essays on a cat on a hot tin roof

A Summary and Analysis of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The 1955 play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is widely regarded as Tennessee Williams’s greatest play, and in it we find an echo of many of America’s main social and political preoccupations and struggles of the 1950s. But the way Williams taps into the national psyche at a particular point in US history is subtle, and requires closer analysis. Before we offer an analysis of the play, however, it might be worth recapping the plot of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof .

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof : summary

Big Daddy, a wealthy plantation owner who lives somewhere on the Mississippi delta, is dying, and everyone except his wife, Big Mama, acknowledges it. The couple’s son, Brick, is married to Margaret, but Brick seems uninterested in his wife sexually (she is the ‘cat on a hot tin roof’ because of her lack of satisfaction). Brick has turned to drink in the wake of his friend Skipper’s death.

Big Daddy confronts his son about his suspected homosexuality (which was a criminal act at the time the play was written), believing Brick had sex with Skipper. (Spoiler: he did.)

In contrast to Brick and Margaret, who are childless, there is Brick’s older brother, Gooper, whose wife Mae is currently expecting the couple’s sixth child. When the family force Big Mama to confront the reality of her husband’s terminal condition, they discuss what should happen to the plantation and estate after Big Daddy’s death.

Gooper and Mae want to look after it, but Big Mama rejects such an idea. Margaret argues that she should be in charge.

She then announces – in a shocking moment – that she is pregnant with her first child. Nobody believes her, so she sets about trying to make the statement true by seducing her husband, locking away his drink, and conceiving a grandchild for Big Daddy, who dies shortly before the end of the play.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof : analysis

The action of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof progresses with an inexorable energy, with each new act picking up at the exact point the previous act ended. As Big Mama is forced to face up to the fact that her husband, who seems the very paragon of virility and the life force, is dying, and Brick is forced to confront the lie that lurks behind his sexless marriage to Margaret, so we, as spectators, are dragged forwards through the relentless family drama with barely a moment to catch our breath.

Masculinity is a key theme of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof : what does a ‘good’ husband and family man look like? Brick and Margaret are made to feel inadequate because, unlike Brick’s brother Gooper and his wife Mae, they don’t have any children, and because of the rumours (which turn out to be true) surrounding Brick’s homosexuality.

And, of course, Brick stands in stark contrast to his father, whose name throughout the play, Big Daddy, emphasises both his status as patriarch of the family and his almighty power over everyone’s life.

But as Big Daddy is dying, the play also raises questions about the interplay between different generations and what one leaves behind: Big Daddy has left behind children and, via Gooper, has grandchildren, but the family disagrees over who should manage his estate when he has passed on. (Curiously, the name Big Daddy was taken up by the famous American wrestler, who used it as his professional wrestling name. He was born Shirley Crabtree, and named ‘Shirley’ after the title character of a Charlotte Brontë novel. This may make him the only person whose real name and stage name were inspired by works of literature.)

Margaret feels forced to act in a desperate manner in order to ensure that she, not Mae, ends up with Big Daddy’s plantation after he dies, and the only way she can conceive of usurping Mae is literally to conceive – to ensure that she falls pregnant with Brick’s child.

Of course, the play’s setting on a plantation on the Mississippi also raises questions relating to race relations in the US in the 1950s, before the Civil Rights movement had begun to gather momentum (the play’s premiere was in the same year that Rosa Parks famously took a stand and refused to give up her seat on the bus for a white passenger).

Williams acknowledges this important background to the play’s setting without making race the play’s principal theme (although in the second version of the play’s third and final act, which he wrote at the suggestion of the play’s director, he made the black servants more prominent on stage).

Why does this setting matter? It was a world that Williams knew fairly well (as he knew about living as a homosexual man at a time when it was criminalised and socially unmentionable), but it also reminds us that Big Daddy represents, on some level, the uncertainty of the United States at the time.

The Cold War between the US and the USSR was raging, the Soviet Union was developing its own atomic bombs, and America itself seemed riven by internecine suspicions and conflicts surrounding suspected Communist activity (McCarthyism, of course, also provided the backdrop to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible , another classic American play of this era).

And, as the 1950s advanced, the second-class status of black Americans would also start to unravel as the Civil Rights movement became more mainstream. The America that Big Daddy lived and thrived in is, like Big Daddy himself, dying.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is an example of naturalistic drama: that is, it reflects the realities of normal life (especially domestic life) and tries to recreate the family dramas of real people in an authentic way.

There is no Brechtian ‘distancing’ or metatheatrical breaking of the fourth wall: we are invited to become absorbed into the lives of the characters via some emotionally engaging performances (the director of the original production, Elia Kazan, was famed for his work in naturalist theatre).

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3 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”

I am tempted to disagree with the observation that Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is “widely regarded as Tennessee Williams’s greatest play”. That status surely belongs to A Streetcar Named Desire. Although I personally prefer Cat to Streetcar, I seriously doubt that I’m in the majority. Part of the reason for this may be that, unlike the film version of Cat (which is beautifully performed but takes a lot of the teeth out of the original material), the film version of Streetcar was a massive success both artistically and commercially. Millions of audiences who don’t live in big cities with thriving live theatre have seen a legitimate interpretation of Streetcar, but only a sanitized interpretation of Cat.

Thanks, Matthew, and I think that’s a fair point. I suppose when I write ‘widely regarded’ I mean critically rather than commercially or in the popular imagination, though even then, I’m aware the point is debatable!

Comparisons are difficult: so often “greatest” means the highest gross. It occurs to me that the embryo of the #ME TOO movement lies in both plays, and (just incidentally) I never remember Brick’s wife being called anything but “Maggie” or “Maggie the Cat.”

Essays on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

The importance of writing an essay on cat on a hot tin roof.

Writing an essay on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is important for a number of reasons. This classic play by Tennessee Williams is rich with complex characters, intense themes, and thought-provoking symbolism. By examining and analyzing the play in an essay, students can gain a deeper understanding of the text and its significance in the world of literature and drama.

One important aspect of writing an essay on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the opportunity to explore the characters and their motivations. The play's central characters, such as Brick, Maggie, and Big Daddy, are deeply flawed and multi-dimensional, making them fascinating subjects for literary analysis. By delving into their personalities, relationships, and conflicts, students can gain insight into the human condition and the complexities of human behavior.

Additionally, writing an essay on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof allows students to explore the themes and symbolism present in the play. Themes such as mendacity, greed, and the search for truth are prevalent throughout the text, and analyzing these themes can provide valuable insights into the deeper meanings of the play. Similarly, the symbolism of the "cat" and the "hot tin roof" can be dissected and interpreted to reveal the play's underlying messages and metaphors.

When writing an essay on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, it's important to consider the historical and cultural context in which the play was written. Tennessee Williams was known for addressing controversial and taboo topics in his work, and understanding the social climate of the time can provide a deeper understanding of the play's themes and characters. Additionally, considering the play's reception and impact on the world of theater can provide valuable insights into its significance and lasting influence.

For students embarking on the task of writing an essay on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, it's important to approach the text with an open mind and a critical eye. Take the time to thoroughly read and analyze the play, paying attention to details and nuances that may not be immediately apparent. Consider the perspectives of different characters and the ways in which they are shaped by their environment and experiences. And don't be afraid to explore and interpret the play's themes and symbolism in creative and original ways.

Finally, when writing the essay, be sure to support your arguments with evidence from the text. Use quotes, examples, and specific references to the play to back up your analysis and interpretations. This will not only strengthen your arguments but also demonstrate a thorough understanding of the text.

Writing an essay on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is an important and valuable undertaking for students of literature and drama. By delving into the characters, themes, and symbolism of the play, students can gain a deeper understanding of the text and its significance in the world of literature. With careful analysis, critical thinking, and strong textual evidence, students can craft an insightful and compelling essay that sheds new light on this timeless classic.

The role of the dysfunctional family in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
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The theme of mendacity in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The representation of masculinity in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The portrayal of women in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
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The theme of mortality in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The portrayal of love and desire in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The role of race and class in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The representation of homosexuality in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The use of foreshadowing in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
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The portrayal of Southern culture in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The significance of the character of Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by Tennessee Williams in 1955. The play is set in the Mississippi Delta and revolves around the dysfunctional Pollitt family, specifically the relationship between Brick, an alcoholic former football player, and his wife Maggie, as they gather at the family estate to celebrate the birthday of Big Daddy, the family patriarch. The play explores themes of mendacity, sexuality, death, and the American Dream, and has been the subject of much critical analysis and interpretation.

One of the most prominent themes in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the concept of mendacity, or the tendency to lie and deceive. Throughout the play, the characters engage in various forms of dishonesty, whether it's Big Daddy's refusal to acknowledge his terminal illness, Brick's denial of his true feelings for his friend Skipper, or Maggie's manipulation and deceit in her efforts to secure her husband's inheritance. The theme of mendacity serves as a commentary on the disintegration of truth and authenticity in the Pollitt family, and the destructive impact it has on their relationships.

Another significant theme in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the portrayal of masculinity. The play delves into the complexities of male identity and the societal expectations placed on men, particularly in the context of Brick's struggle with his own sexuality and the pressures of conforming to traditional notions of masculinity. The character of Big Daddy also embodies a certain ideal of masculinity, with his authoritative and domineering demeanor, yet the play also reveals his vulnerabilities and insecurities, challenging conventional notions of masculinity.

The role of women is also a key aspect of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with Maggie's character serving as a strong and assertive female protagonist who defies traditional gender roles and expectations. Her determination to secure her husband's inheritance and assert her own agency in the face of adversity reflects the evolving role of women in the 1950s, and her character is often interpreted as a symbol of female empowerment and resilience.

In addition to these themes, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof also explores the Southern culture of the 1950s, the complexities of family dynamics, and the pursuit of the American Dream. The play's rich symbolism, nuanced characters, and engaging plot have made it a timeless classic that continues to be studied and appreciated by audiences and scholars alike.

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Home › Drama Criticism › Analysis of Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Analysis of Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on October 13, 2020 • ( 0 )

One of Williams’s more famous works and his personal favorite, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. This three-act play is set in the Pollitts’ stately home, a Southern plantation in the fertile Mississippi Valley.

Brick Pollitt emerges from the bathroom at the insistence of his wife, Margaret Pollitt (Maggie the Cat). With his left ankle broken, Brick hobbles around the room and dresses. He is coolly detached from his wife despite her poise and beauty. Maggie tells him that the evening’s festivities will include a birthday party in honor of Brick’s father, Big Daddy Pollitt. She bemoans Brick’s brother, Gooper, and his wife, Mae, and the way they strategically display their children for Big Daddy. Maggie is disgusted by the children, the “no-neck monsters,” who used her dress as a napkin. As it has become known that Big Daddy is dying of cancer, Maggie is competing with Gooper and Mae to secure the family estate for Brick.

Maggie criticizes Mae and her family, the Memphis Flynns. Maggie realizes that Brick is staring at her with cold contempt and she begs to know why. Maggie believes loneliness has changed her, and she prays for the day when their marriage will be rekindled. Maggie asks why Brick remains so handsome despite his alcoholism. She notes that he has not deteriorated as his friend Skipper did. The mention of Skipper’s name sends Brick to the bar to make another drink. Maggie comments that she would surely kill herself if Brick chose not to make love to her anymore. When she realizes that her dramatic overture has not stirred him, she maliciously utters the name Skipper again. Brick fills his drink once more. He drops his crutch and tries to run from Maggie’s pronouncements of Skipper.

Brick waits to hear “the click” in his head, the peaceful feeling he experiences when he drinks enough alcohol. Maggie’s presence and constant nagging to join the party distract him and prevent him from feeling the click. Brick is angered by Maggie’s persistence, and just as their argument crescendos there is a knock at their door. Mae enters with an old trophy of Maggie’s from her sporting days at Mississippi University. Mae orders that this be placed high enough to be out of the reach of her children, to which Maggie replies that if they were well bred they would not be touching things that did not belong to them. Mae retorts that Maggie knows nothing of children because she has none of her own, a vicious truth. Maggie nastily asks Mae why she has given her children “dogs’ names”: Trixie, Buster, Sonny, and so on.

Mae storms out of the bedroom, and Brick begs Maggie not to be so catty. Maggie claims that she cannot control her temper because Brick has turned her into a cat on a hot tin roof. Brick suggests that she jump off the roof and take another lover. Maggie shows her longing affection for him, but he refuses her again. She runs to the door and locks it, turns down the shade, and crawls closer to Brick. She grabs him, and he violently shoves her away as his disgust for her increases.

Big Mama enters the bedroom. Brick runs into the bathroom to hide from his mother, and Maggie finishes getting dressed. Big Mama excitedly announces that Doc Baugh has just informed her that Big Daddy does not have cancer after all. She asks Brick to dress and join the party; otherwise, the party will join him in the bedroom (since he has a broken ankle).

When Big Mama exits, Maggie resumes her talk about their sex life, which declined abruptly. Maggie says that she maintains her figure for Brick because she knows he will return to her. She brags that other men devour her with their looks. She revels in the knowledge that she is still gorgeous.

Brick acknowledges that his father really is terminally ill and his mother is oblivious to this truth. Gooper and Mae thought it best to withhold the truth from Big Daddy and Big Mama in an attempt to put the estate in order.

Maggie returns to the topic of Skipper. Brick tries to avoid the conversation and calls out on the gallery for the party to join him upstairs. Maggie will not desist. She is determined to get to the truth about Brick and Skipper. Brick threatens to hit her with his crutch.

