Cat on a hot tin roof

Do not go gentle into that good night- epigraph

Poet is dylan thomas
Dylan thomas was a ladies man (tried to make the point that he was a raging heterosexual)
But then rumours floated about how two men had a sexual rs with dylan thomas
Try too hard

Key things: homosexuality in its subtext

Affects everything within cat on a hot tin roof
Perceptions on it
Ways society view homosexuality
Interesting how he chose dylan thomas who made others curious about his sexual orientation

Theme of mendacity

Play’s structure is rare

Industrial north and Very stereotypical south
Women were pretty things (in the rich classes)
McCarthyism- communist witch hunt (ppl dont trust people)
Pre and post war attitude (pre war was the old american south) (post war was new america, ppl
wanted progress)

Plastic theatre techniques

- Using props, furniture, sound and lighting to create symbolism
Very naturalistic and realistic, theres realism in the characterisation, real dialect
Typical southern allusions (reference to other parts)
A lot of elements of Greek tragedy
Focusing on specific action taking place in one time and place
Real sense of immediacy
Has been described as it almost resembles a musical act/ opera
Williams wanted big space

Has been described as:

ACT1 Maggie’s aria (solo)
ACT2 The duet
ACT3 The ensemble finale

It builds from an aria to a duet to an ensemble (operatic)

Power of music- Maggie’s vocal range, varied laughs, grunts, groans, pitch changes (cries of the
children)
Links back to slavery
aristocratic idyllism- idea of aristocratic beauty, patriarch
“Ordinary heterosexual man” with an extremely attractive woman wouldnt require that much
encouragement
Croquet is a really upperclass, idyllic southern game, rich ppl play croquet, poor ppl play in
fields
Contrast of peaceful, serene game (world of equilibrium outside) inside got contrasting difficult
convo + challenging relationship
Brick

Brick’s crutch- symbolic meanings

1) Represents Brick’s dependency on alcohol- he cannot survive without either alcohol or
the crutch
2) Uses it as a weapon- such as in scene 1
3) Brick’s nostalgia/ longing for the past- a constant reminder to the accident that ruined his
athletic career
4) A phallic link- the crutch of his impotence

Crutch juxtaposes the alcohol

The bed- source of the sexual tension/ marital strife

Margaret sleeps there alone
Brick avoids the area
Theres a reference back to the gay men that were running the plantation
Previously owners: jack straw and peter ochello- homosexuals- lingers underneath the plot as a
reminder of the tension and struggle Brick has with his own identity

The crutch and bed are examples how Williams used objects to hint at more abstract
ideas/subliminal planting:
Objects, light and sound to plant subtextual images

Juxtaposition (lies and truth, masculinity and femininity)

- Maggie as a liar, manipulative- justification of lying- new America- brutal and straight,
selfish
- Big daddy’s cancer as symbolic reference, unsure whether well or unwell- older world
dying- the patriarchal plantation owners days are numbered
- The healthy must “fool” the dying in order to be kind and merciful
- Brick- claims to hate all kinds of lying- wonderful literary juxtaposition (ironic because
brick is dishonest)

Irony- reflective dialogue- foreshadowing- theme of mendacity

- Analepsis- foreshadows the decay. (structural importance)
- Skipper’s death- loss of hope- died soon after of alcoholism and drug abuse- “destroyed
him” because she told him a “truth” that “could not be told”

-
Insecurities
Change in mood

context
language
structure
symbolism/motif/allusion
stage direction observations
character/theme

ACT ONE
Page 7-11

“Vocal tricks” “Lines are almost sung” “a little wordless singing”

- First act is often regarded Maggie’s aria (Maggie’s solo)
- Power of music- Maggie’s vocal range, varied laughs, grunts, groans, pitch changes
(cries of the children)
- Alludes to historical context of slavery
- how the slaves used to sing in the fields in order to protest against their owners
- can be referenced by Maggie’s part within in the play
- where she too feels restricted by her position as a woman in a way where she is in a
relationship with her husband Brick and then Brick is alcoholic and gay and doesnt seem
to reciprocate her effort to salvage the connection between both parties in the
relationship
- in similarity to how she is viewed as a woman in the social context of COAHTR and
woman have the full responsibility of the household and if the husband has issues then
it's always the woman’s fault
- henceforth Maggie is similar to a slave’s position as she is bound to her responsibilities
of the household similar to a slave picking cotton

