Amanda vs Tom

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Throughout the play, probably the most obtrusive and violent conflicts that constantly takes center stage  is the dissension between Amanda and Tom. There arguments spur from many different random scenarios. In some cases they just appear from Amanda's nagging of how Tom eats his breakfast or how Tom drinks his coffee. Although these are small instances, all these arguments gain much fervor and usually allude back to the underlying conflict of the two main characters. What Amanda truly wants from Tom is for him to become the man that their household is in need of, while Tom, on the other hand, wishes to just escape his mundane life and travel far away from the nagging. Some of this spurs from the bad relationship Amanda had with Tom's father. His careless exodus from the family has actually inspired Tom rather than made him feel ill will toward his father. He is restless to walk out just as his old man did as he says this, "I'm tired of the movies and I am about to move!". It is this neglect of the responsibility he now owes to the rest of the family that puts Amanda on edge around him. The only factor that keeps the family together is Laura, and their quarrels are damaging her greatly.