Mendacity In Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

In Tennessee Williams’ plays Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire, several characters suffer by lying and by being unaware of reality. Both plays demonstrate and signify the themes of illusion vs. reality and mendacity through past trauma, alcohol abuse, and through strained family and marital relationships. In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Brick is an example to all of these factors through his past with his friend skipper, his abuse of alcohol, and the lack of love he shows for his wife, while in A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche encounters similar problems as Brick with her past trauma and her alcohol problem. The two plays share many similarities

Her actions are caused by the mixture of genuine love towards Brick and the desire to ensure her own future. There is a threat that if Brick does not stop drinking, he will not inherit Big Daddy's property. Maggie lived in poverty most of her life and she is not willing to give up the fortune. Her catty attitude grants her success at the end of the play, and although she lies about being pregnant in order to obtain the plantation, it is hard not to sympathize with her. Even Williams himself wrote in the explanatory note to the play that she “had become steadily more charming to me as [he] worked on her characterization” (1976: 106). She constantly feels “like a cat on a hot tin roof” (Williams, 1976: 31), but she refuses to leave it, for she believes that the victory is “just staying on it (…) as long as she can” (Ibid., 26). Her determination may also stem from her understanding of Brick's emotions. He has rejected her so she knows exactly how it feels to lose the love of one's life. Still she is desperate to persevere, because “life has got to be allowed to continue even after the dream of love is all over” (Ibid., 42). She is the complete opposite of her husband. In spite of being undoubtedly miserable, she fights against the odds to provide for them both. She is fully aware that if they were left without the plantation, they would be doomed. And, unlike Brick, she still

Gooper also undermines Maggie's offering of support to Big Mama with nasty cynicism, "How beautiful, how touching, this display of devotion". This undermining stands to mark out Maggie's flaws in the light of, who is more responsible for the running of the estate. The relationships within the family are really emphasised by this competition. Mae and Gooper also attempt to demean Brick at every opportunity, advertising his defects, "Brick kept living in his past glory at College! Still a football player at 27!"

Lies and mendacity. Nothing but the lies. No truth at all. Mendacity is one of the main themes, maybe even the vital one in the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, written by Tennessee Williams. Almost everything was said in this Big Daddy’s quote from the play. There is one simple, yet painful fact: We all lie! If you just stop

Mendacity is the act of lying and being untruthful. Everyone lies some point in their lives: either to avoid a certain punishment or for a certain reward. We are constantly subjected to it to the point where no one can avoid it. People might also lie about being troubled in order to avoid talking about their issues with other people, or because they are worried about their friends and family finding out about their issues. Mendacity is a topic that is explored in the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Most of the characters, in one way or another, are living a lie. The question is, why are they lying to themselves and each other? Tennessee Williams demonstrates that people lie for various reasons: to conform to social norms, to keep their identity hidden and to protect others’ feelings.

Throughout my critique for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof I will mention the many different elements that make up the play. Williams’ message about deceitfulness and family issues are portrayed through the characters, themes, and setting. Those are all factors in getting Tennessee Williams’ message across to the audience.

Terence Christian dela Paz Mrs. Bettendorf IB English – Period 1 14 October 2014 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ICE Revision Conflict reveals people’s genuine thoughts and feelings. Whether they are good and reveal how valiant and tenacious one can be to fight for what he or she believes is right, or bad and revealing how evil inner demons can be. In Tennessee Williams’ play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, conflict displays similar aspects. Lies and deceit run amok in the play, and conflict is the only antiseptic to its mendacity.

Maggie urges her husband Brick to aid her bring Big Daddy’s wealth and land to their side of the family, meaning that the two of them need to have a child before his death. The reason to this is Gooper’s wife has already conceived six children in hopes of bringing

Billington, Michael. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Tennessee Williams's Southern Discomfort." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 30 Sept. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. .

In his works Glass Menagerie and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Tennessee Williams shows a depiction of art in real life and the element of suffering. He proposes very debatable issues like alcoholism, suicide, equality, and homosexuality. Williams uses his experiences in his life and many of the issues that many Americans faced to advocate awareness. In the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Williams uses narcissistic to describe the relationship between Brick and his father. Talking to his father, after the man finds out about him being an alcoholic and then homosexuality, he states, “You told me!

He honored his female family members, and told their stories through characters based on them. By evoking pitiful feelings from the audience, Williams enlightens the audience about feminist issues in his society. The women in the plays are driven by a desire they are either unwilling or unable to achieve. This presents the idea that the male characters in the plays are in control of the female characters’ happiness. When Tom and his father abandon Laura and Amanda in The Glass Menagerie, it is assumed that they are helpless without him. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley manipulates Stella into sending Blanche to an insane asylum, and Stella complies because she is under the spell of his attractiveness. Lastly, in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Maggie is unable to build a new, happier life for herself because Brick is subconsciously holding onto her heart. While the women are from three different plays, they all hold one similarity; they are driven by the childish mindset that if they stay under the man’s control, they will eventually achieve their desires. Amanda, Laura, Maggie, Stella, and Blanche had qualities that may have repelled the audience, yet he gave them pitiful characteristics and actions that drew the audience back to their side. Through mental, emotional, and physical abuse of the characters, Williams could successfully portray women as

It is also why she oscillates between convincing Brick of her sexuality and her obsession with children. "I've borne no children", "I'm childless", "you can't have babies", "they gloat over us being childless". This obsession makes her very insecure. When Big Mama starts questioning, "D'you make Brick happy in bed?" She is observing that Maggie's sexuality isn't enough, therefore this breaks Maggie's crutch and leaves her "completely alone" and isolated.

The strongest issue that plagues the lives and consciences of people from any walk of life is issue of what is more important: duty to family or duty to one’s self. This conflict is present in three plays: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen, and Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The Glass Menagerie is a play that discusses the struggles of a family dynamic and the decision to leave, or stay and build the family. In A Doll House, this drama is set up to discuss the role of females in families and their reactions. Additionally, the conflict in Hamlet is the choice of who should be loyal to whom when family bonds are put to the test. These three plays explores both sides of the arena in these family issues as

Not only did the grown women roles objectify each other but even Mae and Grooper’s young daughter Dixie, makes comments that Maggie was jealous because her and Brick “can’t have babies” (280). Another issue that occurred between the Mae and Maggie was the constant strive for Big Daddy's attention in order to receive the higher inheritance. Maggie uses her sexual edge to appeal to Big Daddy while Mae emphasizes Maggie's downfalls. During the act where Maggie gives Big Daddy the cashmere robe, Mae deliberately expains to the whole family that Maggie brought that for Big Daddy not Brick

Tennessee WIlliams is a very well known playwright and his work shows for it, awarded with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama multiple times, The Kennedy Center Honors award, and many others he has claimed. Williams extensive background involving personal drama directly correlates why his plays are able to reach audiences deeper emotions. A wide variety of elements are evident in his play Cat on A Hot Tin Roof that must be understood before a proper critique can be documented. For contextual reasons, Brick is the twenty seven year old son of Big Daddy, former professional football player and closeted homosexual due to intense feelings from his “best friend” who also played professional football, Skipper. An incident which lead to the suicide of Skipper absolutely destroyed Brick from the ground up. Since then, the love that Brick was able to give was much less, especially to his wife, Maggie. Further adding to the character lineup we have Gooper, Bricks brother, Goopers wife named Mae,and they have five children together.