Angrily, Brick demands that Maggie stop trying to taint the memory of Skipper. Maggie relentlessly tells the story of two college football heroes who organized their own team, the Dixie Stars, in order to keep playing after college. Brick was injured midseason, and Skipper also did not have a successful season. Brick runs around the room trying to catch Maggie for her vulgar insinuations regarding his relationship with Skipper. Maggie confesses that Skipper had sex with her to disprove the allegation that he was gay. Maggie had made this allegation the night that Skipper plunged himself into a fatal drug-induced alcoholic coma.

At this admission, Brick falls to the floor with grief. One of the children runs into the room shooting a toy gun. When the child asks why he is on the floor, Brick responds that he tried to kill Aunt Maggie. Maggie yells at the little girl, and she answers smartly that Maggie is just jealous because she cannot have babies as her mommy can. Maggie confides to Brick that she visited a fertility doctor who said there was no reason why they should not be able to have children. Repulsed, Brick asks how she plans to have a child with a man who cannot stand her.

Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in the 1958 adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof /IMDB

The partygoers usher Big Daddy into Brick and Maggie’s quarters. The Reverend Tooker converses with Gooper about memorial stained glass windows donated by certain parishioners and widowers. Mae talks about the children’s vaccinations with Doc Baugh, forcing Maggie to blast the radio. Big Daddy demands that the radio be turned off, but when Big Mama enters shouting for Brick, he changes his order so as to drown out the noise.

Big Mama begs Brick to stop drinking and join the family. Big Mama tries to be close to her husband, but she is met with a cold stare of irritation. The servants and Gooper’s children enter with Big Daddy’s birthday cake, singing and dancing in a rehearsed act. Big Mama cries and Big Daddy quarrels with her because she is crying. Big Daddy asks whether Brick was drunk and jumping hurdles at the track field last night. Big Mama shows Big Daddy his cake in hopes of changing the subject. Infuriated by Brick’s asinine actions and Big Mama’s need to cover them, Big Daddy accuses her of never knowing anything in her whole life. Big Mama objects to being treated this way in front of the family, but he continues to accuse her of usurping his position. Everyone gradually leaves the room.

Big Daddy talks about being a self-made man, one of the richest plantation owners in the South. He orders Big Mama to blow out the candles and she refuses. As she leaves the room, she repeats that she always loved him. Big Daddy comments, “Wouldn’t it be funny if that was true.”

Big Daddy calls Brick back into the room. Maggie enters with a begrudging Brick and she kisses him on the lips as she exits to the gallery. Brick wipes off her kiss and Big Daddy asks why he would object to being kissed by such a beautiful woman. Brick informs him that Maggie and Mae are fighting over the plantation. Big Daddy responds that he intends to live another good 20 years.

They discover Mae eavesdropping on their conversation. Big Daddy threatens to move them out of the room next door because he is tired of getting reports about what goes on between Brick and Maggie every night. Brick is amused that his debacle of a marriage is so important to everyone. When questioned about his refusal to sleep with Maggie, Brick returns to the liquor cabinet. Big Daddy asks Brick to stop drinking.

Big Daddy reminisces about his travels with Big Mama to Europe and the useless things they bought. He comments that one cannot buy back life or any of the memories that have built it. Brick grows restless with these ramblings. Brick says he is not interested in talking to his father because it will turn out as all of their talks do: talking in circles and leading to nowhere in particular. He just wants to hear the quiet click and rest in peace.

Big Daddy is compelled to close the doors and confide to Brick that he was truly frightened about having cancer. He declares that he is going to live life to the fullest now that he knows he is healthy. Big Daddy confesses that he could never tolerate Big Mama, and he now thinks he will pursue women as a hobby. Big Mama crosses through the room to answer the phone. Brick is so ashamed by his father’s disgust for his mother that he exits for fresh air.

Big Mama begs her husband to take back all the awful things he said to her. He responds by throwing her out of the room and locking the door. Brick aimlessly hobbles around the room. Brick says that he is waiting for the click in his brain. Big Daddy vows to cure Brick’s alcoholism.

Brick knows his father’s death is imminent and cannot face his father’s talk of a second chance at life. He tries to leave but Big Daddy violently thrusts him back into the room by the sleeve of his shirt. They begin to fight and Big Mama rushes in to resolve the situation. Big Daddy orders her out and grabs Brick’s crutch so that he is immobile. Big Daddy will not give it back to him until he can answer why he drinks. Brick cannot answer him.

Brick confesses that the “mendacity” of life is plaguing him. Big Daddy explains that mendacity is merely a part of life for everyone with false institutions such as church, government, and marriage. Brick suggests that the only true companion is alcohol. Big Daddy deduces that Brick began drinking when Skipper died. Brick’s cool detachment immediately changes to defensiveness.

Brick asks his father whether he believed his relationship with Skipper was more than just a friendship. The conversation escalates as Brick rants about the insinuations about his relationship with Skipper. Big Daddy doubles over with pain.

Brick describes his friendship with Skipper and their closeness as comrades, not as lovers. Brick regains his composure and speaks frankly to Big Daddy. He admits that Maggie threatened to leave him if he did not marry her and so he did, out of obligation rather than love. She tagged along with Brick and the football team all over the country. When Brick was hospitalized following his injury, Skipper and Maggie continued on the road. Brick witnessed the closeness of their relationship from the confines of his hospital bed. Maggie accused Skipper of being in love with her husband, which provoked Skipper to sleep with Maggie to prove his heterosexuality. When he could not physically complete the act with her, he was convinced that he was gay. This realization was too much for him to handle, and led to his breakdown and subsequent death.

Big Daddy suspects that there are missing pieces of the story. Brick confesses that later that same night Skipper called him at the hospital and professed his love for him. Skipper told Brick about the situation with Maggie, and Brick hung up on him. He never spoke to Skipper again.

Big Daddy concludes that Brick never resolved the issue with Skipper. Brick questions whether anyone ever completely faces the truth, and he challenges Big Daddy about his own reality. Brick declares that there will be no more birthdays for his father. Big Daddy becomes enraged and vows to bury his drunk son before giving the plantation to him. Brick exits as Big Daddy witnesses his birthday fireworks in the evening sky.

Brick returns and tenderly explains to Big Daddy that he told him the truth about his illness because no one else had the courage to face him. Big Daddy exits, condemning his family as liars.

Mae and the Reverend Tooker search for Big Daddy, who has retired to bed. Gooper gathers the family to discuss important matters while Maggie searches for Big Daddy. Big Mama basks in the news that her husband is healthy, except for a nervous condition. She calls for Brick, and Gooper quickly informs her that he is outside drinking. When Maggie exits to fetch Brick, Mae charges that Brick revealed the truth about Big Daddy’s health to him. Gooper tries to delicately inform Big Mama about Big Daddy’s condition.

Big Mama expresses concern for Brick’s depression and his decline after Skipper’s death. Brick overhears her as he enters and moves toward the liquor cabinet, silencing the family members in the room. Big Mama sobs and Maggie tries to improve the situation by forcing Brick to sit beside Big Mama; however, Brick leaves the room. Gooper and Dr. Baugh tell Big Mama that Big Daddy is terminally ill with cancer. Hysterical, Big Mama calls for Brick. Gooper goes to her, but she pushes him away and says, “You’re not my real blood.” Mae is astounded by her mother-in-law’s hurtful remark, and she rushes over to plead with Big Mama. The Reverend Tooker quickly escapes this heated moment of family crisis.

Big Mama accuses Gooper of never liking Big Daddy. She accuses him of being happy that his father is dying so that he can finally gain control of the plantation and family assets. Maggie joins in the conversation and is met with insults from Mae, who accuses Brick of being an alcoholic. Maggie denies the charges, explaining that his current inebriation is a result of the difficult news. Big Mama calls for Brick so that she can discuss his taking over the plantation. Astounded by the thought, Gooper quickly instructs Mae to get his briefcase, insisting on handling business contracts he has readied for this occasion.

Mae criticizes Brick’s lifestyle. She claims he is still living in the glory days of his high school football career. Maggie defends her husband once again, and Gooper rages toward her with his fists clenched. Big Mama sweeps Maggie to her side. Maggie tells Gooper that they plan to leave the plantation as soon as Big Daddy dies. Maggie then apologizes to Big Mama. Mae accuses Maggie of being barren, and she divulges that Brick refuses to have sex with his own wife. Gooper shouts at Mae for the plummeting conversation and demands fairness and rights to the plantation. When Brick enters the room, Gooper and Mae make fun of his petty local football stardom. Gooper produces a contract, urging Big Mama to sign it. Maggie contests the document while Brick sings and pours another drink. Big Mama demands that Gooper stop talking as if Big Daddy were already dead. She rejects the contract, demands it be put away, and coddles Brick. Big Mama asks him to have a child with Maggie before Big Daddy dies. Mae scoffs at this remark which prompts Maggie to announce that she is pregnant. Big Mama is elated because she believes a child will sober Brick. Big Mama rushes out to tell Big Daddy the good news. Gooper makes a drink for himself while Mae accuses Maggie of lying.

A thunderous moan of pain overcomes the house. Gooper and Mae run to Big Daddy’s bedroom. Maggie scolds Brick for not backing her story. Brick says that it has not happened yet, the peaceful click in his mind. He asks for a pillow from the bed in preparation for his slumber on the couch, and the peaceful click occurs with Brick’s next drink. Maggie tells her husband that she used to think he was the stronger in their relationship, but now that he drinks, she has become the stronger. Maggie asks him to bed, and she explains that it is her time to conceive. Brick asks how that is possible with a man in love with his liquor. Maggie counters that she has locked the liquor away until he satisfies her. Brick grabs his crutch and attempts to get up, but Maggie steals the crutch away from him.

Big Mama rushes into the bedroom still euphoric with the news of the pregnancy. Big Daddy’s groans are heard, prompting Big Mama to rush out again. Maggie states that the lie is going to become the truth. She proposes that she and Brick get drunk after they have conceived. She switches off the lamp and declares her love for him. Brick comments that it would be funny if her declaration were true.

Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)/IMDB

There are several versions of the final moments of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . The ending outlined above is from Williams’s first published version of the play(1955). The version that was created for the premiere production on Broadway (under the direction of Elia Kazan) in 1954 differs from this version in the manipulation of the last lines. Kazan believed the play needed a less harsh ending. In the Kazan version, after Maggie suggests she and Brick conceive a child and get drunk together, Brick states, “I admire you, Maggie.” He then turns out the light, and she likens his “weak” condition to “gold you let go of.” She says she is determined to give him back his life. This version of the play ends with Maggie posing the following question: “And nothing’s more determined than a cat on a tin roof—is there? Is there, Baby?” This version of the script lessens Brick’s tragedy, as he chooses Maggie and their marriage rather than merely surrendering to her.

A third and final version of the script, created for the 1974 Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , starring Elizabeth Ashley, is a combination of the two endings. In this version, Big Daddy reappears to tell a joke. Although the severity of Brick’s tragic fate (tragic because he does not want Maggie) is not completely restored in this version, it is, however, less neatly packaged than the 1950s happy ending. Brick still comments on his admiration for Maggie, but when Maggie declares her love for him, Brick responds, “Wouldn’t it be funny if that were true?”

The nuances that are created in the slight manipulation of the last lines dramatically affect the overall weight of the play. The original version’s impact lies in Brick’s tragic turn in his forfeiting dominance to Maggie the Cat, an ingenious shift that occurs in the final seconds of the lengthy play; the second and third versions of the script shift the play’s focus to Maggie. She remains in control of the plot, and the introduction of such sudden and complete tenderness between these mismatched characters seems heavy-handed and inconsistent. In his preface or note of explanation about the changes Kazan wanted in the script, Williams stated, “The moral paralysis of Brick was a root thing in his tragedy, and to show a dramatic progression would obscure the meaning of that tragedy in him . . . because I don’t believe that a conversation, however revelatory, ever effects so immediate a change in the heart or even conduct of a person in Brick’s state of spiritual disrepair.” Williams, however, conceded and made the change because he wanted Kazan to direct the play. Williams admired Kazan and in the same preface he defends the director: “No living playwright, that I can think of, hasn’t something valuable to learn about his own work from a director so keenly perceptive as Elia Kazan.”

In this play, Williams pushes the boundaries of subjects taboo at this time, such as homosexuality (particularly taboo in the South), decay, disease and death, and depression stemming from the mendacity of life. Interestingly, the play is based on the short story “Three Players of a Summer Game,” in which the character Brick Pollitt loves the company of women.

Although he is profane, violent, and gluttonous, Big Daddy is interestingly and surprisingly tolerant. He questions the source of Brick’s alcoholism, implying that Brick’s relationship with Skipper was more than platonic. Big Daddy explains that his plantation was previously owned by two men, and Brick and Maggie’s bedroom was in fact the bedroom of the men who lovingly shared their lives together. In his stage directions to the play, Williams writes, “The room must evoke some ghosts; it is gently and poetically haunted by a relationship that must have involved a tenderness which was uncommon.” Whereas Big Daddy is tolerant about this relationship, Brick rages, rails, and cannot accept the idea. Big Daddy validates Brick’s loss. He also addresses his self-possessed tolerance: “Always, anyhow, lived with too much space around me to be infected by ideas of other people. One thing you can grow on a big place more important than cotton!—is tolerance!—I grown it!” At the heart of Big Daddy’s unexpected act of understanding is an enlightened view of himself in relation to the world around him: his rebellious approach to living without societal pressures to conform and his uncommon belief that tolerance for human beings is more important than any cash crop. His tolerance is widely overlooked and underrated in traditional scholarship.

