Key Quotations (AQA A-Level English Literature A): Revision Notes
Key quotations
Understanding the key quotations from Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is essential for analysing character development, thematic concerns, and the playwright's dramatic techniques. This revision note presents fifteen crucial quotations from the play, organised by act and character, with detailed explanations to support your examination preparation.
Introduction to quotation analysis
When studying quotations from this play, focus on how they reveal character motivations, expose themes such as mendacity (lying) and communication breakdown, and demonstrate Williams's exploration of truth versus deception in 1950s American society. Each quotation provides insight into the complex relationships within the Pollitt family and the social pressures they face.
Critical Exam Skill: Always provide context when using quotations in your answers—identify the speaker, the act, and the dramatic situation. A quotation without context loses much of its analytical power.
Act 1 quotations
Maggie's expressions of pain and honesty
Quote 1: I can't! Can't! Can't!
- Speaker: Maggie, Act 1
This desperate cry reveals Maggie's intense frustration and emotional suffering. She feels trapped in a marriage where physical intimacy has been refused by Brick. What Brick considers the agreed terms of their relationship has become, for Maggie, a slow and painful torment. The repetition of "can't" emphasises her helplessness and mounting distress. This quotation establishes the central marital conflict that drives much of the play's tension.
Exam tip: Use this quote to discuss Maggie's emotional state and the dysfunctional nature of her marriage to Brick. The repetition technique is particularly effective for showing escalating distress.
Quote 2: But I could make her hear me just by sayin' each word slowly, distinctly.
- Speaker: Maggie, Act 1
Maggie describes her approach to communicating with elderly, stubborn people, demonstrating that she is the only member of the Pollitt household who favours direct, clear communication. This contrasts sharply with other characters: Brick frequently refuses to engage in meaningful conversation, whilst Gooper and Mae rely on indirect, manipulative methods. Maggie's directness makes her a voice of truth in a household built on lies and evasion.
Key term: Direct communication means speaking honestly and clearly, without hidden meanings or manipulation.
Quote 3: Nobody says, 'You're dying.' You have to fool them. They have to fool themselves.
- Speaker: Maggie, Act 1
Here, Maggie offers profound insight into human behaviour regarding death and denial. People avoid confronting mortality by deceiving themselves and others. The play validates this observation through multiple examples, particularly Big Daddy's cancer diagnosis, which everyone initially conceals from him. Whilst this self-deception can be seen as a form of kindness or protection, it also represents the artifice (deceptive behaviour) that permeates the entire household. Throughout the play, characters use delusion to avoid facing difficult truths.
Exam tip: Connect this quote to the theme of mendacity and discuss how different characters engage in self-deception. Consider Big Daddy, Big Mama, and Brick as examples of characters who deceive themselves about different truths.
Brick's defence of his friendship
Quote 4: One man has one great good true thing in his life ... you are naming it dirty!
- Speaker: Brick, Act 1
This quotation exposes Brick's homophobia and his need to idealise his relationship with Skipper. Brick reacts with anger to any suggestion that his friendship with Skipper contained homosexual elements, viewing such implications as contaminating something pure and valuable. By insisting the friendship was entirely "clean" and non-sexual, Brick denies the possibility of any romantic or physical dimension. This defensive idealisation prevents him from examining the relationship honestly and contributes to his emotional paralysis.
Key term: Homophobia refers to prejudice, fear, or hatred directed at homosexuality or homosexual people.
Critical Analysis Point: Brick's defensive idealisation reveals more than just his homophobia—it shows how societal prejudices become internalised, preventing honest self-examination. His violent reaction to Maggie's suggestion indicates the depth of his denial.
Maggie's understanding of repression
Quote 5: You two had something that had to be kept on ice, yes, incorruptible, yes!
