During the first third of the film, Barton speaks constantly of his desire to write work which centers on and appeals to "the common man". In one speech he declares: "The hopes and dreams of the common man are as noble as those of any king. It's the stuff of life – why shouldn't it be the stuff of theater? God damn it, why should that be a hard pill to swallow? Don't call it "new" theater, Charlie; call it "real" theater. Call it "our" theater." Yet, despite his rhetoric, Barton is totally unable (or unwilling) to appreciate the humanity of the "common man" living next door to him. Later in the film, Charlie explains that he has brought various horrors upon him because "you "don't listen"!" In his first conversation with Charlie, Barton constantly interrupts Charlie just as he is saying "I could tell you some stories-", demonstrating that despite his fine words he really is not interested in Charlie's experiences; in another scene, Barton symbolically demonstrates his deafness to the world by stuffing his ears with cotton to block the sound of his ringing telephone.