The core of Brick’s pain stems from the phone call in which Skipper revealed to Brick his love and desire for him. Brick’s guilt arises from his insensitive response to Skipper and Skipper’s subsequent suicide. Big Daddy responds to this story by saying, “This disgust with mendacity is disgust with yourself. You !—dug the grave of your friend and kicked him in it!—before you’d face the truth with him!” Brick’s only defense when cornered in such a profound way is to counter with the attack that Big Daddy is dying of cancer. His rejection of this personal truth runs so deeply, his internalized homophobia is so severe, that in this moment of rare understanding, Brick lashes out, severing the unprecedented connection with his father.

Big Daddy’s dysfunctional and loathsome marriage with Big Mama is mirrored in Brick and Maggie’s relationship. This is another tragic element in the play, as their marriage is destined to become more miserable and unbearable. Maggie and Big Mama are similar creatures in that they both search for the satisfaction of knowing they are admired and loved by their husbands. Brick’s love for Maggie has been usurped by another: the memory of his beloved Skipper, whom Maggie exposed (Maggie “tested” his sexuality when she lured him to bed and he could not perform). Brick blames Maggie for Skipper’s death. As Nancy Tischler comments, “Brick, knowing how Maggie forced this intolerable self-realization on Skipper, sees her as his enemy, while Maggie feels that this, like everything she does, was a testimony of her all-embracing love for Brick” (Tischler, 201). What is left of this marriage is a rudimentary set of assigned roles that Maggie must force upon Brick. It is revealed in the final moments of the play that she indeed proves victorious. Brick gives up and sleeps with the enemy.

Maggie is a strong woman, determined to become a wealthy plantation owner. She does love Brick, but for her it is impossible to separate the idea of Brick from his social position and potential power. Although Brick is the athlete, no one understands competition and winning more than the powerful Maggie. In the original version of the script, it is her strength and her assuming the willful characteristics of Big Daddy that finally reward her. Her trump card is her pregnancy, and upon declaring herself with child, Maggie wins the plantation, conquering Gooper and Mae and their host of “no-neck” children, as well as achieving intimacy with her handsome Brick.

He is the Pollitt family doctor, who delivers the news that Big Daddy is dying of cancer. He relays this awful news at Big Daddy’s birthday party. Dr. Baugh stands in the shadows during heated family arguments.

A prominent Southern plantation owner and tycoon, Big Daddy is profane, gluttonous, and brutally honest. Big Daddy is terminally ill but is told by his family that his test results prove that he is healthy. In a heated argument with his alcoholic son, Brick Pollitt, regarding Brick’s implied sexual relationship with his friend Skipper, Brick lashes out and tells his father that he is actually dying of cancer. Like Boss Finley of Sweet Bird of Youth, Big Daddy is a powerful figure in his community. Talk of his impending death ushers in a whirlwind of change in which his son, Gooper Pollitt, intends to profit.Big Daddy also shares Boss Finely’s boisterous point of view and outlook on life. He is arguably Williams’s most famous male character.

The wife of Big Daddy. She and Big Daddy have been married nearly 40 years. Despite their years together, Big Mama still searches for ways to know she is loved by Big Daddy. Big Mama is the matriarch of a large family, including Brick and Margaret Pollitt, Gooper and Mae Pollitt, and a host of grandchildren. She is fun-loving and colorful and openly expresses her sincere love for her family. When Big Daddy is diagnosed with cancer, Big Mama refuses to believe the news because she cannot fathom a life without him. She is faced with the decision about which son will run their plantation.

Pollitt, Brick

He is the son of Big Daddy and Big Mama and husband of Margaret “Maggie the Cat” Pollitt. Brick is a jaded soul whose life is spent in an alcohol-induced haze of memories about Skipper, a friend with whom he shared a mutual attraction. When Skipper revealed his love for Brick, Brick did not acknowledge it. Skipper then committed suicide. Brick has never forgiven himself for not being honest with his friend. Brick blames Maggie for revealing the sexual tension that existed between the two men. Maggie is very unhappy because Brick refuses to be intimate with her. Brick eventually gives in to his wife’s continual demands. As the play ends, Brick forfeits his own personal desires to satisfy Maggie. He succumbs to the mendacity of life.

Pollitt, Gooper

He is married to Mae Pollitt. Gooper competes with his parents’ favorite son, Brick Pollitt. This tension escalates as it is revealed that their father, Big Daddy, is dying of cancer andwill leave behind an empire of wealth and the largest plantation in the state of Mississippi. Gooper and Mae have produced several children to please Big Daddy and Big Mama, but their obvious opportunism is scorned by the other members of the family.

Pollitt, Mae

She is the wife of Gooper Pollitt. Mae rails against her brother-in-law and his wife, Brick and Margaret Pollitt. She competes with them by having children to be the heirs of the Pollitt wealth and plantation. Mae is ruthless about securing the rights to the estate, and when it becomes known that Big Daddy is dying of cancer, she and Gooper set up camp at their home, equipped with a contract in preparation for the final moment.

Pollitt, Margaret (Maggie the Cat)

She is the wife of Brick Pollitt. As the title of the play suggests, Maggie is the catalyst for the plot of the play. She married the handsome Brick because she values his social standing and his money and because she loves him. Having grown up in poverty, Maggie has no doubts about the power of wealth, and so she openly competes with her brother-in-law, Gooper Pollitt, and his wife, Mae Pollitt, for the best position in the family. Brick is an alcoholic, and Maggie makes excuses for his behavior and lack of participation in family events, as well as covering up the severity of his condition. When it is revealed that Big Daddy is dying of cancer, Maggie deceives the family by announcing that she is pregnant, in a ploy to inherit the family’s plantation. Despite Brick’s lack of interest in the inheritance or his wife, he decides to play the game with her. Maggie proves triumphant.

Reverend Tooker

He is the Pollitt family’s minister. The Reverend Tooker attends a birthday party for Big Daddy, who donates significant amounts of money to his church. When the news breaks that Big Daddy is dying of cancer, the Reverend Tooker says a quick good-bye instead of consoling the family. His interest in the family seems fueled by financial gain.

FURTHER READING Bloom, Harold, ed. Tennessee Williams. Modern Critical Views series. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Griffith, Alice. Understanding Tennessee Williams. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995. Kolin, Philip, ed. Tennessee Williams: A Guide to Research and Performance. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998. Leverich, Lyle. Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams. New York: Crown Publishers, 1995. Rader, Dotson. Tennessee: Cry of the Heart. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1985. Rondane, Matthew C., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Tennessee Williams. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Spoto, Donald. The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams. Boston: Little, Brown, 1985. Tischler, Nancy. Tennessee Williams: Rebellious Puritan. New York: The Citadel Press, 1965. Williams, Dakin, and Shepherd Mead. Tennessee Williams: An Intimate Biography. New York: Arbor House, 1983.Windham, Donald. As if . . . Verona, Italy, 1985. Yacowar, Maurice. Tennessee Williams and Film. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1977.

Social Issues in the “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by Tennessee William Essay

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof represents a title of a brilliant play composed by Tennessee William, an American playwright. The play focuses on a non-adaptive southern family that is pushed by life to handle concealed deceit and hypocrisy. The issues presented in this play transcend time and realm. William has succeeded in producing a modern tragedy which looks into the consequences of social change, human heart deception and portrayal of the ordinary tragedies that are faced by ordinary people in a dynamic world.

Generally, the play emphasizes tragedy in contemporary troubles such as alcoholism, mendacity, regret, betrayal, bitterness, greed, cancer and death. The play also explores homosexuality and infidelity which in part, play a role in bringing these terrible and sorrowful events. Cat on a Tin Roof is, arguably, A Tragedy. Yet, this is a somewhat a vague term; broad, certainly. This essay aims to discuss “tragedy” as presented in various ways in the play.

Kolin argues that, the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with its classic antecedents, share a basic principle: “Man is not the master of his soul. The great decisions are made by forces beyond control (1)”. In the play, superior forces that the characters fight against are biological, social, psychological and economic. As the play commences, one observes that there seems to be lack of communication among the characters as they appear to be suffering from lonesomeness.

Tennessee looks to be leery of the alterations in the social measures and household unit dissolution resulting from social and global modifications. This is a fear that is reflected by Big Daddy’s phrase; “Sometimes I think that a vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with”(122). This basically means that emergence and development is in accordance with nature but the result brought about by the change is often damaging and unanticipated.

Big Daddy, as a matter of fact is an American Dream embodiment and via his character. Tennessee depicts how the society of America has made a sacrifice of all values in the name of the most appealing value in the globe; money. Ambition has an atrocious aspect, and Big Daddy is an achiever in the world of business, but a failure in some other facets.

As a human, he has gone wrong by concentrating his small empire upon himself rather than becoming sensitive to the opinions and demands of his family. He acts as though money were his mere value as a man, as evidenced by this; “Y’know how much I’m worth? Guess Brick! Guess how much I’m worth!” His being a failure in other aspects and a sorrowful character is by itself a form of tragedy (Kolin 122).”

A conspicuous battle ensues in Big Daddy as he makes an effort as a father, to make advances Brick just as a caring dad goes up to his son, revealing his inmost affection and anxiety. The struggle is betwixt his great affection for his boy and his finding the facts, and the mindset of his miserable upbringing by which the dad was normally a removed and an unreachable figure.

The stage directions of the play hints this; “glancing quickly, shyly, from time to time, at his son”, “pressing his head quickly, shyly against his son’s head, then coughing with embarrassment…” this implies that he is embarrassed to display affection, which displays a form of tragedy within himself (Kolin 134).

Via the difficulties experienced by Brick and his father to freely converse about the matter, deficiency in message conveyance is exhibited thus resulting to desolation and closing off.

The two men continuously talk while saying nothing of importance and not paying attention to each other at all, as pointed out by Brick’s speech; “We talk, you talk in circles! We get nowhere, nowhere!” (124) Big Daddy is however determined to converse with his son and he says, “Don’t let’s- leave it like this, like them other talks we’ve had…it’s always like something was left not spoken”. To some extent, the two men are tragic characters.

At the earlier stages of the play, there is a family gathering aimed at celebrating the patriarch sixth-fifth birthday of Big Daddy when they barely discover that he had cancer and they start to quarrel and finally had to deal with many other prevarications and hypocrisy in their livings.

The destiny of Big Daddy is determined by cancer for which he battles his life against. Meanwhile, Mae and Gooper compete against Maggie for the inheritance that insures economic security in the materialistic society apathetic to the needs of the poor. Big daddy has never made a will and now he is on the brink of dying thus he might end up having inheritance disputes within his family (Kolin 127).

The tragedy of existence makes the troubles of Brick to look petty. Brick’s troubles however, are directly associated to the reality that exalted him at one time and he so much adored that he took on its entire preconception. When he had grown old and imperfect, the very world dropped him as a hot brick.

At once the reality sickened him, and was displeased for becoming its part, and therefore he set himself apart. Contrariwise, Big Daddy learned to assume the untruthfulness of living, and this hard-boiled and made him misanthropic. Brick attempts to define himself either as homo or heterosexual. Simultaneously, as an idealistic individual, he tries to wage war with a realistic society of America (Kolin 122).

Brick has become unhappy, unemotional, detached and hard to get on with ever since the death of his friend Skipper. He becomes a drunk and nobody, not even Maggie, his wife, could make him happy. He badly misses Skipper and blames himself on what happened to his friend thence sees alcohol as the only remedy to his sorrow.

The reason why Brick is very bitter toward life is that he feels there are lies all over in his life which are impossible to get away from. He believes that his wife betrayed him with his closest friend, Skipper. Moreover, everybody was lying about the condition of his father and his family including his brother, are doing all that is possible to make sure that they inherit his father’s fortune after he passes on.

With all this occupying his mind, he finds it best to become unemotional and detach himself from his entire family and life. He supposes that if he drinks into oblivion each day of his life, then it will come to pass or he will have nothing to deal with at the least. From his past happy life, Bricks life turned into hell- it had an unhappy ending which brings in the definition of tragic. Due to him not responding to his friend’s call for help, Skipper died leading to his tragic end (Kolin 122-126).

Another victim who suffers tragedy is Maggie, Bricks wife. She is constantly rejected by her husband who is supposed to love and comfort her as a soul mate; therefore she suffers that tragedy of rejection and loneliness. When Maggie complains about the trail that their marriage is taking, Brick coldly tells her to have an outside affair if she so wished to have sexual satisfaction.

He goes on to tell her that they only shared a roof because she wanted to and had agreed to do so only in name, “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to! Now, you keep forgetting the conditions on which I agreed to stay on living with you.” Such treatment is inappropriate regarding the reality that they were man and wife; hence Maggie continually suffered silently.

Maggie on her part is unwilling to go out and have an affair. She opts to remain “a cat on a hot tin roof” till her husband appreciates her. While being angry and frustrated with the entire situation, she hopes that her husband would change for the better. She does not seem to matter to Brick at all as he becomes bitter and cold toward her and is amazed that Maggie could actually want to bear child with a man who does not love her (Kolin 123). This is truly a tragedy in that it is an unhappy event in life.

