Themes and Symbolism

Themes:

Manliness and Homosexuality: Brick is a husband to Maggie, but at the end of the play, we learn that he has a lot of homosexual desires.  With a wealthy plantation family and is the favorite son, Brink stands out as a strong man.  Even his name makes him sound like a manly name.  The only thing Brick cared about was Skipper, but after Skipper died, he turned his desire for Skipper into a desire for liquor.  Brick does not want to lose his manliness especially with his family.  They all know about his relationship with Skipper, but they never talk about it with Brick.  On the outside Brick looks like a manly man, but on the inside he is still suffering from the loss of Skipper.

The Lie: The biggest lie in the play is the relationship between Maggie and Brick.  At first the audience assumes that they are a married couple in love but learn that he has no love for her.  The lie that centers around the entire play is the father’s imminent death.  Everyone in the family except for Big Daddy and Big Mama know that Big Daddy is dying.  This lie makes everyone in the family think about their future without Big Daddy what will happen with the money.  Gooper wants the money; the family wants Brick to stop drinking, so he can take responsibility for the family; Maggie wants the family money, and everyone is expecting change to come soon.  The last lie in the play is Maggie’s invention of a child.  Maggie wants to have a child to prove that she is not barren, and gain control of the family money.  All these lies bring the family together to help deal with all of their problems in hopes to solve them, but by the end of the play, none of the problems are solved.

The Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
        Maggie refers to herself as the cat many times in the play.  The hot tin roof is her marriage with Brick.  Brick tells her many times that she can divorce him, but she wants the money that comes with the family.  The cat refers to her desires.  Her two main desires are to have Brick be attracted to her and to have a child with him.  Brick’s treatment toward her turned her into a cat.  Her loneliness and bitterness make her a desperate woman searching for affection, and she is like a cat on a hot tin roof.  No matter how hot the roof if, the cat is staying on it for as long as it wants.

The Children:  The children in this play are an important part of Maggie’s life.  She wants to have children and is jealous of the fact that Mae and Gooper have so many children.  She calls the “no-necked monsters” and always rudely comments on them, but she truly wants to have children of her own.  The children that walk all around the house are a constant reminder that she does not have any and that Brick does not love her.  She also knows that having children is a safe way for her to inherit all the property and money from Big Daddy once he dies.  Because Maggie is thinking about children all of the time, she gets more and more upset with Brick and more determined to get what she wants.
       

Symbolism:

Cat:  The cat is the most symbolic part of this play.  Maggie is the cat that is lonely, and she slowly turns bitter because of her life with Brick.  She describes herself many times as a cat because of her relationship with Brick, and she hopes for a change but is willing to put up with reality. 

Crutches:  The crutches that Brick use show how he will not lean on anyone for help.  Maggie wants to be with him and have a normal marriage, but Brick refuses to allow that.  When Big Daddy takes the crutches away from him to make him discuss his marriage problems, Brick would rather crawl on the floor than allow anyone to help him.  He makes sure that he can take care of himself because of the loss of Skipper, and he will not let anyone in because it will show that he is weak.

Broken ankle: Brick's broken ankle symbolizes his broken life.  He lost everything that he cared about and has broken off from society.