Theme Of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

“There ain’t nothing more powerful than the odour of Mendacity”(Williams, 77) Mendacity is used effectively throughout the play Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. We witness how it tortures most of the characters in the play and its negative effect overall on the Pollitt family who as we can see suffers from the lack of association with each other. Mendacity acts as a vital part of every character’s life, it is also the turning point of the whole play which ends up causing disaster and for some happiness.

Dysfunction and volatility is common amongst families. These families dislike their kin and often resent them. In the play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, by Tennessee Williams, the Politt family does not function as a normal family. Brick, Maggie, and Big Daddy are three members of the family that have the most problems that affect the whole family.

The characters of A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie are bound to their own hold on illusions as a means of coping. In A Streetcar Named Desire, the character of Blanche exemplifies the hold of illusion when she says, “I don 't want realism. I want magic!” Blanche exemplifies the idea of delusion as a means of coping. In The Glass Menagerie, the character Tom Wingfield sets the tone of the play with his opening monologue in which he says, “I give you truth in the

    Tennessee Williams allows the main characters in the plays, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie, to live miserable lives, which they first try to deny and later try to change.  The downfall and denial of the Southern gentlewoman is a common theme in both plays.  The characters, Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire and Amanda from The Glass Menagerie are prime examples.  Blanche and Amanda have had, and continue to have, many struggles in their lives.  The problem is that Williams never lets the two women work through these problems and move on.  The two ladies are allowed to destroy themselves and Williams invites the audience to watch them in

This is exactly what Big Daddy does; once his own fears of dying are out of the way, he was able to see the decline of Brick’s emotional state and when Brick was at his weakest in the play, Big Daddy was there to offer advice and knowledge. When Big Daddy confronted Brick about his problem he offered insight as well as wisdom to try to understand the cause of his dependency; however, he was also very stern and forceful in his approach which could characterize him as a stern father figure. He is tolerant of many things including the idea of his son being homosexual, and his insufferable wife whom he shows nothing but disdain and cruelty towards, but the one thing he will not tolerate is lying. He, being intolerable toward this specific issue, creates a chasm between himself and the household, who are all accused of lying and treachery. He, being the stern father figure, showed this intolerance of lying when he spoke to Brick about his indecision over who will inherit his property. The complexity of Big Daddy’s character contributes to the idea that the father is the all knowing head of the household. With Big Daddy, an archetypal theme of immortality is presented in the play. Before the play begins, Big Daddy believed that he was dying from cancer; however, he was then told by his doctor that he was no longer going to die and he was simply diagnosed with a spastic colon. While thinking he was

“A drunk man’s words are an honest man’s thoughts,” as the saying goes. And in the lore of drunken family get togethers, as the loom ever closer, usually the most damning of anecdotes and artifacts come to surface to shock those into fits of anger, confusion and perhaps even out of love. The truth hurts, after all. But like anyone who’s suffered through a challenging Thanksgiving dinner or worse, a death in the family, the pains of truth can be a baptism of fire. The truth is fire underneath Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Tennessee Williams commands it with aplomb.

In the play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, there is a lot of humor that can be found. Specifically, developed behind the characters in this play that display many instances of irony and how important it was to fit into the “status quo” of this time period. There are specific behaviors from the characters of Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen, and Algernon that portray Wilde’s opinion of society during the Victorian Age. The attitude of these characters is snobbish and their manners display double standards and superiority. The play’s use of mockery and irony of these satirical situations is meant to publicly ridicule the self- loving attitude of the upper class while exposing their true absence of intelligence which causes their absurd social behaviors

In the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Williams explores a theme of sexuality. The story focuses on Brick and his wife, Margaret. Margaret cares deeply for Brick and refuses to leave his side. Brick is ashamed of his sexulity in the play. When he was younger he was great at sports and had a very close relationship with his friend, Skipper.

– Then I thought, Yes! – I couldn’t make up my mind” (112). Furthermore, because Big Daddy is unable to come to a definitive answer, the turmoil throughout his family increases. Disorder is at the center of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; thus, Big Daddy’s internal conflict propels the family into complete chaos.

The play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde is set in England during the late 19th century during the rule of Queen Victoria and features two bachelors, Algernon Moncrieff and John Worthing, and their struggle to impress the women they want to marry while remaining their true selves. Wilde presents the theme of superficiality through the approach to names in the play and the importance of appearances. (or looks? Gwen and Cecily fight plus dandy).

In Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, masculinity is important in giving the plot impetus. The feminine characters in the play are trampled by a world in which machoism is rewarded, the story is furthered by Blanche and Mitch’s guilt revolving around masculinity, and manliness creates conflict through a Karpman Drama Triangle. Action in the play builds around the depicted masculine behavior.

In other words, Wilde saw the hidden connection between facts and personal opinions; and how to combine the two in the play. By doing this, he attacks serious issues of society and twists them into a comedic view. This is an appropriate theme for Wilde to select because of his experience among upper class people.

AThe Importance of Being Earnest a play written by Oscar Wilde is set in England in the late Victorian era. Wilde uses obvious situational and dramatic irony within the play to satirize his time period. According to Roger Sale in Being Ernest the title has a double meaning to it and is certainly another example of satire used by Wilde. With a comedic approach, Wilde ridicules the absurdities of the character’s courtship rituals, their false faces, and their secrets. (Sale, 478)

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is said to be a funny act play where the rich people in the Victorian society can read and laugh because of how much they can relate to it. The play is based on two males who live two different personal life’s with two different names. In which both males use the same male name which is name Earnest. However both males’ real names are Jack and Algernon and both have a secret from everyone else.

After reading through the course syllabus I am very excited to start this semester. I am looking forward to reading many short stories, poems, and also Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a play that a close friend recommended to be last year. My main question with regards to the syllabus would be this: will we be tested on all of the poems and short stories that we study this term?