In addition to the bed, Tennessee Williams specifically mentions a giant console in his set directions. The console contains a radio-phonograph, television, and liquor cabinet. As Williams notes, “this piece of furniture, this monument, is a very complete and compact little shrine to virtually all the comforts and illusions behind which we hide from such things as the characters in the play are faced with…” Brick, in particular, continually reminds us of the console as he pours himself drink after drink to repress his feelings surrounding his friend Skipper’s death. The console represents another sort of crutch for Brick—it symbolizes the wall that he throws up to avoid facing the ugliness of the situation around him.
The Console/Liquor Cabinet/Hi-Fi Quotes in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The Cat on a Hot Tin Roof quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Console/Liquor Cabinet/Hi-Fi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 2
Quotes
A drinking man's someone who wants to forget he isn't still young an' believing.
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Act 3
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Brick, I used to think that you were stronger than me and I didn’t want to be overpowered by you. But now, since you’ve taken to liquor—you know what? –I guess it’s bad, but now I’m stronger than you and I can love you more truly!
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And so tonight we're going to make the lie true, and when that's done, I'll bring the liquor back here and we'll get drunk together, here, tonight, in this place that death has come into….
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The Console/Liquor Cabinet/Hi-Fi Symbol Timeline in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Console/Liquor Cabinet/Hi-Fi appears in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
As Big Mama leaves the room, she jerks her finger towards the liquor cabinet to ask whether Brick’s been drinking, and Margaret pretends not to understand. Big Mama rushes...
(full context)
Act 2
...Doctor Baugh appear, talking about the children’s immunizations. Margaret tells Brick to turn on the Hi-Fi. When he ignores her, she turns it on herself, and Big Daddy shouts to shut...
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...get rid of Margaret if he doesn’t like her. Brick, meanwhile, has gone to the liquor cabinet to freshen his drink, and Big Daddy tells him he has a real liquor problem....
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Act 3
...Brick’s drinking, as Brick appears in the room behind her. Brick immediately heads for the liquor cabinet .
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...his “click.” As he stands on the gallery, Margaret grabs all the bottles in the liquor cabinet and runs out of the room with them. When she returns, she faces off with...
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