Hot Tin Roof

English 100 and 235
16 October 2012 The Last but not the Least: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof I find it funny that Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams is the last play we viewed in class because it sums up each and every play I have seen in this English 100 and Drama 235 class. All four plays tie-in with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for it talks about: Lies (Oedipus Rex), jealousy (Othello), sexuality or gender roles (A Doll’s House) and the American Dream or greed (Death of a Salesman). The most versatile play that is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is carefully handcrafted by Williams; as a modern playwright, he might have gotten inspiration from the ancient Greeks or classic drama plays. However what truly fuels his art and passion for writing
It helps keep the play going and interesting. Both leading characters in both stories are living their lives full of lies. Brick is experiencing the consequences of his own doubts about his family. Firstly, he thinks that his wife, Maggie, whom loves him dearly, marries him because of the inheritance that is up for grabs whenever his father (Big Daddy) passes away. Next, he also thinks the same way about towards his mother (Big Momma) who in all reality has been loving Big Daddy unconditionally throughout their whole marriage. Brick says, “Mendacity is a system that we live in”. He tries to escape from his problems with alcohol and eventually his internalization breaks free when he tells his father about the lies he has gone through his whole life. Because of mendacity, just like Oedipus, brick wants to believe in something that will save him from the
Just like the play Othello by William Shakespeare, the theme jealousy is shown throughout the whole play in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. It is obvious that the main drive of the “cats” or the wives in the story is the money which Big Daddy dominantly possesses due to his successful business in sugar cane plantation. Like in the play Othello, there are chain reactions of jealousy: Iago is jealous towards Michael Cassio and in consequence, Othello becomes jealous of Cassio because of Iago’s evil plot. Such complex story also applies in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The “cats” have been competing with each other who will be worthy of Big Daddy’s inheritance. As Maggie Pollitt being the unfertile wife of Brick, she feels insecure about her situation and how his father-in-law would look at them as a couple if whether they deserve inheriting his wealth. Also Mae or Sister Woman feels deserving that they earn their share of the inheritance because she and Gooper have been obedient to Big Daddy all along, such as having children to carry on Big Daddy’s legacy and Gooper becoming a corporate lawyer just as what Big Daddy asks of him to be. Maggie says, “Then Brother Man can get a hold of the purse strings and dole out of remittances to us, maybe get power of attorney and sign checks for us and cut off our credit wherever, whenever he wanted. In other words, Maggie feels as though she is on a competition, battling against