Cruelty among family members is a prevalent motif of
Tennessee Williams, and Tom and Amanda of The Glass Menagerie are
each cruel to the other. Tom's acrimonious words and insults are his retaliation
against his domineering mother with whom he feels trapped in a life of desperation,
while her scoldings express her fears that Tom may lose his job and, thus, place the
entire family in a penurious position.
True to the theme
of truth disguised as illusion, Tom exaggerates his nighttime activities, declaring
himself a mobster and drug addict. Yet, hidden in these illusive descriptions are the
"slow and implacable furies of desperation" that in insulting his mother, his words
express Tom's fear that he will be like his father and escape the burdens of familial
responsiblity.
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