- Speaker: Maggie, Act 1
Maggie demonstrates sophisticated understanding of Brick and Skipper's relationship dynamics. She recognises that 1950s society would judge an intense male friendship as homosexual, and she understands that Brick's love for Skipper was, in his mind, pure and non-sexual. However, she also perceives that Skipper possessed romantic feelings for Brick that needed to be suppressed. This repression ultimately destroyed Skipper. Brick continues to deny any possibility of homosexual feelings, refusing to confront the truth about their relationship. The phrase "kept on ice" suggests something frozen, preserved but lifeless—an apt metaphor for how Brick's idealization prevents genuine understanding.
Exam tip: This quote is excellent for discussing themes of sexuality, repression, and societal expectations in 1950s America. The ice metaphor is particularly rich for analysis—something frozen cannot grow or develop.
Act 2 quotations
Act 2 contains the longest sustained dialogue in the play—the confrontation between Big Daddy and Brick. This section reveals the mendacity that structures the entire Pollitt family and explores Brick's inability to face truth about his relationship with Skipper.
Big Daddy's awareness of family manipulation
Quote 6: You listen at night like ... peekhole spies ... and give a report on what you hear to Big Mama.
- Speaker: Big Daddy, Act 2
Big Daddy reveals his acute awareness of the sneaky, indirect communication patterns in his household. Gooper and Mae perform elaborate displays of devotion whilst simultaneously working to undermine Brick and Maggie. They eavesdrop on private conversations and report damaging information to Big Mama, who passes it along to Big Daddy. This surveillance creates an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust. The play repeatedly references "walls having ears," and characters frequently complain about needing to speak quietly to avoid being overheard. This constant surveillance represents the breakdown of genuine, trusting communication.
Key term: Eavesdropping means secretly listening to private conversations, a form of indirect and manipulative behaviour.
Quote 7: The human animal is a beast that dies but the fact that he's dying don't give him pity for others.
- Speaker: Big Daddy, Act 2
Big Daddy reflects on human cruelty and selfishness. Even when people are confronting their own mortality, they don't develop compassion for others. Instead, they persist in self-delusion. Big Mama exemplifies this through her shopping sprees, buying material goods as if they could grant immortality. This quotation demonstrates Big Daddy's cynical but perceptive view of human nature and connects to the play's exploration of death denial.
Exam tip: Use this quote when discussing Big Daddy's character development and the theme of mortality. His cynicism contrasts with his genuine love for Brick, showing his complexity as a character.
Brick's communication struggles
Quote 8: When we talk ... nothing is said. ... Communication is awful hard between people.
- Speaker: Brick, Act 2
Brick expresses frustration about his inability to communicate meaningfully with his father. Whilst Big Daddy has attempted serious conversations, nothing of substance gets discussed. However, Brick fails to acknowledge his own role in this communication failure. When Big Daddy tries to explore the reasons for Brick's alcoholism, Brick actively evades the topic. This quotation highlights the central problem of the play: despite everyone talking, genuine communication rarely occurs. The simplicity of "nothing is said" emphasises the emptiness of their conversations.
Key concept: Communication breakdown is a major theme in the play, where characters speak but fail to connect meaningfully.
Quote 9: Think of all the lies I got to put up with! ... Ain't that mendacity?
- Speaker: Big Daddy, Act 2
This powerful statement reveals how Big Daddy's entire life has been built on mendacity—habitual dishonesty. He has lied about his feelings for Big Mama and for Gooper and Mae in order to maintain a socially acceptable façade. The only person he hasn't lied about is Brick, whom he genuinely loves. Tragically, Brick refuses to reciprocate this affection, even refusing to sign his father's birthday card. This quotation directly names one of the play's central themes and shows Big Daddy's moment of painful self-awareness.
Crucial Theme Word: Mendacity means untruthfulness or the tendency to lie—it's the most important thematic term for this play. Williams uses this word deliberately to elevate lying from a simple moral failing to a fundamental condition of modern American life.
Brick's memories of college and homosexuality
Quote 10: At Ole Miss when ... a pledge ... attempted to do a, unnatural thing ... we told him to git.
