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Although Brick was often unstable and an alcoholic, he was in line to get the estate. This touches on the idea that the eldest son is the most prized in the family, and this is an idea that was largely present in the old south but slowly started to change into modernity. It also adds to the emotional father-son relationship as Big Daddy admits to never caring for someone in the way that he cares for Brick.

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African Americans are barely represented in the play. The time was old south and touched on how times were beginning to change, but with a big rich family living on a plantation, slaves were still owned and working at the estate.The play doesn't explicitly comment on the changes that African Americans are going through, but readers can make any individual interpretations of the Old South's decline (Big daddy's decline), and the start of new times. Technology was however still not very present through this entire play.

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Big daddy loves brick and cares for him. In their conversation in Act 2 big daddy try’s to have a heart to heart conversation with Brick about quitting drinking and loving his wife, but Brick just keeps trying to leave for the liquor cabinet and tells Big daddy that their conversations always go in “circles”. Their relationship is complicated. By the way daddy talks to Brick, they likely had a close relationship before Brick developed his drinking problem, but now Brick has no desire to have a deep conversation with his father. Brick finds big daddy to be controlling and pushy because he tells him not to drink and calls him a queer. But Big daddy truly loves brick and wants the best for him, which is why he gets angry when people interrupt their conversation. It can be inferred by the end of their conversation when Brick finally confesses that Skipper confessed his love for him and he hung up on him that Brick trusts Big Daddy and is not scared of the opinion he has about him. When Brick tells Daddy about his cancer we can infer that their relationship is falling apart due to Bricks drinking problem. He never would have told him that if he wasn’t drunk.

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The play taking place in their bedroom shows that they try to be transparent with each other by never locking doors when they’re together or keeping each other out (Big Mamma’a rule). This is significant because they do keep each other out and are not as transparent with each other as they seem to be. For example, on page 955 it states, “Margaret appears on gallery, talking to Dr. Baugh”. They are about to tell Big Mamma about Big Daddy’s cancer, a secret they all know but all kept from them until they had to tell them.

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The entire play is based on the storyline of Brick and Skipper's relationship. Brick remains constant that they were only ever friends, and their relationship was nothing but "clean". He gets more and more aggressive as people continue to question him about him and Skipper, and especially about Skipper's death. Whether or not Brick and Skipper were ever more than friends, it is obvious that the reason Brick gets so defensive is the fact that he is scared that he will not fit into the "old south" societal standards. In that time, you were looked down upon or it was frowned upon if you were anything but a heterosexual,. In today's modern society, it is not frowned upon like it was in Bricks day. The fact that Brick was too scared to live up to his and Skipper's truth because he was too scared it would make him "less of a man", further contributes to the theme of truth vs. lies, because one of the main lies throughout the entire play, is the lie of what was going on between Brick and Skipper and their sexualities. Big Daddy tried talking to Brick about this situation, but Brick wasnt hearing it and "Oh, you think so, too, you call me your son and a queer" since he thought that Big Daddy was being accusatory rather than understanding.

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In Act 3, Big Mama is now aware of the situation that Big Daddy is in, and that he is dying of cancer. The lie of his health is slowly dying out as people begin to find out the truth that he is dying. Another lie is introduced, the lie that Maggie and Brick are having a child. Maggie announces “Brick and I are going to have a child” after Big Mama makes the wish that they would. The multiple lies that surround the family, show readers how they’re only trying to please themselves and others. The family dynamic is not a normal one, and they feel the need to lie to each other about many things.

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Their petty and competitive relationship continues in Act 2 on page 919 when Mae comments after Maggie acts like she didn’t know what Brick got big daddy for his birthday. Maggie says, “oh look, oh look, why, it’s a cashmere robe!”. Mae then remarks, “you sound suprised, Maggie…  I don't see how you could be so surprised when you bought it yourself at Loewensteins in Memphis last saturday”. Their competation for Big daddy’s estate when he dies is shown again on page 926 when Mae gets caught eavesdropping on Brick and Big Daddy’s private conversation. She likely wanted to know how the conversation was going to be sure that she assured her inheritance. In the same conversation it is revealed that Mae eavesdrops on Maggie and Brick while they sleep and tells Big Mama that Brick won’t sleep with Maggie. She does this because she is trying to make her and Cooper be seen as better and more successful to Big Mama and Daddy then Maggie and Brick are.

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The two main lies in this play are Brick's sexuality and the truth of Big Daddy's illness. Big Daddy is in fact dying of cancer. He does know that he is sick, but has been convinced that it is not bad enough to kill him, but is rather just a small colon issue. When Brick and big daddy are fighting, Brick decides to tell him the truth of his sickness. Big Daddy thinks that he has a while longer to live, as he tells Brick " I got fifteen years or twenty years left in me! I'll outlive you! I'll bury you an' have to pay tor your coffin!" He is unaware of the place that his own body is in, as he has been told his is not that sick. After Brick tells him the truth he fiercely yells at the rest of the family for being " Yes, all liars, all liars, all lying dying liars! ( This is said slowly, slowly with a fierce revolution. He goes on out.) -Lying! Dying! Liars" He is beyond upset at the truth, but more that the entire family has been lying to him about the truth of his own body. The lie contributes to the play by making the fact that he is dying more dramatic, with him not knowing and adds to an overall theme of lying. The second main lie in the play is Brick's sexuality. It is a lie in the sense that Brick is also lying to himself, not just others about whether he is gay or not. It seems as though he is trying to convince himself that he is not gay, and that him and Skipper were just friends. Others do not believe him, and even he seems to be struggling to believe the words that are coming out of his mouth, as he continuously has to repeat them to everyone, saying they "had a clean, true thing", and that they were "friends".