Families are perhaps the most difficult to understand in human relationships. In the play, they seem to lend themselves towards tragedy naturally. Tennessee’s family greed tragedy is encountered when the news of Big Daddy’s illness is learned of. Mae and Gooper want to gain Big Daddy’s favor and they aim to achieve this by discrediting Maggie and Brick. They claim that they have five kids with the sixth one on the way while Brick and Maggie do not have any (Kolin 128-130).

This way, they are trying to impersonate that the estate of Big Daddy will be in good hands with the responsible family members, “Suspicious of her greedy, prolific relatives who have produced five grandchildren for Big Daddy, she explains to him why they have assembled – to battle over the vast inheritance of the 28,000 acre Mississippi cotton plantation/estate… (131)” The two form a team of public relations, blandishing Big Daddy as they tear down their contenders at every opportunity.

They always take caution in maintaining their polite and civilized appearance while betraying Big Daddy’s back. Doctor Baugh and Reverend Tooker also portray the same traits as Mae and Gooper while hoping to be included in the will (Kolin 122).

The characters’ stories in the play is in reality a mere means through which Tennessee delivers his message and captures the volatile depth of feelings experienced by groups of people during times of crises. Tragedy, basically defined as an unhappy ending of an event or a sorrowful character with a disastrous conclusion, has been dealt with by Tennessee in his play.

The discussed fateful events can be summarized as; the rich Big Daddy who is now facing a terminal illness and a broken family, Brick who once valued and enjoyed life but has turned to an alcoholic due to his friend’s death, Maggie who hopes to be loved and treated well by her husband but all is in vain, and finally Mae and Gooper who hope to acquire the inheritance.

They have been pushed to battle for the inheritance by their economic situation, thus it is unfortunate that they do not possess enough wealth given the fact that they have many children. Conclusively, the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is indeed a play filled with tragedy.

Works Cited

Williams, Tennessee. Tennessee Williams: A Guide to Research and Performance. Trans. Philip Kolin. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998. Print

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IvyPanda. (2018, November 6). Social Issues in the "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee William. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof-2/

"Social Issues in the "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee William." IvyPanda , 6 Nov. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof-2/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Social Issues in the "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee William'. 6 November.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Social Issues in the "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee William." November 6, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof-2/.

1. IvyPanda . "Social Issues in the "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee William." November 6, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof-2/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Social Issues in the "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee William." November 6, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof-2/.

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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

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Crafting a Literary Perspectives Essay: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

July 1, 2019

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With the Literary Perspectives essay can come mild confusion regarding its structure, extent (as well as form) of analysis and differentiability from your standard English text response - which is why I’m here to tell you that this confusion, while inevitable, is easily overcome! A text like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is rife with complexities in both its narrative features and literary devices, all prime for discussion in your own essay. ‍

Consider the following prompt: “ Discuss the proposition that ‘ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ is a condemnation of 1950’s American society.”

Don’t let this prompt’s simple exterior fool you. What it leaves room for - and what the assessor will ultimately be looking for - is the development of your own complex ideas. It is this metamorphosis from the simple to complex that, when evident in your own writing, allows your essay to truly shine. This is obviously applicable to English as well, but where a clear fork in the road lies is in the act of grouping those complex ideas under the umbrella of a specific critical lens (or multiple!).

For instance, this specific prompt is great in how a diverse range of literary perspectives can be applied to it due to its main subject being 1950s American society. These can include: feminist, psychoanalytical, queer, New Historicist, Marxist, and I’m sure many others!

When faced with a number of critical lenses you can choose from, it’s important to keep in mind the fact that focusing your essay on mainly two or three lenses will ensure it’s more streamlined and therefore easier to both write and read. I know incorporating more lenses as a means of adding variety within your essay is quite tempting, but this is sure to both hinder the depth of your analysis/discussion - which is where marks are ultimately rewarded - and run the risk of disrupting any form of cohesion in your writing. The lenses you choose will ultimately be dependent on the extent of their applicability to the prompt and how comfortable you are with using them (i.e don’t use a Marxist lens if you don’t know how to extensively discuss social classes). The combination of lenses you choose, coupled with your own interpretation, help to inform the development of your unique perspective of the text.

For this prompt, I personally chose to focus on using the critical lenses of New Historicism, psychoanalysis and queer theory. From here, I’m able to ask myself questions catered to each perspective such as “What specific cultural values are examined in COAHTR and how does Williams present them?” and, relating this to the prompt at hand by also asking: “Is this presentation condemnatory?”. The lenses you choose should be interlinked with your arguments and thus your analyses, enabling you to show the assessor you understand that this isn’t an English text response! ‍

Introduction

A frequently asked question regarding the intro of a literary perspectives essay is whether or not to state the critical lens/es you are using. The answer to this is that it’s ultimately up to you! Some important points to consider however are:

Am I able to include this statement without it sounding janky and disruptive of flow?
If I were not to include it, am I able to make it clear enough to the assessor from the get-go what perspective/s I am using?

Outside of that, a literary perspectives intro is pretty similar to that of any other essay. One thing to remember however, especially with COAHTR, is to briefly explain certain significant concepts you choose to mention. A good example of this is the American Dream - demonstrating that you understand what it is at its core via a brief explanation in your intro is going to leave a far better impression on the assessor than not elaborating on it at all.

See mine below:

“Defined by its moral incongruity against socially upheld conservative values, Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof illuminates the debilitative effects of subscription to a belief system entrenched in immorality. By highlighting the ways in which values such as heteronormativity and the American Dream — deemed synonymous with “equal opportunity” — serve only as obstructions to genuine human connection, Williams underpins both his condemnation of such mores and, therefore, the eminent human struggle to attain true happiness."

As you can see, I personally chose not to explicitly state what critical lenses I was using in my essay. However, I did make sure to include certain words and phrases commonly associated with the critical lenses they represent.

For example:

New Historicism: “socially upheld conservative values”, “belief system”, “values such as heteronormativity and the American Dream”
Psychoanalytical: “moral incongruity”, “human connection/struggle to attain true happiness”
Queer theory: “heteronormativity”

This allows me to inform the assessor of what lenses I'm using in spite of an absent explicit statement. It’s also far more efficient in this case than having to use the janky phrase “Under the critical lenses of New Historicism, psychoanalysis and queer theory…”.

Body paragraphs:

As I'm sure you already know by now, Literature grants you a lot more freedom than English in terms of structure - and this is especially applicable to the body of your essay! It's important however to find a balance between what structure you’re most comfortable writing with and what’s going to impress the assessor (as opposed to abusing this freedom and floundering about with zero cohesion).

What I personally tend to be comfortable doing is loosely following a TEEL structure, while spicing it up a little by switching around the order here and there. This is especially evident in my first body paragraph below for the aforementioned prompt, in which I begin with some passage analysis rather than your typical topic sentence:

“Positioning the audience within an American plantation home’s “bed-sitting-room”, Williams immediately envelops the play’s moral foreground in domesticity and the conservative mores of 1950s American society that serve to define such an atmosphere. It being the bedroom of heterosexual couple Brick and Maggie evinces the nature of their exchanges as demonstrative of the morally debilitating effects of the values upheld by the society in which they live — illuminating Williams’ intention to present social mores as obstructive of genuine human connection. Such an intention is foregrounded by the disparity that exists between the external and internal; that is, the socially upheld status of Brick and Maggie’s heterosexual relationship — exempt from subjection to social “disgust” — and the “mendacious” reality of their marriage in its failure to provide either individual with the same sense of primordial wholeness Brick finds in his “clean”, “pure” and “true” homosocial relationship with Skipper. From the outset of the play, heteronormative values are debased as Williams subverts the domestically epitomised dynamic between husband and wife into an embodiment of the inhumane. Maggie is likened to a “priest delivering a liturgical chant”, her lines interspersed with “wordless singing” — alluding to her overly performative nature that compromises the genuineness of human connection. Brick’s visual absence during the play’s opening and his “masked indifference”, too, further undermine the social perception of heterosexuality as the pinnacle of love as it is this reticence that exemplifies the absence of happiness found in their marriage. This sense of disconnection, wherein “living with someone you love can be lonelier — than living entirely alone”, forces Maggie to navigate their relationship through the reductive mode of a “game” wherein it is only by detecting “a sign of nerves in a player on the defensive” that she can attempt to derive genuine emotion from her husband. To reduce human connection to a set of manoeuvrable tactics punctuated only by “the click of mallets” is an act portrayed by Williams as propagative of immorality, vehemently contrasting the reconciliation of the divided self afforded to Brick by the “one, great true thing” in his life: friendship with Skipper. By making the audience privy to the inhumanity lying at the helm of 1950s American social mores, Williams thus presents his scathing critique of such a system, reflecting its capacity for obstructing human connection and therefore the futility of conforming to its standards.”

A key feature of this paragraph is the nature of my analysis - it is, essentially, very similar to what you’d find in a passage analysis essay. It’s important to note that the skills you’ve learnt for the latter can be easily implemented in a literary perspectives essay and is often what allows it to truly stand out! It also forces you to frequently reference the text with quotes in the same way you would in a passage analysis essay, which is glorious in any assessor’s eyes.

With “zooming in” on certain passages in the text (think analysing literary devices, setting, syntax, etc.) however must also follow “zooming out” and evaluating their overall meaning, especially in relation to their significance to the prompt.

A concise example of “zooming in and out” from the previous paragraph can be seen below:

“ Maggie is likened to a “priest delivering a liturgical chant”, her lines interspersed with “wordless singing” — alluding to her overly performative nature that compromises the genuineness of human connection. ”

Below is another example from a different body paragraph for the same essay:

“ Hateful figures transformed into animalistic grotesques, the children of Mae and Gooper are depicted as “no-neck monsters” with “dawg’s names”, with the “fat old body” of Big Mama herself alternating in appearance from “an old bulldog” to a “charging rhino”. Here the moral degradation of a society so heavily reliant on the atomisation of its individuals is made most conspicuous, with Big Daddy’s semblance to a large animal who “pants and wheezes and sniffs” serving as a further testament to such a notion.”

Conclusion:

This is yet another portion of your essay granted freedom by the nature of VCE Literature, so whether or not you choose to intertwine it with your last body paragraph or separate it completely is entirely up to you. What you choose to emphasise in your conclusion is also very similar to that of any other essay as the main focus is to hammer home your interpretation of the text in relation to the prompt!

See my example below:

“Williams, by presenting 1950’s American society as both propagative of atomisation and obstructive of innate morality, ultimately highlights the futility that lies in assimilating to such a belief system as a means of attaining true happiness. The pressure to subscribe to morally reductive values wherein any remnants of the innate are wholly ignored only further shrouds the possibility of happiness at all, and it is here where Williams’ portrayal of the human struggle to attain this ideal is made most conspicuous.”

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So there’s approximately a month to go before the Literature exam. Nervous? Confident? Over it?! You might be thinking that they best way to study up until the exam is to just churn out essays after essays after essays. This is a common misconception, and may even hurt your chances for the exam. You want your essays to be ‘fresh’ with original insight, not stale pieces that sound like you’ve written this a hundred times and you’re getting bored. Here are a few tips on how to study for the exam while still keeping your mind activated about Literature!

Critique critical commentary

Google critical commentary on your text. You might pick up a new insight or perspective that you’ve never thought of. These can help you inform your own original and individual interpretation of the text. It is important to note that while reading critical commentary is incredibly useful in providing ‘clever’ interpretations, examiners are really looking for your own interpretation – not a regurgitated version of other people’s analyses. Rather than passively reading critical commentary, critique it yourself! Acknowledge and file away its good points, but also form your own stance with whether you agree or disagree with that point of view. Ask yourself why that is your perspective. Developing this critical analysis skill is extremely valuable, and will put you in the mindset for the exam to provide your own original interpretation that pushes the boundaries and the envelop e.

Choose random passages and annotate

Close your eyes and pick a random a couple of passages from your text. Photocopy them, print them, however you like, but the most important thing is to spend time annotating them in as much detail as possible. Focus on analysing the language for how the author constructs the text to create meaning. Note sentences that can link to the wider text. This really forces you to analyse the most random passage in the text in extreme detail, which you might have skipped over in class or in your own reading, because it might not have seemed important at the time. Who knows, the exam could throw in a surprise passage that students might not have thought to study in great detail, and you have because you’ve been analysing passages at random – not just the major key events!

Examiner reports and word bank

Look through VCAA examiner reports for sample excerpts from high scoring responses. Highlight words and phrases that sound ‘good’ – and adapt them to use yourself! There’s nothing wrong with drawing inspiration (stealing) from the examiner reports essays… after all they’re there for you to learn from. Key: you’re drawing inspiration from words, not ideas or sentences – otherwise that’s just plagiarism and won’t help at all. Create a word bank of vocabulary that suit your texts, which can be a great prompter when you’re struggling to think of a word that accurately expresses on paper what you want to say in your mind.

Timed conditions

The biggest issue with every literature student in the exam is timing . There’s always so many things you want to write and include, that it is simply not possible to include everything. Time yourself. Practice writing in timed conditions. Be disciplined with your time – going over time for the first essay to include maybe one more good point, is to sacrifice finishing your second essay.

Exams are without a doubt a stressful period of time for all VCE students, and it can be easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with expectations, wanting to prove yourself and balancing the workload of your other exams. Find time to do small things to benefit yourself for the exam without compromising your mental power (after a very long marathon). Good luck and believe in yourself!

