Blog #1 Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Throughout the play, the three major characters,  Amanda, Laura and Tom, all suffer from severe internal conflicts. Most dramatically seen is the internal conflict built up in Tom. Tom is the prime breadwinner for the family, but he aspires to leave his family and his job at the warehouse and attain adventure. This intense internal conflict between providing for his family and achieving personally happiness tugs at Tom throughout the whole play until he has finally had enough. Similar to his father, Tom felt it necessary to abandon his mother and sister and experience a life of adventure. Due to his routine lifestyle, Tom has become overly restless and this can be seen in his constant arguments with his mother. Tom lashes out against his mother once again when she criticizes his desire for adventure, "Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter, and none of those instincts are given much play at the warehouse!"(Williams, 1253). Amanda believes she is doing the right thing by pushing her son, but every time she attempts at controlling his actions, he only becomes more frustrated and more distant. Although Amanda truly only wants what is best for her children, the high amounts of pressure and control she puts on their lives has only made them more resentful. If Amanda were to stop pushing Tom, he might not feel the need to leave like his father, but appears that he has chosen to follow in his footsteps.