ENGL 4603/5413, AMST 5833: American Drama

John M. Mercer, Professor of English

Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Study Guide 4: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Setting

1. Williams said that Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was his favorite play. One reason he especially liked this play is that it observes the classical unities of time and place.

a. What is meant by unity of time? How does this play observe unity of time? In what sense does the play present continuous action?

b. What is meant by unity of place? How does this play observe unity of place?

c. How does unity of place contribute to the effectiveness of this play? How might it affect the audience to look at this setting for the entire play?

2. How does the 1958 Hollywood film starring Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor violate the unity of place? Why would this decision have been made for the film?

3. According to the scene description at the beginning of the play, the bed “should be slightly raked” so that characters on it can be more visible to the audience (16). What does raked mean? Why is the raking of the bed necessary or desirable?

4. According to the script of the play, what pieces of furniture comprise the main elements of the set? How is each of these objects both realistic and symbolic?

5. What is a scrim? How is a scrim be used in this play? What is gained by the use of the scrim?

Maggie the Cat

1. How is Maggie’s situation in the play similar to that of a cat on a hot tin roof?

2. In what ways is Maggie “catty”?

3. Besides cattiness, what other unsympathetic traits does Maggie have?

4. What do we know about Maggie’s background and upbringing that helps explain her behavior in the play?

5. What humorous, satiric observations does Maggie make about Gooper, Mae, and their children?

6. Elia Kazan, the director of the original production of this play, persuaded Williams to change the script to make Maggie a more sympathetic character. These changes are reflected in the script in our textbook. According to Brian Parker’s essay “Swinging a Cat” at the back of our edition of the play, what changes did Williams make so that Maggie would be more sympathetic (179-80)?

7. Some critics still believe that Maggie—and indeed all the characters in the final version of the play—are unsympathetic.

a. What sympathetic qualities does Maggie have?

b. Do you find Maggie to be a primarily a sympathetic or unsympathetic character? Why?

Skipper’s Relationship with Brick and Maggie

Since Skipper has been dead for several years, everything we know about him comes from scattered lines of dialogue concerning antecedent action (events that occurred before the beginning of the play).

1. In the friendship of Maggie, Brick, and Skipper, which two people had the strongest emotional bond? Which person felt left out?

2. What did Maggie tell Skipper that created a crisis for him? Why did she say this?

3. What did Skipper do to try to disprove Maggie’s statement? What happened when he made this attempt?

4. What did Skipper tell Brick over the telephone?

5. How did Brick respond to Skipper’s revelation?

6. What did Skipper do as a result? How did Skipper die? To what extent is Brick responsible for Skipper’s death?

7. How does Maggie say she views Brick’s relationship with Skipper?

8. What does Brick repeatedly say about the nature of his relationship with Skipper?

9. According to Merriam-Webster, homophobia is “the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals.” By this definition, is Brick homophobic? Why or why not? Why does Brick feel as he does?

10. Williams’s stage directions in act 2 (pages 116-17) state that he intends to leave some mystery about the relationship between Skipper and Brick. What questions remain unanswered about their relationship? Why does Williams not answer all our questions?

Brick’s Relationship with Maggie

1. Why did Brick marry Maggie?

2. At the beginning of their marriage, how fulfilling was their sex life?

3. According to what Brick says, how does he feel about Maggie now?

4. What does he say he wants her to do so that she will leave him alone?

5. Why do they not divorce?

6. Why is it especially important that they renew their sexual intimacy now?

7. At the end of the play, what trick does Maggie use to try to seduce Brick?

8. Based on the script of the play, how likely do you think it is that Maggie’s plan will succeed?

9. In any films of the play you have seen, how likely does it appear that Maggie will succeed?

Big Daddy and Big Mama

1. According to what Big Daddy says, how has he felt about his wife, Big Mama, for the past 40 years (most of their married life)? What connection might there be between Big Daddy’s relationship with Big Mama and Brick’s relationship with Maggie?

2. Which of his two sons has Big Daddy always preferred over the other? Why? What problems has this favoritism created in the family? What does he want the favored son to do now?

3. Is Big Daddy homophobic? How can you tell? (See his speech about “tolerance” near the end of act 2, page 122.)

4. Which of Big Mama’s traits and/or actions do you find annoying and/or unappealing?

5. Which of Big Mama’s traits and/or actions do you find endearing and/or likeable?

6. Do you think Big Mama is a primarily sympathetic or unsympathetic character? Why? How do you respond to Big Mama in any films of the play you have seen?

7. Why do the family and the doctor not tell Big Daddy the truth about his illness? Is it believable that they lie to him about it? Why or why not?

Gooper and Mae

1. What is the central goal that Gooper and Mae are pursuing throughout the play?

2. What various means do they use to try to accomplish this goal?

3. What is Maggie’s opinion of Gooper, Mae and their children? Does the play as a whole support Maggie’s opinion? What could be said in defense of Gooper and Mae?

4. In any films of the play you have seen, how do you respond to Gooper, Mae, and their children?

Act 3

1. Some critics have said that the play should end with act 2 because act 3 is unnecessary. Do you agree? If not, what functions does act 3 serve?

2. In the original script, Big Daddy does not appear on stage in act 3. Elia Kazan, the director of the original production, thought this was a flaw in the script. According to Brian Parker’s “Swinging a Cat” at the back of your edition of the play, why did Kazan feel this way (179)? Why did Williams initially disagree (181)?

3. For the original Broadway production, how did Williams, at Kazan’s insistence, change the script to include Big Daddy in act 3 (182)?

4. How did Williams again change Big Daddy’s role in act 3 for the printed Dramatists Play Service edition of the play, published in 1958 (182)?

5. How did Williams change Big Daddy’s role yet again for the 1975 printed version based on a 1974 revival of the play in Stratford, Connecticut (184)? (This is the version in our textbook.)

6. What is your opinion of the script changes concerning Big Daddy? How effective is Big Daddy’s part in act 3 in the current edition of the play?

7. Kazan also believed that Brick should undergo a change in his character in act 3. Why did Kazan feel this way (179)? Why did Williams disagree (179)?

8. For the original Broadway production, how did Williams alter the script to suggest the possibility of change in Brick’s character (180)?

9. For the 1975 edition of the play (the one in our textbook), how did Williams restore his original intention concerning Brick? What does this final change indicate about Williams’s conception of Brick’s character?

10. At the end of the original script (1955) and the final version (1975), Maggie tells Brick she truly loves him and Brick replies, “Wouldn’t it be funny if that was true?” What do you infer from this reply? What does Brick’s question indicate about what is likely to happen next?

11. What was Williams’s opinion of the 1958 film of the play (183)? Why?

The Theme of Mendacity

1. What is mendacity? What instances of mendacity does Big Daddy complain about? What is the most significant instance of mendacity that Big Daddy faces in the action of the play itself?

2. The main reason Williams preferred this play over all his others was that he liked the “crude eloquence of expression” (175) he gave Big Daddy in act 2. On what topics does Big Daddy express himself crudely but eloquently in act 2? What does he say?

3. What kinds of mendacity trouble Brick?

4. In what ways are the following characters also involved in mendacity?

a. Maggie

b. Gooper and Mae

c. Big Mama

5. How does the theme of mendacity unify the play?