Person to Person (Introduction)

• vii -- How does Williams’ sense of loneliness and separation tie in with other major themes we have seen so far? Think about how Vonnegut and Williams both use long distance phone calls…
• ix – Why does Williams write plays? Is his motivation similar in any way to Vonnegut’s reasons for writing Slaughterhouse Five?

• xiii – "The room must evoke some ghosts" – why this background sense of tenderness?
• xiv – What about the "console": what themes does its presence suggest?
• Why does he want the set less realisitic?

• Note the stage directions. Read them carefully; they often tell us a lot about the characters.
• Remember to think in terms of each character’s SPINE --- what is their central motivation? What do they want most of all?

• Brick—cool, detached, (check symbolic associations of the name). Who is he like from previous works we have read? Why was he jumping hurdles?
• Maggie – is she really vicious? Why does she dislike so much about Sister Woman? Why is she so bitchy? Is Maggie a materialist? Or is she a humanist?
• Maggie and Brick represent two possible solutions to life’s problems – what are these alternatives? How do they react to their pasts? How are their pasts different?
• How does Brick use his crutch? What could it symbolize?
• Brick’s "click" – what does it remind you of?
• What is Big Mama like? Whom does she remind you of? What are her values?
• Big Daddy-- what does he want? Why does Maggie like Big Daddy?
• Skipper -- what did Maggie do and why? What does Brick think she did? How are their two versions of the story different? Why does Brick hate Maggie so much?

Characters
Plot Outline
Themes