Joe Devine Conflict in The Glass Menagerie Respone 6B- 2 august 2014

The Glass Menagerie is a play filled with conflict between a very few number
of characters, but one character truly takes over the play. Amanda, the mother of
both Laura and Tom, controls all of the details of the play, from the futures of her
children to the dinner party thatstheclimaxofthestory.
Amanda is a controlling micromanaging worrywart mother. She wants to
relive her life as a southern belle through her children. She does this by inserting
herself in every aspect of her childrens lives. She attempts to make her disabled
daughter into the lady she was when she was younger. She was scared, by the father
of the children leaving, so she does everything in her power to fix her son not to be
like his father. She does this by leaning on him for everything and micromanaging
his life needing to know what he is doing and even forcing him to find a date for his
sister.
WhilethestoryistoldfromTomsperspectiveitisclearthathedoesntdrive
thestory.AlloftheothercharactersconflictsstemfromAmandasneedto have her
childrenfitherideal.TomshatredofhisboringlifestemsfromAmandasconstant
nagging.LaurasfeelingofalwaysbeinginadequatestemsfromAmandaalways
thinkingthatLauraishowshesaysadismalfailure.
Amanda is clearly the center of the story due to her driving the plot and the
mainconflicts.WithoutAmandabeingthewaysheisTomisntsorestlessand
unhappyandLauraisntsodownonherself.Amandadrivesallthoseplotlinesand
keeps the story going.