The Father Reply - Janie

You're on the right track; I do think that the father was brought up to show that in the end, Tom followed in his footsteps. I also think that Tom's speech at the end, when he mentions missing Laura, is supposed to make you wonder if the father also wonders about the family he left behind, or if this is where Tom and his father differed. I think the father was also meant to show why Amanda is so controlling of her children; she is afraid of them (especially Tom) abandoning her. She wants Laura to have gentleman callers, but she also wants her to go to school, etc.