Let's all be honest here, Year 12 is endlessly tiring. Literature, for all its greatness, can also be endlessly tiring. Along with 3-4 other subjects, sometimes the idea of writing a practice piece, deeply analyzing the language of your text, or doing research into the context, views and values of the author are things you really, really don’t feel like doing.

Although these things are necessary and important, they’re also often difficult, taxing, and possibly not that interesting. Not too long before the Literature exam, my friend and I were texting, both feeling immense stress and guilt because we felt we hadn’t studied enough for the exam, but equally tired and unable to write any practice pieces. I’m sure many of you are very familiar with the paradox of not spending time studying because you are instead spending that time worrying about not studying.

However, there’s really no need to suddenly feel full of stress and anxiety when you have no motivation to do such work for Literature, that’s just wasted energy! Instead, accept that you’re going to have a little break from the serious stuff, and use that energy instead to improve your understanding and knowledge of your text (part of the exam criteria!!).

My friend and I decided we’d meet for coffee, and try and just discuss our exam texts together (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Dark Roots).

‘Bring paper and the books’ she texted me ‘I’ve got an idea’. And that idea was...

VCE Literature Charades

How to play:1. Find a friend2. Think a concept, character, quote, theme, literary device or anything really from one of your texts3. Forget about your dignity4. Act it out until your friend guesses5. Swap and repeat.And once people started to stare as we theatrically mimed things like ‘metaphor’ and ‘the albatross’ we decided to tone it down a little bit, leading to the invention of...

VCE Literature Pictionary

How to play:1. Find a friend2. Think of a concept, character, quote, theme, literary device (you get the idea)3. Keep your dignity intact!4. Start drawing the idea until your friend eventually guesses (warning: could lead to many failed attempts at drawing ‘foreshadowing’)5. Swap and repeat.

So I know this seems ridiculous but I swear, without even realizing it you’re getting to know your text so much better. There’ll be that moment in the exam room when all you’re thinking is ‘what on earth is that quote’, and suddenly you’ll remember how you’re friend fell off her chair trying to mime it. Either way, it’s a much more valuable use of time than worrying about not studying, especially because you’ll spend most of the time laughing.

If you’re alone, and you really don’t feel like studying for literature, but you still kind of have to study for literature… don’t despair! Find a place in your house where you wont be disturbed (or disturb anyone) and pretend you’re running an information session on your text. I used to record endless minutes of myself rambling about all different facets of my text, with no comprehensible structure, just trying to say and explain everything I knew about it. I would delete them almost straight away, but trust me, taking on the role of a teacher can be very fun, and when no ones watching, you can really just go for it. Things are much more likely to stay in your memory when you’ve explained them aloud, so you’ll be super prepared for your SACS!

Of course, it is beyond important to make sure you write as many practice pieces as you think you need to, and to work on tasks that may at times be ‘boring’, but if you want to avoid burning out try making studying a little fun!

Arguably one of the greatest modern playwrights of our time, Tennessee Williams produced some of the best post-war 1950’s American plays that have now engrained themselves as classics. After the conclusion of the second world war, America was pervaded with hypermasculinity, deep levels of insecurity and a desperate need to regain the pre-war success of the 1920s. During the 1950s, the United States began to regain its economic success and spirits were high as ever; however, this may only have been ostensible. Beneath the surface of such success lurked unshaken expectations on both men and women and deep-rooted bigotry.

In this article, we will get to know how these concepts are explored in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ and examine why this text is important in the context of Lit Perspectives and Close Analysis. ‍

Characters Analysis

Brick is too numb to feel much of anything any more; he is a drunk and cold shell of what he once was. Since the death of his friend Skipper, Brick has retreated into solitude and emotional aloofness, and the only emotions that he can express are disgust and boredom. The other characters can only coax an emotional response out of him when they mention Skipper

Maggie is a traditional 1950’s beauty, she is lively, gorgeous and has a deeply sexual presence. She spends the majority of the play trying to get Brick to sleep with her- both to satisfy her own needs, and to allow her to conceive a baby. This which would guarantee her share of the Pollitt family wealth.

Big Daddy, like Brick, gets a lot of undeserved attention and love; this is because he sits upon the Pollitt wealth he built. He worked hard for economic success, and now he wants to enjoy it. He is uninterested in Big Mama and treats her with little affection or respect.

She is an older version of Maggie - more dramatic, needier, having let herself go. She loves her husband unconditionally despite his cruelty and indifference to her. Like Big Daddy, she cannot help but prefer Brick to Gooper because he is so much like Big Daddy.

Brick’s older brother but has lived in his shadow since the day he was born. While Brick got the attention with looks and football, Gooper married into society and became a successful lawyer. But the unfair attention and focus on Brick has made Gooper vengeful and petty, and so it is out of both greed and spite that he actively campaigns for control of Big Daddy’s estate.

Gooper’s wife who has all of his greed and sourness, without any of his justifying history. She taunts Maggie’s lack of motherhood by parading her plethora of children around the house.

Concepts and Concerns

TIP: Concepts and concerns should form the basis of your analysis whether you are doing a close analysis or a literary perspectives essay!

MENDACITY VS TRUTH ‍

The central tension in the play is underscored by mendacity, lying and deception. The repressed truth is constantly on the verge of being unleashed and it is the “inadmissible thing” that pervades the family. The two primary sources of mendacious repression are Brick’s homosexual desires and Big Daddy’s imminent death from cancer. Ironically, it is these two who value integrity and honesty the most.

When Big Daddy finally finds out the truth about his impending death he exclaims: “By all the goddam lies and liars that I have had to put up with, and all the goddam hypocrisy that I lived with all these forty years that we(big mama) been living together”

In a final moment of existential dread and disgust, Brick resignedly claims that “mendacity is a system that we live in. Liquor is one way out and death is another”. These are the fates that are destined for Brick and Big Daddy respectively.

The truth (if there can be such a thing) is that both Brick and Big Daddy are loved so ardently by their partners, but they blinded by their dishonesty to themselves. It is because Brick cannot come to terms with his own sexuality and Big Daddy cannot fathom his inevitable death that lies, and deceit is perpetuated in the text.

MASCULINITY AND HOMOSEXUALITY

Williams himself was gay and lived in a society that constantly repressed and shamed it as a deeply sinful practice and associated it with failed masculinity. Thus, he explores the deep turmoils of homosexuality in the 1950s and its implications on manliness, bigotry and society.

Whilst not stated explicitly, it is implied that Skipper confessed his love to Brick; whilst Brick felt the same way, he knew this would not be accepted by society. Consequently, he shuts Skipper down and later that night, Skipper commits suicide. Brick cannot admit the truth to himself because in his mind “purity” and “homosexuality” are mutually exclusive, due to his own internalized homophobia and even when Big Daddy makes Brick face his desires and the guilt that pervades him; he cannot escape the bigoted societal norms imbued within him

Williams paints an image of distress, pain and grief caused by the prevailing homophobia of the 1950s. Brick is crippled both by his failure as a man and his failure to be true to himself.

THE AMERICAN DREAM

Back in the 1950s, the American Dream was the dream that everyone was expected to aspire for was much more conservative. It included a traditional family with a stay at home mother, hard-working and masculine father, 2-3 children, a home and money, lots of it!

The Pollitt family truly embodied the American Dream. With their self-made fortune, successful sons (though Brick is now a mess) and even grandchildren. In many aspects, Gooper and Mae fulfil the expectations of the American Dream much more than Brick and Maggie do; they have children, success and ambition. They attempt to use this to their advantage in their bid to win over Big Daddy’s estate but even that fails to sway Big Daddy’s favouritism for Brick.

Brick is as resigned and aloof to the idea of wealth and tradition as he is to his wife Maggie. His repressed homosexuality already divorces him from the ingrained social expectation of the American Dream and it disappoints him to pretend to desire the same things his brother Gooper does. This, ironically, only makes him more favoured by his parents.

In a world of strict expectations and immovable bigotry, there is no room for homosexuality, and this disappoints no one more than Brick himself. In his world, the very essence of his being contradicts the dream that everyone is taught to value. Williams asks readers to consider the consequences of such restrictive beliefs, he questions the American dream at a fundamental level by asking: so why do we all have to want the same thing?

MOTHERHOOD AND FEMININITY

What does it mean to be a woman? For Mae, that means being a loving housewife and being able to bear children. In the petty feud for Big Daddy’s will, she insults Maggie’s childless state, she is less of a woman because of it. Of course, the reason Maggie cannot have children is that Brick is unwilling to sleep with her. Again, even though Mae has provided Big Daddy and Big Mama with a plethora of grandchildren, they still prefer Maggie’s young and sensual energy.

Williams attempts to undermine the characteristics that were supposed to define women as feminine through Maggie. Moreover, women were supposed to be passive players in the family, to do their husbands bidding and to be polite and proper at all times. Maggie is none of these things. She is unapologetically sexual, unwaveringly ambitious in her pursuit of the Pollitt family wealth and determined to cement herself as Brick’s partner although she knows of his homosexual desires. In a society where women were not supposed to have dreams let alone pursue them, Maggie is a “cat on a hot tin roof”, chasing her dreams with careless disregard of established hetero norms.

Literary Perspectives

Now we get into the tricky stuff! This is one part of your exam and is the Unit 4 Outcome 1 SAC so it’s important that you get a competent grasp of the task! TIP: Follow this link to get an overview of the literary perspectives task (I’m thinking of linking the ultimate lit perspectives guide here, let me know what you think)

Some prevalent perspectives should jump out at you immediately just by looking at the Concepts and Concerns. Remember that you don’t have to choose just one perspective, it’s more important that you develop an overall interpretation of the text and incorporate the buzzwords that reflect your perspective. Use your perspective/interpretation as a lens to the concepts and concerns mentioned above as a springboard for your analysis

Now we get into the tricky stuff! This is one part of your exam and is the Unit 4 Outcome 1 SAC so you must get a competent grasp of the task! TIP: Follow this link to get an overview of the literary perspectives task (I’m thinking of linking the ultimate lit perspectives guide here, let me know what you think)

Here are some general perspectives that you might want to think about:

Think about the role the women in this text play and how they are portrayed. You have three vastly different women who all reflect the social standards that defined the 1950s in varying degrees.

Maggie does not seem to care much about what Brick wants as much as she cares about her own needs proven when she attempts to force him to do things he doesn’t care much for (pretending he remembered Big Daddy’s birthday or sleeping with her). She stands in diametric opposition to Big Mama and Mae who are both stereotypical women of their times, always forgoing their own desires for their husbands’. In this sense, our sympathy for Maggie only confirms Williams’ notion that women should be able to freely chase their ambitions and break free of restrictive stereotypes.

These societal standards that reinforce traditional gender roles, heterosexuality and the pervasive male gaze form what literary critics call heteronormativity. This is a key notion in feminism and extends this perspective to more than just an analysis of women in society. It also asks us to question how these hetero norms may influence overarching definitions of masculinity. We can see how these hetero norms have forced Brick into an empty cripple whose only clutch is alcohol and the “click” of peace he drinks for.

TIP: Heteronormativity can also be linked to Marxism as it forms part of the superstructure (institutions and culture considered to result from and reflect the economic system underlying society) that perpetuates the belief that men must be the breadwinner to support their housewives and children. In other words, if you are not supporting your family financially, you are not considered a true man.

Some might argue that the central conflict in the play comes down to who will inherent Big Daddy’s wealth after his death and is only inflamed by Brick’s repressed sexuality. The American Dream is literally underscored by the chasing of money!

Consider how the class impacts the tension in the story. Because of their high social status, Brick’s sexuality is only more scandalous. Funnily enough, despite the fact that Maggie knows he does not love her, she could not care less. As I’ve probably hammered in enough by now, she has more regard for the money than Brick (though she does love him). Furthermore, Gooper’s job as a lawyer, in his mind, only further cements him claim to the Pollitt family throne because it pays well and is highly respected.

Psychoanalysis

Pain, trauma, guilt, desire, gaze and the unconscious. All these things come into play when thinking about psychoanalysis. Popularised by Sigmund Freud who believed (and I’m simplifying here) that psychological theories and techniques could help people better understand their unconscious thoughts, feelings and desires. This is turn, would help them explain their behaviours.

The best way to start a psychoanalysis of ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ is to think about what each character wants, how they are behaving and how their past might influence this. Brick’s homosexuality and the guilt he feels at Skipper’s death is a great place to start. This is also a great way to integrate to touch on other perspectives if you think about the ways in which heteronormativity or social status may have influenced his decisions back then.

Close Analysis

TIP: Just because it’s close analysis, doesn’t mean you can forego an overall interpretation!! Remember the Concepts and Concerns of the author! Here is a link to help you out with more general close analysis advice (again same idea as previous section, to

Some might argue that the central conflict in the play comes down to who will inherit Big Daddy’s wealth after his death and is only inflamed by Brick’s repressed sexuality. The American Dream is underscored by the chasing of money!

Consider how the class impacts the tension in the story. Because of their high social status, Brick’s sexuality is only more scandalous. Funnily enough, even though Maggie knows he does not love her, she could not care less. As I’ve probably hammered in enough by now, she has more regard for the money than Brick (though she does love him). Furthermore, Gooper’s job as a lawyer, in his mind, only further cements him claim to the Pollitt family throne because it pays well and is highly respected.

