The Many sides of Tom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Many sides of Tom - Essay Example Tom longs for controversy. The demands of Amanda and the incessant needs of Laura were not enough for Tom. He treasured the edges of conflict that his father had inherited to him. Tom, ever in search of new horizons, looks beyond his dull household members and finds that his family arrangements fall short of his own social expectations. He pronounces, "Here there was only shouting and confusion and labor disturbances, sometimes violent, in otherwise peaceful cities..." (11). With an emphasis on "only", Tom had read the news from Europe and was not above strapping his nuclear family with his own expectations. In many ways, Tom views himself as a savior, and in doing so tries vainly to pass his troubled present off as some superior placement from the past. The dominating mother can know nothing of his complicated life, and his poor, dimwitted sister will never be able to taste the love for life that he has. As if rising above his own surroundings he tells Amanda, "Mother, Laura lives in a world of little glass animals. She plays old phonograph records - and that's about all" (39).