Maisam Marzyie In the U. S. about 2% of all babies are born with physical disabilities. Physical disabilities are not only a very important talk in the population of babies; they are also very important topics in literature. Two of the most well known pieces of literature that are about physical disabilities are “Hunchback Girl” and The Glass Menagerie. The characters that have disabilities in these stories are Laura and the Hunchback Girl.
They both have similarities and differences including their physical disabilities and how they feel about them, their parents, and the way society treat them. First, they both have physical disabilities but they feel different about them. A quote that tells us about Laura’s disability and how she feels about it is, “Yes it was hard for me getting upstairs. I had that brace on my leg- it clumped so loud. Jim: I never heard any clumping. To me it sounded like thunder. ” In this quote we know that Laura’s disability is that she is crippled and can’t walk without a brace.
She is similar to the hunch back girl in that they are both physically disabled but the difference is that Laura feels insecure about her disability, while the Hunchback feels proud of her uniqueness. Clearly, even though they both share disabilities, the way they feel about them is very different. Furthermore, they both have parents who treat them horribly. A quote that tells us about the way the Hunchback Girl feels about her “father” is, “My father, It is a planned place surely.
Out of coils, Unscrewed, released, no more to be marvelous, I shall walk straightly through most proper halls Proper myself, Princess of properness. ” In this quote we find out that the girl’s father didn’t appreciate her because she wasn’t normal. She looks down upon him. A quote that tells us how the Hunchback feels about her “Father” is, “My Father, it is surely a blue place, And Straight. Right. Regular. Where I shall find No need for scholarly nonchalance or looks A little to the left or guards upon the Heart to halt love that runs without crookedness.
Along its crooked corridors. ” In this quote we find out that the girl’s Father does appreciate her and love her. She looks up to him. The way that Laura’s parent and the girl’s father are related is that they both hurt their children. The Hunchback’s father hurt her by not caring about her and Laura’s mother hurt her by trying to make her how she want her to be and not letting her be herself. In the end, you can tell that both the Hunchback and Laura have parents who don’t treat them right. Finally, both the Hunchback and Laura believe that society treat them bad.
A quote that shows us how society treats the Hunchback is, “Where I shall find No need for scholarly nonchalance or looks. ” This quote shows us that in the time frame that the Hunchback girl lives in society frowns upon cripples and that is why everyone looks at her badly and treats her so horribly. On the other hand Laura also believes society treats her badly too but the main difference is that Laura’s belief is only in her head and isn’t real and the Hunchback’s belief is not only in her head but it is also the truth.
Needless to say, both the Hunchback and Laura believe that society treats them bad but Laura is just imagining things while what is happening to the Hunchback is for real. In conclusion, both Laura and the Hunchback girl have qualities that they share and some that they don’t a few examples would be their physical conditions and how they react to them, their lack of good parents, and their feeling about the way they’re being treated by society. If Laura and other people who feel insecure about themselves could be more like the Hunchback girl and be proud of their uniqueness then the world would be a better place.
Author: David Sutton