The best way to start psychoanalysis of ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ is to think about what each character wants, how they are behaving and how their past might influence this. Brick’s homosexuality and the guilt he feels at Skipper’s death is a great place to start. This is also a great way to integrate to touch on other perspectives if you think about how heteronormativity or social status may have influenced his decisions back then.

TIP: Just because it’s close analysis, doesn’t mean you can forego an overall interpretation!! Remember the Concepts and Concerns of the author! Here is a link to help you out with more general close analysis advice (again same idea as the previous section, to link the ultimate guides)

The close analysis essentially wants you to analyse the nitty-gritty of your text. Demonstrate to VCAA that you understand how language creates meaning and can support the overarching values of the author. Questions of form, structure, language devices and literary techniques all come in to play when thinking about how Tennessee Williams created meaning in the play. Think of yourself as a detective who must find the most forensic examples in supporting your overall perspective. Here are a few things you might want to consider when closely analysing ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’.

The Form – Play

The Play as a form is one of the most distinct types. It is a show for an audience and does not have as much intimacy as a novel. It has stage directions that the audience does not see and even minute punctuation that must be portrayed by actors. It is important that you can demonstrate you understand this!

Different stage directions will impact the audience in a multitude of ways. For example, Williams had detailed ‘Notes for the Designer’ that closely depicted the setting and atmosphere of the play. In it, he detailed the story of “Jack Straw and Peter Ochello, a pair of old bachelors” who were rumoured to be gay. This instantly establishes homosexuality as a backdrop of the play, it is woven into the setting.

Or you might want to analyse the stage directions that constantly punctuate Brick’s dialogue; every time he speaks it is “absently”, “dreamily” or “vaguely”, which further emphasises his cool and aloof nature. This is in contrast to when he speaks about Skipper in which he suddenly becomes defensive; his dialogue graduates from resigned one-liners to profuse emotional rants.

Structure – The Acts, the Setting, characters, timeframe

Whilst the form of a play is unique in itself, there are certain aspects of ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ that differentiates it from others.

For example, the play in its entirety occurs within one day. This emphasises the extent to which the Pollitt family had already been teetering on the edge of unleashing the secrets of the family. The confirmation of Big Daddy’s death only opens this up further and unwinds the atmosphere of secrecy, denial and mendacity in merely a few hours.

This is only heightened by the fact that the entire play occurs in one room, the “bed-sitting-room” of the plantation home. Therefore, no matter how hard the family tries to escape the truth, the claustrophobia created by having so many of them in one room together acts as a catalyst for the truth to be revealed.

Also, consider how these characters are established! What has been said explicitly and what has been alluded to. For example, it is never explicitly said that Brick is gay or that Big Daddy will die (to his face at least). In some ways, despite the fact that everyone knows the truth, it is still a truth too difficult to bear and speaking it out loud will only confirm what they have been in denial about for so long.

“Once upon a time…”

The fairy tale of Cinderella is a well-known, well-loved and well-ingrained story that was always told to me as a bedtime story. Who could forget the mean-spirited stepsisters who punished and ruined Cinderella’s life to no end? According to the dark Brothers Grimm version, the stepsisters mutilated their feet by cutting off their heels and toes to fit into the infamous shoe, and their eyes were pecked away by birds until they were blinded! It’s definitely one way to send a message to children… don’t be bullies or you’ll be punished. Which is exactly what the Brothers Grimm’s views and values were. Their construction of their fairy tale to send a message of what they viewed as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is simplistically shown through the writers’ choice in determining the characters’ fate. The evil stepsisters are punished, while Cinderella receives happiness and riches because she remained kind and pure. A clear and very simple example of how texts reflect the beliefs, world views and ethics of the author, which is essentially the author’s views and values!

What are the views and values of a text?

Writers use literature to criticise or endorse social conditions, expressing their own opinions and viewpoints of the world they live in. It is important to remember that each piece of literature is a deliberate construction. Every decision a writer makes reflects their views and values about their culture, morality, politics, gender, class, history or religion. This is implicit within the style and content of the text, rather than in overt statements. This means that the writer’s views and values are always open to interpretation, and possibly even controversial. This is what you (as an astute literature student) must do – interpret the relationship between your text and the ideas it explores and examines, endorses or challenges in the writer’s society.

How do I start?

Consider the following tips:

What does the writer question and critique with their own society? What does this say about the writer’s own views and the values that uphold?
For example, “Jane Austen in Persuasion recognises the binding social conventions of the 19th century as superficial, where they value wealth and status of the utmost priority. She satirises such frivolous values through the microcosmic analysis of the Elliot family.”
The writer’s affirming or critical treatment of individual characters can be a significant clue to what values they approve or disapprove of. What fate do the characters have? Who does the writer punish or reward by the end of the text?
Which characters challenge and critique the social conventions of the day?
Look at the writer’s use of language:
Characterisation
Plot structure
Description
In other words …what are the possible meanings generated by the writer’s choices?
Recognition and use of metalanguage for literary techniques is crucial because you are responding to a work of literature. Within literature ideas, views and values and issues do not exist in a vacuum. They arise out of the writer’s style and create meaning .
How do the writer’s choices make meaning?
How are the writer’s choices intended to affect the reader’s perception of social values?
Weave views and values throughout your close analysis essays, rather than superficially adding a few lines at the conclusion of the essay to indicate the writer’s concerns.
Using the writer’s name frequently will also assist in creating a mindset of analysing the writer’s commentary on society.

Below are some examples from an examiner report of successful and insightful responses reflecting the views and values of the writer:

(Another tip is to go through examiner’s reports and take note of high quality responses, even if they are not the text you’re studying)

When contrasted with the stark, blunt tone of Caesar throughout the play ‘You may see, Lepidus, and henceforth know...’ the richness of Shakespeare’s poetry with regard to his ‘couple so famous’ denotes how the playwright himself ultimately values the heroic age to which his protagonists belong over the machinations of the rising imperial Rome.

It is the word ‘natural’ here through which Mansfield crafts a sharp irony that invites us to rate Edna’s obsession with her own performance.... It is this satiric impulse that also leaps to the fore through the image of Edna, ‘clasping the black book in her fingers as though it were a missal’...the poignant economy of Mansfield’s characteristic style explores her views on the fragility of the human condition .

‘In Cold Blood’ provides a challenging exploration of the value placed on human life. The seemingly pointless murders undermine every concept of morality that reigns in Middle America, the ‘Bible Belt’, as well as the wider community. Capote insinuates his personal abhorrence of the death penalty and the disregard of mental illness in the justice system .

Why are views and values important in literature, and especially for close analysis?

Every year, the examiner reports emphasise how the best close analysis responses were ones that “showed how the text endorsed and reflected the views and values of the writer and were able to weave an understanding of these through the essay” (2013 VCAA Lit examiner report). By analysing HOW the text critiques, challenges or endorses the accepted values of the society in the text, you are demonstrating an understanding of the social and cultural context of the text, thus acknowledging the multifaceted layers that exist within literature. You are identifying the writer’s commentary of humanity through your own interpretation. Bring some insight into your essays!

Theme vs. Motif vs. Symbol

Themes, motifs and symbols are different kinds of narrative elements - they’re parts of a story that help to shape its overall effect. However, even though they’re words we use all the time in our English studies, it isn’t always easy to tell the difference!

This post will take you through some definitions , give you some examples and show you how you can use them in essays too. Let’s start with the broadest of the three…

What Is a Theme?

A theme is an idea or a subject that an author wants to explore. Themes appear throughout a work, and they’re often abstract ideas rather than concrete images that you can explicitly identify. Themes usually appear in interactions: for example, a parent reuniting with a child might evoke the theme of parenthood or family, an experience of discrimination might evoke the theme of prejudice or racism, a character facing a difficult choice might evoke the theme of morality or conflict, and so on. As you might be able to see, themes can require us to read between the lines because they are usually implied.

What Is a Motif?

A motif is something a bit more specific. Rather than an abstract idea, we’re looking for a concrete object (usually physical items, but also potentially sounds, places, actions, situations or phrases) that returns time and time again throughout a text. This repetition of motifs helps to create structure for a text - it can tether parts of the story to or around a central image. Because motifs are often linked to a theme , they can also serve as a reminder of that theme’s importance. For example, if the central theme was family or parenthood, the author might create a bird’s nest outside a character’s room; as we watch the bird and the chicks grow throughout the text, parallels are also drawn back to the theme.

What Is a Symbol?

You can think of symbols as motifs minus the repetition . It’s the more default word we use when referring to an object that represents an idea, and unlike a motif, symbols only need to appear once to have an impact. They can simply tell us more about a character or situation in that instant, at that specific time, rather than being a parallel or recurring throughout a text. However, they’re still identified in a similar way to motifs: symbols are also concrete objects and they’re still connected to themes.

Examples of Themes, Motifs and Symbols

Here are some text-specific examples for a closer look at these terms:

Check out our Macbeth , Rear Window and The Great Gatsby blog posts for more on these texts. If you’re studying other texts, have a look at our list of text guides in The Ultimate Guide to Text Response .

Identifying and Using Themes

Themes usually come across in interactions , and a possible first step to identifying them is thinking about if an interaction is good or bad, and why. For example:

In Rear Window , one of the neighbours berates everyone else for failing to notice their dog’s death.

This is a bad interaction because:

a dog dying is never any good
it tells us that none of these neighbours are looking out for or really care about each other
someone may have killed the dog

The theme we might identify here is duty. The film might suggest that we have a duty to look out for our neighbours (without sacrificing their privacy) or to do our part to keep the neighbourhood safe from potential criminals.

Another example might be:

In The Great Gatsby , the Sloanes invite Gatsby over for dinner without really meaning it.

it tells us how nasty the Sloanes are
Gatsby still seems to be a misfit despite his wealth
Tom is at best complicit in the Sloanes’ insincerity

The themes here might be society, wealth and class . This interaction shows us where these characters really stand with regard to these categories or ideas. Because he is ‘new money’, Gatsby cannot understand or fit in with the cruel and disingenuous customs of ‘old money’.

Most interactions in a text will fit into a theme somewhere, somehow - that’s why it’s been included in the story! Try to identify the themes as you go , or maintain lists of interactions and events for different themes. Because themes are so broad, they’re useful for guiding your understanding of a text, particularly as you’re reading it. They also provide a great foundation for essay planning since you can draw on events across the text to explore a certain theme.

Identifying and Using Motifs & Symbols

While themes can generally appear in texts without the author needing to make too much of an effort, motifs and symbols have to be used really consciously . A lot of interactions might just be natural to the plot, but the author has to take extra care to insert a symbol or motif into the story.

To identify either, pay attention to objects that might feel unusual or even unnecessary to the scene at first - from the examples above, Gatsby showing Daisy his shirts might seem like a strange detail to include, but it’s actually an important symbol in that moment. Then, you go into the brainstorming of what the object could represent - in this case, Gatsby’s newfound wealth. Symbols in particular often appear at turning points : the relationship between two characters might take a turn, an important sacrifice might be made or perhaps someone crosses a point of no return - all of these are potential plot points for the author to include symbols. For motifs , look more for repetition . If we’re always coming back to an image or an object, like Daisy’s green light or Lisa Fremont’s dresses, then it’s likely that image or object has significance.

Symbols and motifs can be more subtle than themes, but they will also help to set your essay apart if you find a way to include them. You’d usually include them as a piece of evidence (with or without a quote) and analyse what they tell us about a theme. For example:

‍ On the surface, Gatsby appears to be financially successful. Over several years, he has acquired many material belongings in order to demonstrate his great wealth. For example, Fitzgerald includes a scene featuring Gatsby tossing his many ‘beautiful’ shirts onto Daisy, who sobs as she admires them. This display of wealth represents the superficial natures of both characters, who prize material belongings over the substance of their relationship.

You don’t need a quote that’s too long or overpowering ; just capture the essence of the symbol or motif and focus on what it represents. This is a really good way to show examiners how you’ve thought about a text’s construction, and the choices an author has made on what to include and why. To learn more about text construction, have a read of What Is Metalanguage?

Imagine a friend tells you eerie accounts of her witnessing a ghostly presence in her home. You scoff and condescendingly humour her. But as her stories begin to manifest itself in her gaunt appearance, you alarmingly notice how she truly believes in the apparitions she recounts. You begin to doubt her sanity, you begin to doubt the certainty with which you dismissed her supernatural visions and now, you begin to doubt yourself. THE SUSPENSE BUILDS.

But let’s say this friend filmed the ghostly apparitions and showed them to you. Sure – the evidence of this ghost is frighteningly scary. But the suspense that was built in the doubt, uncertainty and ambiguity of your friend’s tale is now lost. The ghosts caught in film acts as another eyewitness and another medium to validate your friend’s narrative. Your friend is no longer the only person who sees these ghosts, shattering all doubt within you of the ghost’s existence. THE SUSPENSE – is gone.

Notice how the form and genre of the spoken word in the first example was meaningful in its the effect on the reader? But when the form changed to a film, the meaningful suspense and ambiguity that was unique and crucial in the original text, changed , and was no longer as pronounced. Yes – the film itself may be terrifying. But the very doubt and suspense around not knowing if your friend was a lunatic for seeing ghosts or if she was telling the truth all contributes to the meaning derived from the form of the ‘text’ in an unreliable first person narrative. This is the crux of adaptations and transformations, and what you need to identify and analyse – how the meaning is changed/altered when the form of the text is changed .

