The Glass Menagerie is representative of how modern home life is perceive in many modern works of literature. The home is broken, and each family member survives only because of their dreams, which lie in a fantastic world. Amanda, Tom, and Laura's fantasies significantly affect how they interact with each other, and foreshadow the type of disappointment that each character faces at the end of this tragedy.

Amanda, while living in the Depression, is still caught up in her youth. Her days are filled with dreams of Gentlemen Callers, multitudes of servants, and all the benefits of being a planter's daughter. Because of this fixation, she harasses and berates her children when they do not play the desired characters in her dream. Her constant pestering of Tom about his appearance, his manners and his job estranges from her. Laura tries to hide her failures...