The Relationship Between Tom and Amanda

The Relationship Between Tom and Amanda Tom’s relationship with Amanda is very complicated. Part of the problem is that Amanda still treats tom like her child instead of the man he has become. The first evidence of this is when they all sit down to eat dinner and Amanda comments on Tom’s eating habits she says “honey, don’t push your food around with your fingers” and “chew-chew! Human beings are supposed to chew there food before they swallow it down” (958) of course Tom who is in his early 20’s understandably does not appreciate these comments from his mother and is quick to snap back “I haven’t enjoyed one bit of my dinner because of your constant directions on how I eat it. It’s you who makes me rush through my meals with your hawk-like attention to every bit I take” (958) By the time you are Tom’s age you would expect this kind of table conversation to be non-existent however Amanda continues to treat Tom as a child. This creates anger and frustration between them. This becomes evident when Tom finds out that his mother took his book back because she didn’t want him reading it. Tom says “yesterday you confiscated by books! You had the nerve to-” followed by Amanda saying “I took that horrible novel back to the library – yes! That hideous book by that insane Mr. Lawrence, I won’t allow that book in my house” (965) At this time Tom becomes angry, he feels as if he has no power and he argues back “House, house! Who pays the rent on it, who makes a slave of himself to” (965) this shows how he makes a large contribution to the household and yet has not power, he is standing up for himself saying that he wants more power and freedom. While Tom often does not get along with his mother when she wants to have an important conversation with him they can get along, this is partly because it is often about their future but also because Amanda is treating him like an adult. The first time this happens is when they are talking about Laura and Amanda is asking Tom to