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Brick becomes obsessed with finding out who actually believes he is homosexual. He becomes outraged talking about this and becomes upset with Big Daddy questioning him. Readers see how he cares too deeply about "fitting in" or conforming to societal standards. "Frig Mae and Cooper, frig all dirty lies and liars! Skipper and me had a true, clean thing between us!" He becomes aggressive while defending the relationship that him and Skipper had. As he continues to be concerned about breaking rules or not fitting in with society, he is shouting at Big Daddy, saying "You think so, too? You think so, too? You think me an' Skipper did, did, did! - sodomy!- together?" He is mad at Big Daddy for listening to what Maggie is saying and he is frustrated that there is gossip surrounding his and Skippers friendship and relationship.

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Maggie and Maes petty remarks and hate for teach other stem as a result of maggie’s jealousy. On page 896 maggie says, “But  Mae? Why did y’give dawgs’ names to all your kiddies?” Even though she acts like the kids are bothersome, Maggie is truly envious of the fact that Mae and cooper have kids. However, instead of admitting it she acts like she cannot stand being around the children as her husband will never have kids with her. At the beginning of Act 1 maggie describes Mae and coopers kids as “no neck monsters”, however seems to become upset when Mae always makes remarks about the fact that her and brick do not have children on page 884. Maggie hopes to inherit skippers fathers estate, but she knows if he continues acting out and embarrassing his family, he will not inherit anything and Mae and cooper will get it all. On page 884 maggie says that mae and cooper are trying to keep her and brick from inheriting any of her fathers estate. On 886, she gets frustrated with Brick because of this and says, “you’ve just been doin everything you can think of to aid and abet them in this scheme of theirs”. Ultimately all of the jealousy and frustration stems from Bricks love for Skipper. Brick would not be acting out if he had not developed a drinking problem after Skippers death, and Brick would be willing to have children with Maggie if it wasn’t for his love for skipper.

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Throughout the second part of Act 1, Maggie becomes very accusatory and aggressive. She accuses Brick of being gay and having feelings for Skipper. She kept pushing the argument, not willing to let it rest. “I cant stop myself! I’d go on telling you this in front of them all, if I had to!” She’s willing to tell everyone about Skipper and Brick, to make herself feel better. “Then you haven’t been listenin, not understood what I’m saying! I’m making it so damn clean that it killed poor Skipper…” She continuously tried telling Brick that he and Skipper had relations that Brick keeps denying but Maggie keeps pushing it.

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Skipper and Brick were best friends and football teammates. Skipper and Brick eventually developed an obvious romantic interest for each other even though Brick was married to Margaret. Although they would never admit it, this became apparent to Margaret as she remarked to him, “Skipper! Stop lovin’ my husband or tell him he’s got to let you admit it to him!” (pg911) Their complex relationship is shown as Margaret tells Brick that “Skipper and I made love, if love you could call it, because it made both of us feel a little bit closer to you” (pg909) Their “love triangle” relationship is so strong that both Skipper and Margret were willing to have sex with each other so they could both feel closer to Brick. Margaret is in a state of denial about Skipper and Bricks romantic relationship and is willing to have senseless sex with Skipper if it means she can assure that Brick will continue to love her. Brick denies Skipper and his romantic relationship and defines that assumption as “dirty” (pg910). This develops the theme of understanding sexuality as Brick, although he is homosexual, equates opposite sex attraction with disgust and dirtiness. This shows the societal belief in the 1950s that homosexuality is flagrant and had to be hidden from the public in order to maintain a stable life.

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Throughout act 1, Brick becomes more defensive & aggressive towards Maggie and what she is saying about Skipper. “Brick strikes at her with crutch, a blow that shatters the gemlike lamp on the table.” He is getting fed up with her accusations and what she has to say about him and Skipper, and her and Skipper. He even struck at her a second time, as she would not let up about it. “Maggie shut up about Skipper, I mean it Maggie you’ve got to shut up about Skipper.” He’s past being calm and reserved, he’s now commenting back to her.

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Maggie’s character in beginning of Act 1

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Maggie’s character in beginning of Act 1

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Maggie is clearly bitter and lonely. Even when not arguing with Brick about their marriage, she is aggressive towards life, and others. She’s bitter about not being able to get her husband to have sex with her, and you can see that through her comments about her brother in laws kids asking “I don’t know where their voice boxes are located since they don’t have necks.” When it comes to her marriage, she is lonely and dissatisfied, and takes that out on Brick himself. She attacks him saying “did anyone ever tell you that you are an ass-arching Puritan?”

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Brick is a drunk who’s mind is absent in his marriage. He seems to be tuning his wife out, multiple times asking “Did you say something, Maggie?” (886) You can tell he’s not there, and he genuinely doesn’t care about his wife because his mind is somewhere else. He’s practically not reachable/touchable and he now drowns himself in liquor. “Then jump off the roof…” He practically tells her to leave, find herself another lover, and not be with him.