Interpretation
The song 'Little Boxes' by
Malvina Reynolds is a social critique of the stereotypical, uniform, and conformist American middle class of the 60s.
In the first verse 'Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky-tacky, Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes, all the same.' Reynolds criticizes the similarity and uniformity of suburban houses (the 'little boxes'), which are all made of the same 'ticky-tacky' (a derogatory term for cheap, inferior materials).
The second verse 'And the people in the houses, All went to the university, Where they were put in boxes, And they came out,all the same. And there's doctors and lawyers And business executives, And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same.' shows that the people who live in these houses, although they have different professions like doctors, lawyers, and business executives, all have the same education and therefore do not differ from each other.
In the third and fourth verse, the same routine and lifestyle of these people is depicted. They all play golf, drink martinis, their children go to school, summer camps, and university, where they are put into 'boxes' again and all come out the same.
The song is a critique of the uniform, conformist lifestyle and the lack of individuality in American society, where everything and everyone is the same, regardless of profession, education, or lifestyle.