Research Paper on:
Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie and Amanda Wingfield's Role

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
in defining the central conflicts in the story, as well as shaping a view of the elements that defined both Tom and Lauras socialization and the expectations that shaped their  childhood. As a result, Amanda becomes a pivotal character in the play and she provides both the past reflections and views of the present that underscore Toms struggles and  Lauras detracted sense of self. The story itself is based around the reflections of Tom, many of which relate the views of his mother and Amandas constant reflections of the  past. Like Tom, Amanda assesses and reassesses the elements of the past, of her own memories, and constantly applies them to her experiences and her views of her family.  While Tom struggles with his own sense of self and reflects on memories of his family to support decisions to leave them for the merchant marine, Amanda is unable  to leave the past and exist in the present, just as Laura is unable to leave her self-created world in order to become a part of a family of her  own. Amanda, then, becomes the director of many of the actions of the play and is also a character that insights specific responses from Tom. Toms views of Amanda  shift constantly, and she appears sometimes pitiable, sometimes conniving, sometimes difficult to escape. Descriptions of Tom and his relationship to his family underscore this view of Amanda: "His  nature is not remorseless, but to escape from a trap he has to act without pity" (Williams 5). When Tom and Amanda fight over Toms responsibilities to the family,  for example, Tom argues: "For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever" (Williams 41). Amanda finds her son