 Social ladder

 Margaret bitchy because she is rejected and is lonely

 Solitary confinement inside our own skin
 Can we ever escape the loneliness/isolation of life within our own bodies, can we overcome
that?
 Unrequited love
 Living with someone you love can be lonelier than living alone if the one you love doesn’t love
you - Margaret
 Ellipsis- Brick doesn’t care when she says this—cruel comment for Margaret
 All characters have some level of self denial – Maggie might be most honest of all – however
even she is in denial somewhat – effort to talk about mundane things is her attempt to not
confront the truths
 Skipper is the ghost in this play/haunts it
 Law of silence don’t work – things that are tabooed/things which u are in denial about –
determined by societal rules(homosexuality is one of those taboos since Skipper talked in
relation with this)
 Wants a confrontation but also changes the subject repeatedly
 Maggie talks about brick as a lover – language mimics the way she describes his
lovemaking(naturally, slowly) (mimics the actual physical movements in lovemaking)
 Imagery of opening a door – indifference since u would do that for any lady – she is no different
and he has no passion for her – detached quality
 Expresses her frustrations and desperations—even pathetic in her attempts to seduce Brick –
she wants to win him over at any cost – hyperbolic language
 Non moving set creates sense of claustrophobia
 Characteristics of a stray cat:
o They are survivors(run fast+land on their feet)”Cats have nine lives”
o Cat can get agitated/jumpy
o Hot tin roof – marriage -- so staying in marriage is her victory --- ‘cat on a hot tin roof’
 it's just like shutting a door and locking it on a house on fire in hope of forgetting that the house
is burning—house would be relationship
 emphasis on ‘laws of silence don’t work’
 silence likened to cancer that can destroy and kill --- big daddy also has cancer
 brick loses his composure when skipper is brought up – extent of Brick’s brokenness is
highlighted – physical and spiritual crutch(alcohol) – he needs help and support but he would
rather remain as he is – broken
 ‘Im not living with you. We occupy the same cage.’
 Brick talks about mendacity but he practices self deception himself – fooling himself -- ironic