Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Language and Communication Quotes

Thought: In a house where the doors are kept unlocked, and where guests are strategically assigned rooms to facilitate optimal eavesdropping, communication is a difficult process. Brick is constantly trying to silence Maggie or at least quiet her down, whereas Maggie believes in the power of words and the articulation of truths.

Thought: Maggie's insistence on having Brick write Big Daddy's card reflects her desire for authenticity. She wants to articulate truths and help others articulate truths; she knows the power of authentic (and not forged) communication of love and well-wishing. She knows the simple act of having Brick sign Big Daddy's birthday card would help her immensely in her quest to secure a piece of Big Daddy's wealth.

Thought: Here again we further understand Maggie's ability to make people understand her as well as her desire to be understood perfectly. She does not run from truths, but seeks to articulate them in full color and detail.

Thought: Brick and Maggie's relationship breaks down when one retreats from life and the other runs towards it. Their marriage malfunctions when Brick suppresses or tries to quiet Maggie so as not to disturb his mind-numbing alcohol-binging experience. Maggie cannot be suppressed, but must tell the truth about her history with Skipper.

Thought: Big Daddy and Brick talk in circles and come close to accomplishing nothing with their conversation. Only Big Daddy's insistence and his new-found strength afforded by his brush with death provide something meaningful to discuss. Talking is hard for Brick and Big Daddy because they are too afraid of what they might discover should they bring up real issues and latent truths. They might lose control if they were to discuss the truths that haunt them.

Thought: Death quiets Big Daddy and forces him into self-reflection. The release of death's shadow compels Big Daddy to talk constantly and affords him with a new strength to hunt down truths within both himself and his favorite son.

Thought: Almost worse than confronting truths through conversation and confrontation is the pain of trying to communicate -- and of coming to terms with the failure to do so. Brick and Big Daddy have a hard time talking because they are both so tied to their external identities and are not necessarily united by their love of self-reflection.

Thought: Whereas families are often very content to exist within their habitual frameworks, the lack of effective communication is one habit that Brick cannot stand. Family gatherings involve traditions and memories, but Brick winces at these cyclical activities and longs for the means to grow and move, to push past the same old roles and conversations that define a family dynamic. He can no longer live in this cyclical way.

Thought: Here Brick parses out the difference between saying something and saying something meaningful. Conversation can either carry the intent to maintain the status quo, or to move beyond, to learn new things, to point toward truths. Brick is already trapped in a kind of purgatory, and any conversation that helps him remain in that liminal (in-between) state is just devastating.

Thought: Big Daddy and Brick are too afraid to be honest with one another, perhaps because they are more similar than we would like to believe. They are too afraid of hurting each other through honest conversation.