Cat on a Hot Tin Roof close passage analysis essay plan PDF

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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams - close passage analysis essay plan....

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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof close passage analysis

The presence of mendacity is a central propellor in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, crafting illusions to obscure truths. In particular, women must grapple with facades to achieve their desires, yet deceit renders individuals lonely and isolated. Despite this, the play suggests that the reveal of the truth is the catalyst for authentic emotional expression in previously repressed individuals.

Para 1: Women are forced to keep up facades to grasp prosperity, transforming them into cruel caricatures. 

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Passage 1:  Repetition of “That’s the truth, Brick” – emphasises that Maggie is genuinely being truthful and vulnerable. She is completely honest about the fact that “you can be young without money but you can’t be old without it”. This shows that women must enact facades to acquire financial prosperity. Italics for truth – emphasis in the delivery of the line.  “Cat on a hot tin roof” – allegory for women forced to stay in painful situations (Maggie and her relationship with Brick) in order to achieve prosperity. She must put up the façade that her relationship with Brick is ok (pretending to be pregnant and calling Brick “honey” in Passage 3), just like her mother. Technique of literary parallel between Maggie and Brick’s relationship and the relationship of Maggie’s mother and father.  Maggie being a “cat” also highlights the cruelty and harshness that women acquire as a result of keeping up appearances – cats are often associated with ideas of the feral, cruel and cold.  Maggie’s obsession with her appearance, shown by the repetition of “I’m all dressed, there’s nothing else for me to do”, is all-consuming, and turns Maggie into a feminine caricature. She seems purposeless without the task of getting ready, “mov[ing] about restlessly [and] aimlessly”. This is reinforced by the use of aposiopesis and ellipsis in “What am I – ? Oh! – my bracelets…”. Deliberately breaking off Maggie’s thoughts repeatedly highlights her complete preoccupation with her jewellery and appearance, to the extent that her mind is unable to focus on other thoughts. Passage 2:  “He’s outside drinkin’, Big Daddy”. Mae is cruel towards Brick, targeting his alcoholism as a point of weakness to disparage him to his father. In the play, Brick’s alcoholism is contrasted against Mae and Gooper as the prototypical family, with Mae the self-sacrificing mother (“refused twilight sleep”). In this sense, Mae enacts the façade of dutiful parent and attacks Brick for the purpose of attaining Big Daddy’s inheritance, once again showing how women must play the part to achieve financial prosperity. Passage 3:  Similar to the “he’s outside drinkin’, Big Daddy”, Mae tries to contrast her wonderful motherhood and prototypical feminine façade against Maggie’s pregnancy lie. The

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repetition of phrases associated with deceit, as in “We know it’s a lie” and “Liar!” emphasise this. Similar to the allegory of the “cat on a hot tin roof” in Passage 1, Mae is compared to a cat in Passage 3 – “contorting her face and hissing”. The association between women and cats highlights that their facades leave them cruel and malicious.

Para 2: Mendacity and illusions render people alone. 

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Passage 1:  Maggie is isolated from Brick as a result of her obsession with her appearance. Link to the outside passage of her staring into the mirror and feeling “alone, completely alone”. This is shown in Passage 1 through her putting on “about six” bracelets on each wrist, absentmindedly discussing her appearance and neglecting to notice the emotional distance between her and Brick. Passage 2:  Big Daddy is isolated from the rest of the family as a result of his illusion of “hardness”. The children mock him in Passage 2, highlighting the distance between him and his family. Passage 3:  Maggie is rendered alone as a result of her lie about the pregnancy. Not only is she entirely rejected by Gooper and Mae, harshly accusing her of deceit, but she is isolated from Brick.  Maggie thinks Brick was supporting her in her lie, thanking him for “keeping still”, but the truth is that Brick is simply entirely detached. Ending the passage with the “click” of his mind detaching from reality as a result of the alcohol highlights how alone Maggie is as a result of her illusions.

Para 3: The truth can unlock a person’s genuine emotions beneath their facades. 

Passage 1:  “Maggie, shut up about Skipper. I mean it, Maggie; you got to shut up about Skipper”. The only time Brick’s true emotions show through are when Skipper is mentioned because it’s a sore spot for him – when the truth is unveiled, he reacts. Link to outside passage of Brick’s -“Brick’s detachment is at last broken through. His heart is accelerated; his forehead sweat-beaded”. His detachment is only broken through when Skipper (the truth of their relationship) is mentioned.  Additionally, Maggie’s emotions are heightened in this scene, shown through frequent use of exclamation marks and swearing such as “god damn”. She is being authentically truthful and vulnerable in this scene, so her true emotions shine through.

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Passage 2:  Big Daddy, who is hard and detached throughout the play, shows a vast enormity of emotion in this scene.  “Mae retreats, awed by the passion of his voice”. ‘Awed’ implies that this show of emotion is unusual and out of the ordinary.

“His face crumbles like broken yellow plaster about to fall into dust” – his façade finally breaks down and his true emotion shows through when the truth is revealed.  The stage directions emphasise the gravity of his emotion – “slowly and passionately”, “fierce revulsion”.  The child “screaming” and yelling “bang, bang..”, as well as “hideously bawling”, heightens the frantic atmosphere of this scene, bringing to the forefront of the raw expression of genuine emotion. Passage 3:  Lots of emphasis in emotion in the final passage too. Authentic “exhale with relief” from Margaret, and anger from Gooper and Mae (“hissing”, “turn that off”).  Additionally, “long drawn cry of agony and rage” – the most profound show of emotion in the whole play. Expressions of emotion are tied up in reveals of truth – in this case, Big Daddy is finally coming to terms with his diagnosis. 

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