Page 8
- Maggie’s speech is long and wordy and lengthy with barely any gaps for Brick.
- cld correlate to the idea that Maggie has a lot of pent up frustrations and thoughts
- Maggie is undeniably immensely bothered by the situation she is currently in.
- presents her character as extremely talkative
- may also draw the audience into the idea of Maggie being an annoying character on the
surface level
- Brick’s responses are dry and short with stage directions noting him saying them as
“without interest”
- Could enable curiosity within the audience of which the audience might wonder why
Brick and Maggie- a supposedly happy couple, has this sort of unsuitable dynamic for a
relationship- one giving more effort and energy whilst the other appears to be out of it
“The fact that you and I have not produced any children, are totally childless and therefore
totally useless!”
- Repetition of “totally” here strongly emphasises Maggie’s frustration

Page 9
“Fading, still warm, light from the gallery treats him gently” “so much light in the room”
- Can refer to the historical context of the old south fading away and being replaced by the
new south
- Times are changing
- A new world
“Long, gold-fretted shadows”
- Gold in reference to money
- Shadows could reference how Maggie and Brick are in dependency of Big Daddy’s
money
“Voice has range, and music”
- Again referencing Maggie’s aria
- Maggie’s performance and struggle noted
Page 11
“Way he drops his eyes down my body when i’m talkin’ to him, drops his eyes to my boobs an’
lick his old chops”
- Maggie adoring the fact that she is being sexualised by her husband’s father shows how
desperate she is for sexual intercourse
- And how neglectful Brick is in terms of his sexual relations with Maggie

Page 12-17
“The word is a soft caress”
- Sexual connotations
- Ties again to how Maggie is desperate for sex
- Women in social context, childbearers= maggie ahs no babies so she feels inferior as
well
“Face like hawks while they jawed an’ jabbered about the cuteness an’ brilliance of th’ no-neck
monsters”
- Animalistic references leads to the audience feeling like there's a wild aspect to the story
- Simile

Page 13
“Federal pen for shady manipulations on th’ stock market when his chain stores crashed”
- In reference to the Great Depression
“Cotton carnival queen”
- Cotton reference to cotton plantations in the south
- whole term could allude to the idea of how Mae had a background of richness that
Maggie never had
- maggie= envious
Page 14
“Count ten” “Whistling softly”
- Cutting the silence
- Increases tension and suspense

Page 15
“Hobbles downstage”
- Change in level- difference in position, heightwise- shows how Maggie is now the
decision maker- how Brick has given up his ideal patriarchal command- Maggie to call
the shots

“Very forcibly, going all the way back to the world in which you can talk about ordinary matters”
- Maggie trying to avoid confrontation
- Perhaps still trying to focus on what could be instead of what is

“a rub with cologne”

- Sexual connotations
- Maggie wants to experience the love language of physical intimacy with Brick perhaps to
revive the physical affection she felt from him previously

Page 16
“Martyrdom of saint maggie”
- martyr= a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs.
- Ironical because maggie is viewed as a woman with a lot of sex appeal (sinful)
- Could relay to the idea of Maggie’s lack of sexual intimacy with Brick

“Click of mallets”
- Again cutting through the tension
- Like pulling back to reality for the audience, to know that there is more happening in the
scene apart from the couple in the room
Page 17
“That’s a beauty” “you’re too slippery for me”
- Double meanings
- Reverend Tooker is commentating about croquet
- But could also have sexual connotations

“Never, never, never”

- Repetition emphasises Maggie’s desperation

Page 18
“He drops his crutch”
- Crutch symbol of weak masculinity + impotence
 - Dropping of the crutch- foreshadowing potential acceptance of himself, hencewhy there
is no longer a need to depend on the crutch for show

“I want my crutch!”
- Brick is unwilling to accept himself
- Nor wants to depend on others- doesnt want to open up
- Wants to grapple onto the idea of him still having masculinity despite it being weak

