Tennesee Williams

All writer use to one degree or another elements of their lifetime to help formulate their uses and stories, but Tennessee Williams seems to draw more from his individual(prenominal) experiences than most(prenominal). After reading The Resemblance Between a Violin fact and a casket and doing some background research on the author it becomes preferably clear that he wrote this reputation as a reflection of his life. The similarities between the narrator/boy in the story and Tennessee himself are quite obvious, as hearty as other shells and members of his family.There are many specific aspects of Tennessees life that make The Resemblance Between a Violin Case and a Coffin a story that he is uniquely if not exclusively qualified to write. The first and most obvious similarity between Tennessee and the story is that the main spirit of the story is a boy, but not only a boy, a boy who is starting to discoer that he is attracted to men and may be a homosexual. This is obviously an area that Tennessee can relate to because he too was gay.But that single factor does not make the author unique in being able to write the story. What makes Tennessee specifically qualified to write the story is the time and place that he experienced the realities of being a boy discovering his sexuality. Tennessee was born in the complicated south of Columbus, Mississippi on March 26, 1911. This time in history is known for being intolerant of homosexuality, and if there was one region that stood out the most for this intolerance it would be the south.Even today Mississippi is considered one of the least tolerant states being ranked 38th on The Daily Beasts be of most tolerant states(thedailybeast. com). In fact Mississippi was one of the states that continued to practice sodomy laws until 2003 when the supreme court ruled it unconstitutional (thetaskforce. org). Growing up gay in the American south at this time would be riddled with hardships that few other places could matc h.For example Tennessee probably felt an obligation to skin his sexuality or suffer dire consequences. This would most likely result in awkward and strained relationships with members of the same sex. This can be seen in the story whenever the boy runs into Richard, When he turned to me and held his enormous hand out, I did a thing so grotesque that I could never afterward be go on him without a blistering sense of shame. Instead of taking the hand I ducked away from him. (Kenison, 318).This shows an insight into the life of a young Tennessee that feared being exposed if he were to talk to a boy he was attracted to. Another example in the story of the struggles of the author can be seen when the boy says, How on earth did I explain to myself, at that time, the fascination of his physical being without, at the same time, confessing to myself that I was a little monster? (Kenison, 319). This shows the authors denial of his sexuality and his view at the time that it was monstrous to be gay.Another area of resemblance between The Resemblance Between a Violin Case and a Coffin and Tennessees life is the similarities between characters in the story and member of his family, specifically his fix and babe. In The Glass Menagerie as well as many other of his works, Williams is suspect to base one of the character on his sister, Amandas daughter seems modeled on Rose Williams the fragile Laura who retreats from reality to play with glass figurines. (amswers. com). Williamss sister certain schizophrenia at some point in life which undoubtedly left a mark on Tennessee. The fragile nature in sister characters is seen as well in The Resemblance Between a Violin Case and a Coffin, when my sister got up later than usual with an uncommon look, not as if she had been crying, although perhaps she had, but as though she had received some painful or frightening surprise (Kenison, 312).This fragility in her character in not only violin but his other stories shows the unique r elationship between Tennessee and his ill sister. That relationship resulted in very specific character traits in some of his prominent female characters. Tennessees mother was also used as an influence in many of the characters in Tennessees works. Williams viewed his mother as a prototypical southern belle, constantly trying to climb the social ladder.He saw her as snobbish, neurotic, and hysterical and portrayed her that way with the characters she influenced. One such(prenominal) example in violin is when the boy compares the mother character to his aunt. Though my mother would certainly never make verbal acknowledgement of my aunts superiority in matters of taste and definitions of quality, it was nevertheless apparent that she approached Knoxville and my fathers younger sister in something very close to fear and trembling. (Kenison, 315).This display of neurotic fear over refined social skills exemplifies the mother character in violin and through association the authors actu al mother. Tennessee Williams story The Resemblance Between a Violin Case and a Coffin, in my opinion is a good story that reveals a great deal about the author himself. Through analyzing this story I acquired a much deeper and richer knowledge of Tennessee Williams than I have of many other authors. This is interesting considering I never even heard of him before reading the story.To cogitate what I learned about Williams I would say that he was able to write violin because of the specific circumstances that he lived and persevered through, as well as the impression his mother and sister left him. Him being gay during the early 1900s in the American south led him to write a story that offered an insight to a very different reality than my own that I would never had been aware of otherwise. For that widening of my horizons, I am thankful.