The Dillon family was not the loving family they had imagined to be either. Jim Dillon was an alcoholic. When they scarcely had enough to provide, he would waste the last few cents on liquor. He drank his problems away. The wife, Roberta liked to reflect back when times were great and Jim's writing was going well and bringing in money for their family. Times changed. She wasn't loving to the children most of the time. She seemed to be full of anger towards Jim and the children. She was always informing them that she was going to "blister" them. When she became pregnant with Shannon, she and Jim didn't want another child because it was another expense that they couldn"t afford. Roberta did some inhumane things to try and abort the baby. Shannon fought through it all and that is what makes her character so rebellious and independent in the novel. Shannon was an offensive and aggressive child. "You are then in the position of an aggressor, and she [Shannon] fights best when she has been attacked. And there is nothing she loves more than a good fight." (Thompson,15). After a visit at their local convenient store, Jim realized he was thankful for Shannon because he saw how she helped others and how they viewed her. Up until that point he was ungrateful for her. In the 1940's, the image that every American household strived for was too hard for the Dillon's to achieve. .
Socially and Economically the Dillon family was struggling. This struggle created havoc in what they desired and dreamed of. At one point in their lives they had money and were prospering, but that didn't last long. The Depression hit America hard and the "American Dream" diminished for most people. The Dillon's lost most of their money by paying for debts, providing for Jim's father in his asylum, and caring for their three children. Jim was working long hours at the factory and providing as much money as he could. Other members of the family didn't seem to take the economic issue seriously since they previously living the luxurious life.