sinful. The Glass Menagerie is a moving and emotional drama looking into a family's plodding breakdown, due to both external and internal pressures. The frustrated mother, Amanda wishes to influence and control her rebellious son, Tom who dreams of living an adventurous lives. Amanda is a widow and Tom provides for her and his sister, Laura.

The author paints very well the background of the 1930's on which the story heavily rides. Laura fails to take the test for employment and keeping with the tradition of the time her only option is to get married so the quest for her mate begins. Each character has found an outlet to their frustrations. The cause of this frustration is the adventure they seek due to the rebellious streak in their respective personlitiess.

For Tom it is the late night movies that he watches everyday, for Laura her collection of glass animals and for Amanda the Blue Mountain which reminded her of the time when she was admired for her beauty and loved are representations of their true characters In the mother's controlling attitude and her quest to mind Laura a groom her effort to go beyond the role of a mother.