Towards the end of the play as the climax is approached, the reader is made aware of the complex relationship

and between Laura Wingfield and Jim OConnor. It is revealed when Amanda asks Laura if she has ever liked a boy that Laura had a crush on Jim during her high school years. During high school, Laura idolized Jim as he was not only a talented singer but extremely popular and bright. The first example of Laura and Jims conflict is Lauras inability to cultivate a deep relationship with Jim due to her social anxiety issues. This conflict from the past continues on into the future when Jim is invited to the Wingfield household for supper. As the meal is finished, and Jim and Laura sit down to talk, Jim notices that Laura is extremely shy and suffers from a lack of self esteem. Jim attempts to instill a sense of confidence and self worth despite Lauras ingrained idea that she is an outcast. In this dialogue, there is a clearly a conflict between Jim and Laura as he attempts to break Lauras demeaning and derogatory self views. In essence, Jim is struggling to change Laura into a more confident woman, while Laura prefers to keep her old degrading self views. The conflict between Laura and Jim reach a pinnacle when Jim ultimately kisses Laura for the first time. Despite this display of emotion and Jims obvious attraction to Laura, Jim informs Laura that he is engaged to another girl and cannot continue a relationship her. This devastating blow leaves Laura sad and broken, (foreshadowed earlier by the breaking of the unicorn menagerie). Unfortunately for Laura she cannot enter a romantic relationship with the only boy she ever loved due to his prior commitments. The conflict engaged between Laura and Jim is extremely sad and tragic, as Laura is led on by her high school crush only to be shot down by his ultimate rejection. She is unable to overcome these conflicts as they go on unresolved. Another important conflict explored by the playwright is that of Tom and his own personal thoughts, desires and ambitions. As the reader gets to know Tom more intimately, it is obvious that he is an emotionally troubled individual. Most of his emotional problems stem from his feeling of entrapment and inability to experience adventure. It is obvious to the audience that Tom is extremely unsatisfied with his life and current situation as he describes his life as a 2 x 4 coffin in which he is unable to escape from. It is made evident that Tom yearns for the excitement and thrill of adventure that he is unable to derive from his current job. However, Tom keeps his monotonous factory job in order to finance his household and support his family financially. Essentially Tom forgoes his ambitions of becoming a writer in order to provide for his family. However, this suppression of his ambitions take a drastic physiological toll on Tom. Tom also battles extensively with the thought of abandoning his mother and sister in hopes of fulfilling his need of adventure. Confronted with extreme feelings of guilt, throughout the majority of the play, Tom is unable to leave his family behind. The constant desire and temptation to abandon his family and seek a life of adventure torture Tom physiologically, adding to his emotional torment. Ultimately, Tom does decide to abandon his family in the final scene of the play. However, despite the freedom gained, Tom is unable to escape the guilt of leaving Laura and his mother behind. Wherever he turns, Tom envisions Larua and is unable to enjoy the freedom he longed for due to the guilt of abandonment. As a result of this guilt, Tom is unable to experience true happiness and fulfillment due to the constant reminder of Laura and his mother.

Finally, Amanda Wingfield faces an intense conflict with society, fate and her perception of reality. The first example of conflict is Amandas inability to accept with the reality of losing the pride and wealth that she enjoyed when she was a girl in her youth. In order to cope with the reality of poverty that she faces, Amanda prefers to live in the past, where she enjoyed dignity, admiration and respect. This struggle with reality is so ingrained in her mentality the she is unable to function effectively in modern society. Furthermore, Amanda is in conflict with the reality that Laura has a mental illness and a physical disability. Amanda wants Laura to be successful to such a degree that she is unable to accept her daughters issues and does not seek the proper medical treatment for Laura. Ironically, it is Amandas disassociation with reality and ignorance to Lauras differences that prevent Laura from ever living a normal life. Finally, Amanda fails to accept societys advances in technology and moral ideals. When Jim comments on his love for radio engineering, Amanda states the she does not particularly like science because it brings forth more questions than it does answers. Amanda also rejects and disposes of the filthy D.H Lawerence books that Tom reads, due to the new and perhaps racy ideas within them. These concrete, archaic values displayed by Amanda indicate that she is in fact stuck in the past as she is in conflict with reality and fate. As explained above the theme of unresolved conflict with reality, personal emotions and relationships is explored by the playwright. The universal, multi-dimensional idea of conflict is very well presented in this play as each character is faced with their very own conflicts.