Here are 7 lucky tips for how to tackle the SAC:

Identify the unique conventions in the construction of the original text – characterisation, genre, tone, style, structure, point of view/narration (or any devices employed in constructing the text e.g. cinematic devices in a film such as camera angles, framing, lighting, costumes, interior/exterior settings, sound)
Now do step 1 with the adapted/transformed text
How do the two text forms differ ? How are they the same ? However, be sure you do not simply compare and contrast. The most crucial step is what meaning can be derived from the similarities and differences? How does the meaning change?
Note additions and omissions (and even silences) – do they change how readers/viewers perceive the narrative and alter your opinions and perceptions of the text?
Historical context and setting – what significance does the context have on the narrative? Has the adaptation/transformation been re-contextualised? Does that alter the meaning of the original text?
How does the change in form impact you as the reader/viewer ? Analyse your own reactions and feelings towards each text form. Do you sympathise with a character more in the original text? How are we positioned to feel this way? Why do you lack the same level of sympathy for the adapted/transformed text?
Incorporate pertinent quotations from both forms of text to substantiate and support your ideas and key points.

Final questions to ponder

Most importantly is to share your original interpretation of what meaning and significance you can extract from the text, and how you believe it changes once the form alters.

What makes the text in its original form interesting or unique?

Is that quality captured in its adaptation/transformation?

As always with Literature, this task is designed for you to critically analyse and actively engage with the text, understanding its nuances inside and out in order to decipher its meaning. Be individual in comparing and contrasting the two texts – avoid the obvious similarities/differences everyone in your class will also notice. It is the insightful analysis of the subtleties of how meaning is altered that will help you stand out!

For an overview of the Literature Study Design as a whole, be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Literature .

What’s Changing?

The largest change is that the Literary Perspectives area of study has been removed and replaced with an area of study called ‘Developing Interpretations’. Literary Perspectives introduced you to literary theories like marxism, feminism and post-structuralism. These might still be relevant if your teacher decides to use them, but for the most part, they have been cut.

Developing Interpretations (Unit 3.2) is about differing opinions of texts. You are being asked to develop an interpretation of your text and to use the evidence available to you to support that understanding of the text. This process is difficult, and TBH is something that teachers, tutors and scholars of literature (and humanities) take for granted. It requires understanding the text, its form, its context, the author, the views and values, the aspects of texts and (if that isn’t enough) to be able to understand how they all connect together , before writing an essay that makes your understanding of all of that stuff coherent.

This new AoS also asks you to take your interpretation and consider it alongside another interpretation, because you get to read a supplementary text ! This supplementary text is heavily implied to be a piece of academia. The supplementary reading is supposed to offer an interpretation of the text, and you need to consider how that changes your interpretation. Does it? Was an idea fundamental to your interpretation debunked? Was there something you overlooked? Does the addition of a theoretical framework (like post-colonialism or feminism) impact your understanding?

What Do I Need To Do?

According to the study design, Developing Interpretations involves ‘develop[ing] interpretations of a set text informed by the ideas, views and values of the set text and a supplementary reading’. This means there are two key sections , first is the development of an interpretation, and second is the reconsideration of that initial interpretation. Let’s look at each section in turn:

Developing an Interpretation

2008’s Ironman, directed by John Favreau, is the story of a billionaire weapons dealer who, after a life-altering event, dismantles his weapons-manufacturing business in order to use his genius-level intellect to construct a suit of armour and become a superhero.

Ironman demonstrates the evils of the American war machine whilst showing that moral individuals are capable of redirecting resources and energy into genuine ways of improving people's lives.

Let’s not pretend that Ironman is the pinnacle of modern storytelling. But what we can see in the statement above is an example of an interpretation. We can offer an opposing interpretation that’s a bit more critical:

Ironman demonstrates, falsely, that the altruism of one ‘good guy with a gun’ can compensate for a systemic ravaging of the Middle East by the American colonial war machine.

Both of these interpretations deal with the same text and the same aspects of that text. They both comment on Ironman ’s exploration of weapons-dealing, and the protagonist’s response to that issue. The first interpretation is - arguably - the message the screenwriters, Fergus, Ostby, and Marcum intended for us to take away from the story. The second interpretation is considering the efficacy of that take-home message: Is Ironman actually the good guy, or is there a larger systemic issue at play, beyond the morals of one man?

To come up with an interpretation, you must consider views and values , aspects of texts and the context the text was created in. Aspects of texts like genre and characterisation demonstrate how the author views a certain issue or idea, and these issues or ideas are usually aspects of the author’s context. At this stage of developing an interpretation, VCAA wants you to focus on close analysis of the text, so ask questions about how a certain motif might reveal something about the author’s views and values. Or, how does a minor character relate to a historical figure that is contextually relevant to the text? For an excellent example of such an analysis and interpretation, I highly recommend the Coraline Bug Theory by Karsten Runquist (YouTube).

For an in-depth look at how to combine views and values, textual features, and context, check out LSG’s A Killer Literature Study Guide .

The Supplementary Reading

So, you’ve developed a unique and plausible interpretation of your text using the evidence available to you, the context , and the author’s views and values . At this stage, you might have a SAC where you defend your interpretation. No matter how the SAC is done, after developing the interpretation, you will be given a supplementary reading . This can take multiple forms, being a piece written by your teacher, an ‘explication of a literary theory’ or an academic article. The ‘explication of a literary theory’ basically means a work explaining a literary theory, like Marxism, feminism or post-modernism.

After you have read and considered the supplementary reading in class, you will have to see how your initial interpretation holds up, and either adapt or defend your interpretation in light of the new information. If you’re struggling to rethink your ideas, try these steps:

1) Free your mind, dude. Be open to the possibility that you were wrong. Be willing to abandon ideas that you thought were really interesting. They probably were really interesting and different, but unfortunately, they just might not hold up in light of the new piece.

2) Rebut the article. If your ideas are being completely dunked on by the article, can you dunk on the article? Don’t be egregious, but there may be things where you feel that your argument is stronger, why? What has the author missed about a character or event that actually helps to better support your argument?

3) Make room for nuance. You might have an article that mostly agrees with you but helps you to see where you might have been too absolutist. Sure, the text’s views and values are pretty homophobic, and your supplementary reading agrees, but maybe the text is showing that homophobia in a way you hadn’t initially realised.

Pro Tips for Reading Academic Articles

One of the options for the supplementary reading is academic articles (also known as critical readings/articles/essays). These are the kinds of essays that incredibly well-educated and fancy university people with monocles write, and as such, they can be quite difficult to read, especially if they are new to you. Because academia is likely new to you in Years 11 and 12, we want to give you some pro tips for reading and understanding these articles, which will help you all the way into university!

When you’re first given your supplementary reading, it can be really daunting. The most important thing to remember here is to take it slow. You will not understand it immediately, and no one is expecting you to. Here are some cheat codes to be able to understand academic articles faster.

1) Read the Whole Thing

Front to back. Including and especially the abstract, introduction and conclusion. You will not understand a word, but maybe some things will jump out; nice phrases or sentences that kinda feel like something. It might be as simple as a statement like: ‘Mina Harker not only escapes the fate of the other women: she is also largely responsible for the capture and ultimate destruction of Dracula.’ (Senf 1982, p. 34). This statement isn’t Senf’s entire point in the article, but it does help me to interpret Mina’s character in Dracula .

While you’re reading, look up words you don’t understand and write their meaning in the margin. Whilst some might suggest doing this on a second read, it really makes no difference, so you might as well get it out of the way here.

2) Re-read the Introduction and Conclusions

And read them closely. Where is the author commenting on previous peoples’ work, and when are they making their own argument? The introduction usually does a few things:

1) Introduces the text

2) Does a literature review wherein the author looks at previous works of academia and considers their merits

3) Introduces their main argument and their supporting arguments

The conclusion does what your conclusions should be doing! It restates the core arguments and supporting arguments, connecting them in a way that leads to a clear interpretation.

Reading the intro and conclusion helps you understand the whole piece because it’s the same arguments without all the extraneous wordiness and verboseness of the actual body paragraphs. It lacks some nuance and the logic behind the arguments, but it signposts what the author is actually saying.

3) Try to Summarise the Author’s Interpretation

After reading the article a couple of times and focusing heavily on the intro and conclusion, discuss with your classmates what they got from the piece. Try to state or write down the core argument of the author and the ways they defend that contention. This is a practice that you will do all the way to university, so it’s worth getting some practice in! Most articles use the same structure you do at school, which is an introduction, three arguments and a conclusion. It’s just that those three arguments are a lot more complex and long-winded. If you’re lucky, the author has used subheadings to separate the arguments.

4) Read More Academic Articles

This is a little bit of a cheat, and definitely more effort, but trust me: it pays off . The best Literature students are well-read. Reading fiction (especially the classics) allows you to see how your text fits into the wider literary world. Things like genres, literary movements, historical ideas and pop culture references can only be gleaned from a text if you have the knowledge of other texts: It’s really hard to watch the later Avengers movies without having seen Ironman ! Same goes for Literature. Academic authors do the same thing - How does Dracula compare to Edgar Allen Poe? How does Alias Grace fit into a wider feminist discourse in the late 90s?

Reading more academic articles gives you a way to practice engaging with academia and to repeatedly expose yourself to the language, forms and ways of thinking that are common in academics. If the best Literature students read loads of fiction, imagine what reading loads of university-level academia could do!

The SAC for Developing Interpretations is a little bit weird. It’s worth 50% of Unit 3, but is split into two parts:

Part A: An initial interpretation of the text’s views and values within its historical, social and cultural context.
Part B: A written response that compares/interweaves and analyses an initial interpretation with a subsequent interpretation, using a key moment from the text.

Your teacher might do the two parts together, or separately. In any case, Part B will include the use of a passage from the set text that you must engage with. How does the passage help you to interpret the text, and how does that interpretation agree or disagree with the interpretation presented in the supplementary reading? Here are some of the possible ways that your teacher may decide to design the SAC:

1) Part A and Part B are assessed in separate tasks

Part A is assessed after sustained study of the set text. Students are invited to explore a key idea or value in the text and consider how the text has presented and represented that concern or value. They could, for example, explore the ways a text has presented and represented isolation or power or marriage.

Part B is assessed after students consider the supplementary reading. Students revisit the key concern or value through a passage from the set text and provide an enhanced interpretation informed by the supplementary reading.

2) Part A and Part B are assessed as one task

Students are provided with a passage from the set text and a specific question that relates to one of the text’s key ideas. Students engage with a close reading of the passage based on the key idea, offering an interpretation drawn from the language of the text and from the views and values of the text. They then build on that initial interpretation by engaging with the ideas and/or position they have considered through the supplementary reading.

The most difficult part of the SAC for this new AoS is balancing your interpretation, the textual evidence and the alternative interpretation of the supplementary reading. It is vital that if you are doing Literature this year, that you know your 3.2 text like the back of your hand, and that you practice writing loads and loads. It is also worth trying to make your interpretation incredibly specific so that you can go in-depth into one idea, rather than simply skimming over 3 or 4 big ideas.

Check out our Developing Interpretations SAC Guide: Interpreting Alias Grace blog post for more. Even if you're not studying Alias Grace, this blog post will further clarify what to expect from the Developing Interpretation SAC.

Going Forward

I highly recommend that you begin engaging in interpretative and analytical exercises that you can apply to your everyday life. As a Literature student, there is an assumption that you’re interested in Literature (obviously!), film and visual media, history, current affairs and even visual arts. In the wonderful age of the internet there are unlimited free resources that can support your engagement with these fields in interesting ways. I like to say to my Llit students that analysis should be something you can’t turn off - you should be watching TV and disassembling the ways in which Love Island manufactures drama and keeps you engaged. Why does this advertisement make me want to eat KFC? How has this author made me cry after this character’s death? To develop strong interpretations of literature, you need to be cognizant of the history, construction and theories of literature, and so engaging with as many texts as possible supports your ability to recognise things like genre, historical literary and artistic movements and emotionally manipulative language.

These resources should help you see how skilled literary and media critics analyse fictional worlds.

Death of the Author by Lindsay Ellis (YouTube). Discusses authorial intent and whether we can view ‘the art without the artist’. Ellis also has fantastic interpretations of film and TV.

Nerdwriter (YouTube). Likely one of the best examples of closely analysing text. Check out his video on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 , and on how Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders answer questions.

literarydevices.net . Literally my favourite website. A database of every imaginable literary device, how they function, and popular examples. Invaluable for the lit student.

Databases. Go to your school library and ask your librarian what Arts and Humanities databases your school has access to. JSTOR, ProQuest and AusLit, are all databases that host the kinds of articles you should be exposing yourself to. If you are tutoring with Lisa’s Study Guides , then your tutor may be able to help you gather resources from some databases.

Film and Television

Pop Culture Detective (YouTube) especially his videos on the Marvel Universe and the status quo , and misogyny in the Big Bang Theory (CW: discusses sexual assault).

Super Position by David Grueber (Article). Referenced in Pop Culture Detective’s MCU episode and interprets the narrative form of the superhero genre.

The Coraline Bug Theory by Karsten Runquist (YouTube). An excellent example of developing an interpretation of a text and using a minor textual element to explore that interpretation.

CineFix (YouTube) especially their “What’s the Difference” and “Top 10” series. Although presenting film ‘for the masses’, their Top 10 lists constantly consider how an idea (like family or cars ) contribute to the messaging of the film.

