The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

"And I could have been Mrs. Duncan J. Fitzhugh, mind you! But - I picked your father!" (Williams, page 1239).

The forefront of the beginning of the play is placed into the internal conflict of Amanda. Amanda is fighting with coping that she is not in her prime anymore. The internal conflict of Amanda reliving her past and her disappointment that her children are not like her, has drawn the external conflicts between each of the family members to the forefront as well. The conflict between Amanda and Tom is prevalent through her wanting him to not be like his father. Tom conflicts with Amanda and persists to drink and see movies. All of Tom's actions are worrying Amanda into believing she will follow the path his father did and leave the family. Although the conflict is between Amanda and Tom, it is effecting Laura as well. Although all three of the family members are in conflict, Amanda seems to be the center of all the madness of the family. By keeping in her past and her attempts to relive her glory days, Amanda is putting immense pressure on her children to be exactly how she wants them to be. This pressure is leading to the conflicts between Amanda and Tom and conflicts between Amanda and Laura. These conflicts together allow for Tom and Laura to be conflicting on their ideas of how to deal with their mother's pressure.