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Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

The European treasures in the cellar, the ghost of Skipper haunting Brick, the stain of slavery on the history of the plantation, Big Daddy's kidney/liver cancer…as we've said before, something is rotten in the state of Denmark. As Big Daddy crumbles, so does the Pollitt family. These various forms of cancer eat away at the characters and structures that hold them, and thus, despite the theme of fertility exuded by the large number of children and by rich farmland, we are left feeling like the Pollitt Plantation is not such a healthy place.