“Thrust the crutch”

- Again sexual connotations
- Maggie giving the crutch could refer to her submitting to the patriarchy- expected gender
roles in 1950s

Page 19
“Breathlessly” “deep exhausted breaths” “shaking and panting together as if they had broken
apart from a violent struggle”
- HUGE SEXUAL CONNOTATIONS AGAIN
- Emphasises Maggie’s severe lack of sex

Page 20
“Forgetting conditions on which i agreed to stay on living with you”
- Detatchment
- conditions= strange for a marriage to have conditions
- Says it as if its a contract- again detachment

“Give it to me” “i want it, i want it”

- Allude to Maggie’s desperation for brick to open up
- Could allude to the main plot of COATH being that Maggie, Mae and Gooper are pining
for Big Daddy to will his money and property to either Gooper (in Gooper and Mae’s
case) or Brick (in Maggie’s case)

Page 21
“Young lady’s archery set”
- Archery set alludes to strength
- Maggie’s possession- perhaps shows that Maggie as a character has a lot of strength in
herself

“Diana Trophy”
- Diana= roman goddess
- Allusion to mythology- fantasy
- Diana: revered as the goddess of the woods, children and childbirth, fertility, chastity, the
moon, and wild animals

Page 22
“Catty”
- Reference to attitude
- To be catty is to basically be a bitch (PARDON MY LANGUAGE SIR IDK HOW ELSE TO
PUT THIS)
- As well as catty being a way to present Maggie’s ability to adapt (felines are gud
adapters uwu)

“Shantung silk suit”

- Alliteration…?
- silk= luxury
- suit= formality- knowing of societal place (high status)
- Maggie wants to reaffirm Brick’s wealth and status within the family

Page 23
“Like a cat on a hot tin roof”
- Have to tread delicately but always in pain
- Maggie’s current position

“Take a lover”
- Significant turning point
- Brick’s confrontation with Maggie
- Peak of suspense

ACT TWO
- Completely contrasts act 1
- Act 1- brick and maggie only
- Act 2- everyone is in the room- its busy- frantic
- Juxtaposes the duologue that precedes
- Dramatic
- The cross cutting and interruptions (not specific)
- Mae, and Maggie’s brusque, curt exchanges laced with irony- unpleasant, both bitchy
- The grandchildren singing (song created in the north)- a contrived musical act- linked to
facades of normative white, rich families on the plantation
- The entry and exits of the black servants
- A show- a facade papering over the cracks- big daddy is verbally abusive to big mama-
big mama wants affirmation that he never gives her- everything is a big show- strength of
patriarchy & everyone bowing down to it- everyone trying to keep big daddy happy

The grotesque
Reverend represents:
The church- conventional morality
Decency-respect and truthfulness

Here:
Laughing-fawning-duplictous-avaricious-yearns for the money and the donations
Greed- sinful
Even within the institutions that surround the plantation and white supremacy- part of the
problem as well
Reinforces the grotesque of the play

Grotesque children “no neck monsters”- perhaps even more nauseating when choreographed
Grotesque narcissism of gooper and mae- the selfishness and jockeying for position

How does Williams use sound?

Chaotic family atmosphere- a show
Inappropriate laughs
Wagnerian opera- beethoven symphony
Big mama- “shouting charge- like a shouting rhine”
Blows on a pitch pipe
Cheering- the children singing
Embarrassed coughs
Dry coughs
Burst of fireworks
Sobs of big mama
The clock chiming ten- create an awkwardness but also a defining moment before the duologue
of brick and big daddy

Similar to Chekhov
Chekhov's gun is a dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be
necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed.

Dominant central character of big daddy

- Context of his importance economically but to the fabric and structure of the family unit
- Dramatic irony he is dying but he thinks he isnt
- Become even more coarse and direct in new found life, believing that he has returned
from the dead
- Big daddy’s language is direct- commanding- accusatory and at times cruel

Parallels between big mama and big daddy and maggie and brick
It has become a norm
Big mama has accepted that
Maggie is tryna get brick to be honest