Nearly as Dysfunctional as the Lohans... Nearly

Tennessee Williams introduces us to among the most dysfunctional families imaginable in The Glass Menagerie.  It begins with Amanda, the mother of the other two children.  She seems unable to live in the present, always eluding to her past and worrying about if her children will make the same mistakes she did, she as marrying the man she did.  She has obviously kept his picture above the fireplace either as a painful reminder of her mistakes or as a desperate hope that one day it will seem she did the right thing.  Her daughter, Laura, is completely unable to be in any kind of social situation due to the smothering care of her brother and mother.  This has left her unable to get a job, and thus car for herself.  Her family is aware of her condition, but unwilling to help her, as noted when Tom said, "Laura seems all those things to you and me because she's ours and we love her.  We don't even notice she's crippled anymore," (Williams, 1260).  Tom is simply another story.  Tom has grown bitter toward his entire situation, and feels he is entitled to a life of freedom and adventure.  This desire, coupled with the frustration his mother causes him, forces him to walk out on his family.  This action shows Tom has eroded into a cold man whose family is dead to him.