- Speaker: Brick, Act 2
Brick recalls the intense pressure he experienced at university to maintain a masculine, heterosexual image. As a football hero admired by other students, he faced enormous pressure to conform to socially acceptable standards of masculinity. His horrified reaction to how gay students were treated reveals his fear that he could face similar persecution if suspected of homosexuality. However, Brick demonstrates selective memory here—he refuses to acknowledge that a gay relationship existed in the very bedroom where this conversation takes place. This selective forgetting allows him to maintain his denial.
Historical context: In 1950s America, homosexuality was heavily stigmatised and often illegal, creating intense social pressure to conform to heterosexual norms. Many states had sodomy laws, and homosexuality was classified as a mental illness by medical professionals.
Quote 11: Why can't exceptional friendship ... between two men be respected as ... clean and decent.
- Speaker: Brick, Act 2
Brick laments society's inability to respect close male friendships without assuming homosexuality. In the 1950s, intense friendships between men were often viewed with suspicion, with people automatically inferring a sexual relationship. However, Brick uses this legitimate social observation as a tool for self-deception. By idealising his friendship with Skipper as purely platonic, he avoids examining its true nature. Once again, he refuses to acknowledge the gay relationship that existed in his own bedroom—a relationship that sets a "precedent" he cannot see.
Exam tip: Discuss how Brick's denial prevents him from confronting truth and contributes to his emotional crisis. The dramatic irony here is powerful—the audience recognises what Brick refuses to see.
Quote 12: It was too rare to be normal, any true thing between two people is too rare.
- Speaker: Brick, Act 2
Brick makes an astute observation about human relationships: genuine honesty between people is so uncommon that it appears abnormal. The Pollitt family exemplifies this, with most members preferring socially acceptable dishonesty to threatening truths. Being truly honest requires breaking social conventions, which many people fear. Gooper and Mae represent those who maintain acceptable surfaces whilst pursuing their goals through underhanded methods. The dramatic irony here is powerful: Maggie has been painfully honest with Brick throughout the play, but he refuses to offer her the same honesty in return.
Key term: Dramatic irony occurs when the audience understands something that a character doesn't, creating additional meaning.
Act 3 quotations
Act 3 shifts focus to Big Mama's suffering as she learns the truth about Big Daddy's cancer, and Maggie's transformative action as she attempts to secure her future through a strategic lie.
Big Mama's emotional suffering
Quote 13: Aw, Brick, you—BREAK MY HEART!
- Speaker: Big Mama, Act 3
Big Mama's anguished cry reveals the pain caused by Brick's emotional detachment. She desperately needs his support during the crisis of Big Daddy's illness, but Brick remains cold and distant. Whilst his detachment protects him from emotional involvement, it simultaneously inflicts cruelty on his mother. Williams demonstrates that detachment itself can be a form of cruelty—refusing to engage emotionally with someone who needs you causes genuine harm.
Exam tip: This quote is valuable for discussing how Brick's behaviour affects other characters and the theme of cruelty. Consider how his passivity functions as an active choice to inflict pain.
Quote 14: I—want to—knowwwww! ... Somebody must be lyin'! I want to know!
- Speaker: Big Mama, Act 3
Big Mama's desperate demand for truth exposes how Gooper, Mae, and the doctor have been tormenting her. By prolonging the revelation about Big Daddy's cancer diagnosis, they subject her to emotional torture. Although they claim to act out of consideration for her feelings, their behaviour is actually cruel. The repetition and elongation of "knowwwww" conveys her mounting desperation and the pain of being kept in ignorance. This scene illustrates how the supposed kindness of lying can transform into a weapon.
Key concept: Emotional torture involves inflicting psychological suffering, which can be as harmful as physical cruelty.
Maggie's transformative lie
Quote 15: And so tonight we're going to make the lie true.
