In the story Amanda is very controlling she always want to know where Tom is going and what he is doing. She says” I want to know where you're going” and “ I don’t believe that lie” like if Tom is lying after he said he’s been going to the movies. Then she says “ you're going to the movies to much”. This shows Amanda’s personality. She wants to be involved in everything. She told Tom to drink his coffee before it gets cold and nags at him. Tom is a grown man who should be able to do what he wants without his mom asking him where he is going.

Tom is a man who is stressed out. He works at day and at night comes home to a nagging Mom. Then goes to work again. I could see why hes fed up with this life and his mom bothering him all the time. I know he was mad with his mom because when he said he was going to “ the opium den, yes mother the opium dens, dens of vice and criminals’ hangouts, I carry a tommy-gun in a violin case. They call me killer, killer wingfield” he knew that if he had said this it would piss her off and did it anyway so they end up getting into a fight.

Laura is the sister of Tom and the daughter of Amanda. She stop going to school and lied to her mom by acting like she was going to school but actually going to the park everyday. She doesn’t work and is trying to live her life by depending on a husband to take her away and take care of her mom. I believe she knows her family is disfunctional because when Tom and their mom got into a fight she went to Tom the next day and said ”please make up with her Tom so she can talk to you again”. And when he came home drunk. She tried to control him so that he wouldn’t wake their mom up and start augment.