- Speaker: Maggie, Act 3
In this crucial statement, Maggie announces her intention to transform deception into reality. She has lied about being pregnant, hoping that this lie will motivate her to become genuinely pregnant. If she succeeds, she will be unique among the play's characters in converting falsehood into truth. For other characters, lying keeps them trapped in delusion and self-deception. Brick's lies about Skipper prevent honest self-examination. Big Daddy's lies about loving Big Mama have imprisoned him in a loveless marriage. Only Maggie attempts to use lying as a tool for creating a better reality rather than avoiding truth.
Critical Ending Analysis: This quote is essential for discussing Maggie's character development and the resolution (or lack thereof) in the play's ending. Consider whether Maggie's approach represents hope or simply another form of mendacity.
Quotation analysis techniques
When using these quotations in examination answers, follow these essential practices:
- Always provide context: identify the speaker, act, and situation
- Explain character revelation: what the quotation reveals about character
- Connect to major themes: such as mendacity, communication, sexuality, and death
- Identify dramatic techniques: such as repetition, dramatic irony, and symbolism
- Link to Williams's purposes: consider his broader social commentary
- Compare and contrast: how different characters respond to similar situations
Worked Example: Analysing a Quotation in an Exam
Question: How does Williams present the theme of communication in the play?
Response using Quote 8:
In Act 2, Brick tells his father that "When we talk ... nothing is said. ... Communication is awful hard between people." This quotation reveals the central tragedy of the Pollitt family—despite constant talking, genuine understanding remains elusive. Williams uses the ellipsis to create pauses that mirror the silences and gaps in their conversation, emphasising what remains unsaid. The phrase "nothing is said" is deliberately simple and blunt, highlighting the emptiness of their exchanges. However, the dramatic irony here is significant: while Brick blames the general difficulty of communication, he actively evades Big Daddy's attempts to discuss meaningful topics like Brick's alcoholism and his relationship with Skipper. Williams thus shows that communication failures are often active choices rather than inevitable circumstances, connecting to the broader theme of mendacity—the lies we tell ourselves about our own behaviour.
Thematic connections
These quotations cluster around several key themes that structure the entire play:
Communication and silence: Quotes 2, 3, 6, 8 explore how the Pollitt family fails to communicate honestly, relying instead on evasion, eavesdropping, and manipulation.
Mendacity and truth: Quotes 3, 9, 14, 15 directly address lying and the characters' struggles with honesty and deception.
Sexuality and repression: Quotes 4, 5, 10, 11 examine Brick's denial of homosexual elements in his relationship with Skipper and the social pressures surrounding sexuality.
Cruelty and suffering: Quotes 1, 7, 13, 14 reveal how characters inflict pain on each other through action and inaction.
Death and mortality: Quotes 3, 7 explore how characters respond to death through denial and self-deception.
Cross-referencing quotes: Notice how multiple quotes often illuminate the same theme from different perspectives. For example, Big Daddy's observation about mendacity (Quote 9) connects directly to Maggie's insight about death and deception (Quote 3), showing how lying permeates every aspect of the family's life.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
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Maggie is the most direct communicator in the Pollitt household, speaking honestly whilst others rely on manipulation and evasion. Her quotations reveal her pain, insight, and determination to secure her future.
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Brick's denial about Skipper drives much of the play's conflict. His refusal to examine his relationship honestly contributes to his alcoholism and emotional paralysis. His quotations reveal homophobia, selective memory, and communication failure.
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Big Daddy recognises mendacity but has lived immersed in it. His quotations show awareness of family manipulation and cynicism about human nature, whilst revealing his genuine love for Brick—the one person he hasn't lied about.
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The play explores how lying functions both as protection and as cruelty. Characters use deception to avoid painful truths, but this avoidance creates suffering for themselves and others. The supposed kindness of lying often becomes a weapon.
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Communication breakdown is central to the play's tragedy. Despite constant talking, the characters rarely achieve genuine understanding or connection. Quotations repeatedly emphasise this failure to communicate meaningfully, with silence often saying more than words.
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Use quotations strategically in exams: Always provide context (speaker, act, situation), explain what the quote reveals about character or theme, and connect it to Williams's broader dramatic purposes and social commentary about 1950s America.