1. Don't focus just on ideas and avoid language engagement.

Language engagement is every bit as important as ideas. Sometimes, when you get stuck in philosophical musings, you might find yourself in a place where you're spouting on and on about solipsism or the intrinsic desire for independence in the 19th century Norwegian working class. Literature essays are all about finding balance, and here, that balance means language engagement. Whether you are writing about literary criticism or a passage analysis, you have to be able to support your interpretations with textual evidence.

Often, this requires some creative thinking. You can have a lot of fun with it and the examiners like you to pick up on small details and connect it to a grander scope.

Here's an example from Jane Eyre.

“my eyes seemed as if they had beheld the fount of fruition, and borrowed beams from the lustrous ripple.”

“I was not surprised...to feel...the breathing of a fresh and fragrant breeze...The rooks cawed, and blither birds sang; but nothing was so merry or so musical as my own rejoicing heart.”

In this passage, Jane is rejoicing over her marriage proposal, but readers are led to understand that this may be a false, idealistic dream of hers. Note the patterns of alliteration – the fricative 'f' shifting to the plosive 'b' in “fount of fruition” and “borrowed beams” then again from “fresh and fragrant breeze” to “blither birds”. What could it possibly mean?

Fricatives tend to indicate freedom, whereas plosives tend to indicate an abruptness – a harsh change. Perhaps, Jane's wild, free joy is immediately followed by plosive alliteration so as to illustrate how her happiness is cut short and her dream is a false one – she will attempt to achieve freedom through this romance, but she will be abruptly and unceremoniously prevented from attaining it.

Regardless, in any passage, there are always things to talk about and little language quirks to exploit to figure out an interpretation. Start from these little details, and build out and out until you tackle your big ideas. All of these ideas should be rooted in language.

2. Don't prioritise complicated language over ideas.

Often, when you think that expressive, complicated writing takes priority over ideas in Literature, you tend to end up with flowery material that becomes more convoluted than it is effective. If you are one of those people (I know it's hard) but kill your darlings. Focus on coming up with original ideas, and express them clearly. Cut out redundancies. Be expressive in a way that is natural and in a way where you know that first and foremost, your language is accurate. Don't go around using metaphors purely for the sake of sounding intellectual when you can express something equally eloquently and beautifully with simpler, fluent text.

Remember: this is not to say that you shouldn't be expressive in Literature. In fact, writing style and the ability to write well is a fundamental component to doing well in this subject. It is just vital that you strike the right balance. This is a good lesson to learn sooner rather than later - and you'll be steering into prime territory for the exam.

3. Don't treat Literature like an English essay. Be free!

Good Literature essays generally tend to be more lively and expressive than English essays. Why? Because Literature just doesn't operate under the same criteria, and it shouldn't be treated as such.

Don't feel like putting in an introduction/conclusion? No need! Don't feel like sticking to a TEEL structure? No problem!

Your focus is creating writing that moves along at a natural, expressive pace, moving through textual evidence to broader ideas. You don't have a structure. You don't have a paragraph quota. You have free reign over a lot of how you write your Literature essays – so find out what works for you.

4. Come up with original interpretations and don't stick with popular readings.

Literature is one of very few subjects in the entirety of VCE that rewards original thinking. You don't need to go with the crowd consensus on how to read your text: as long as you have the evidence to support your reading! The examiners will reward complex, creative, and unique ideas. Every passage analysis you write should be approached with a fresh perspective – base your interpretation around the text in front of you, and not a dogmatic set of ideas that you bring with you.

5. Let the text before you provide you with the ideas, don't force your ideas into the text.

By reading literary criticism and expanding the scope of your ideas, you can apply original readings to each set of passages you have. Your essays stand out when they cover new, uncharted territory.

Literature is all about balance. If you can find it in you to balance language engagement, interpretation, and writing style, I'd say you have yourself a pretty good essay.

Remember not to fall into any of the common traps of the subject, and you'll have put yourself on solid footing to become a true literati.

Studying both English and Literature in VCE is an interesting undertaking, and I’ve heard very mixed opinions about whether or not it’s a good idea. For me it was a no-brainer; I’d always loved English so why wouldn’t I take advantage of the opportunity to study two English-based subjects? Looking back on my VCE experience now, and comparing my experience of studying each subject, I can see that they are each very different. However, if you’re going to study both, don’t expect that each subject will unfold in isolation, because your work in one of these subjects will undoubtedly impact upon your work in the other - even if, like me, you complete them in different years. So if you enjoy English I would 100% endorse studying both VCE English and VCE Literature, but being an English-nerd I still think there are benefits to analysing the process of studying this dynamic-duo back to back.

The Content

At the beginning, I assumed that Literature and English would be fairly similar in terms of studying and writing. It’s all about reading books and writing essays, right? Well, whilst this is essentially true, it turns out that the process for each subject is quite different. I studied year 12 Literature first, completing it in 2017 as a year 11 student, and as my only unit 3/4 subject for that year it was the focus of a lot of my time, energy, and creativity. What I loved about VCE Literature from the beginning was the departure from formula; the impetus to “dive right in” as my teacher always used to say. Instead of worrying about how many sentences your introductions and conclusions have to be, in Literature you can simply get straight into the analysis and see how far it takes you. So, if you’re the kind of person who needs to stick to that body paragraph structure acronym that has always served you so well, then when you first start studying Literature it might be a challenge to loosen up. Or, if you’re like me and can’t shake the compulsion to write paragraphs that take up double-sided sheets of paper, you might find this subject to be a welcome respite from some of the restrictions of English tasks.

Although English is often viewed as the more ‘basic’ of the two, in many ways I found it more difficult once I hit year 12. Having just finished VCE Literature, shifting my focus back to English definitely wasn’t as seamless as I might have expected. In comparison to my Literature essays where I would base paragraphs around in-depth analysis of a few of Gaskell’s sentences, my English text responses felt stunted and forced – English isn’t really compatible with tangents, and so it was difficult to train myself to be expressive whilst also being concise. In my opinion, the most daunting of the year 12 VCE English SACs is the comparative, and this is where my lack of flow was most evident. Being accustomed to delving into complex discussion of the details of my Literature texts, it seemed impossible to provide insightful analysis of two texts simultaneously, whilst also comparing them to each other and also keeping my essays well structured. My first comparative practices sounded somewhat awkward when I read over them, and I just felt like I never really knew what I was trying to get across. This provoked me to be frustrated with myself, and then my frustration distracted me from writing, and then my essays read even more contrived; you get the idea.

So, how do you push past this sense of friction between the study of English and the study of Literature? Well, I think the best way to reconcile the conflicting approaches is to realise that each subject brings out different strengths, but these strengths can be applied to either type of study. Yes to a certain extent English is supposed to be formulaic, but you can use the analysis skills you learn in Literature to enhance your English text responses and give your work a point of difference. On the flip side, the structure you work with in English can be applied to Literature to ensure that your essays always exhibit direction and purpose, even if they encompass a broader range of discussion. Once I realised that I didn’t have to discard all of my Literature skills and start writing my English work exactly the same as everybody else, I began to develop a more fluid, balanced writing style that enhanced all of my English tasks – even the comparative.

Let’s start with the obvious comparisons between the English exam and the Literature exam. Firstly, the English exam encompasses three essays in three hours (with 15 minutes reading time), whilst Literature is only two essays in two hours. The English exams tasks include a text response to a prompt, a comparative text response to a prompt, and a language analysis. The Literature exam involves a passage analysis, and a text response to a prompt influenced by a literary perspective. Where in the English exam you are given a choice of prompts for each text choice, whereas for both sections of the Literature exam only one choice is available for each text. Whilst both exams involve some supplied material, in Literature this material is a passage from one of the set texts, however for the language analysis section of the English exam this is completely unseen material created by the VCAA. For me, this felt like a very significant difference, because there is no familiar material (i.e. passages from the texts) to rely on in the English exam; if you get lost you can’t latch on to anything except what you have memorised.

Personally, I think that the study strategies I utilised for each exam were fairly similar, although obviously geared towards different tasks. I took in depth notes on my texts, planned essays, memorised quotations and explored their significance, timed my practice essays etc. My actual approach to each exam was also similar, for example I made sure to allocate one hour for each different task and did all of my planning mentally during reading time. So although obviously everyone’s study and exam techniques are different, this shows that your own personal strategies that you develop can be applied to both the Literature and the English exams. However, despite the continuity in this sense I still found myself feeling very different coming out of my English exam than I had leaving my Literature exam the year before. Where after the Literature exam I had been content with the knowledge that I had showcased the best version of my abilities, after the English exam I felt much more unsure and ready to believe the worst about the outcome. This particular comparison is of course specific to every individual person, however I think it could have something to do with the knowledge that most VCE students study English and the difficulty in believing that your work could stand out from the work of 40,000 others.

The Results

In the end, I achieved very different results from these two subjects, with English being my highest study score and Literature being one of my 10% contributions. It seems to be a general consensus (or at least it was at my school) that it is more difficult to crack the high 40s in Literature than in English, and whether this is true or not it definitely impacted my expectations of my results each subject. However, that said, after being slightly disappointed with my Literature results in year 11 I was not overly optimistic about doing much better in English. When talking about this with my Literature teacher, she told me to “remember that English is marked very differently to Lit, so don’t think you can’t get a 50” and I think this is very solid advice. Whilst you might feel you were equally skilled at both subjects, this doesn’t mean you will receive equally ‘good’ results’, but don’t let this disparity discourage you because, as we have discussed throughout this post, when it comes to Literature and English one size does not fit all.

To the Lit kids out there, you already know that VCE Literature is a whole different ball game – You’re part of a small cohort, competing against some of the best English students in the state and spots in the 40+ range are fairly limited. So how can you ensure that it’s your essay catches the assessor’s eye? Here are some tips which will hopefully give you an edge.

Constantly refer back to the language of the passages

Embed quotes from the passages into both your introduction and conclusion and of course, throughout the essay. Don’t leave any room for doubt that you are writing on the passages right in front of you rather than regurgitating a memorized essay. A good essay evokes the language of the passages so well that the examiner should barely need to refer back to the passages.

Here’s part of a sample conclusion to illustrate what I mean:

In comparison to Caesar, who sees lands, the “’stablishment of Egypt,” as the epitome of all triumphs, the lovers see such gains, “realms and islands,” as “plates dropp’d from his pocket.” It is dispensable and transient like cheap coins, mere “dungy earth” and “kingdoms of clay.” This grand world of heroic virtue is set in the past tense, where the lover once “bestrid the ocean,” once “crested the world,” but it is the world which will arguably endure in our hearts.

So, you can see that analysis of the language does not stop even in the conclusion and yet it still ties into the overall interpretation of the text that I have presented throughout the essay.

If appropriate, include quotes from the author of the text

A good way to incorporate views and values of the author in your writing is to quote things they have said themselves. This may work better for some texts than others but if you find a particularly poetic quote that ties in well with the interpretation you are presenting, then make sure to slip it in. It shows that you know your stuff and is an impressive way to show off your knowledge of the author’s views and values.

Here’s a sample from an introduction on Adrienne Rich poetry which includes a quote from her essay, “When We Dead Awaken.”

Adrienne Rich’s poetry is the process of discovering a “new psychic geography” (When We Dead Awaken) with a language that is “refuse[d], ben[t] and torque[d]” not to subjugate but as an instrument for “connection rather than apartheid.”

Memorise quotes throughout the text

Yes, there are passages right in front of you, but don’t fall into the trap of not memorizing significant quotes from the text as a whole. Dropping a relevant quote in from another section of the text demonstrates that you understand the text as a whole.

The originality of your ideas and the quality of your writing come first and foremost, but these are little ways in which you can add a little extra something to your essay.

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Review: CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at Gaslight-Baker Theatre

Written by Tennessee Williams, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF by Gaslight-Baker Theatre is bold and convincing.

Choosing to perform a Tennessee (Thomas Lanier) Williams (1911-1983) play means genuinely committing to some of theater’s most salient aspects: in this case, a plot that must capture and then hold the audience in unfolding layers of tragedy, characters that are complex and often display less-than-desirable human characteristics, believable delivery of modified language to portray a specific region or temperament, performance of disconcerting and sometimes virulent spectacle on a human scale, and production design that rises to the needs of the story.

From April 26 to May 11, Gaslight-Baker Theatre is offering a bold and convincing production of the Pulitzer Prize winning play CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1974 version) at their historic theater in Lockhart. Directed by Eric Beck, this performance is gripping, true to Williams’ melodramatic style, and amplifies many of the actors' excellence in their craft.

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is set in the master bedroom of a plantation house on the “finest plantation in the Delta” made up of “twenty-eight thousand acres of the richest land this side of the valley Nile!” Deeply tragic, this three-act play is centered around a married couple, Brick and Maggie, and their extended family as they celebrate Big Daddy’s 65th birthday, and then deliver the news that Big Daddy has metastatic cancer.

The revealing of the diagnosis is, however, only the surface complication of this family’s dysfunction. The reality of Big Daddy’s impending death, known to the adult children before the events of the day, amplifies issues around infidelity, sexual desire and repression, greed and familial vying for eventual inheritance, the ways in which layers of falsehood build up over the length of time and erode relationships, the problematic nature of social mores and one-upmanship, alcoholism, the effects of suicide, and the trauma of emotionally abusive relationships. It is no wonder that the play is titled as it is; the metaphor “cat on a hot tin roof” meaning “someone who is in a state of extreme nervous worry.” That seems to be every member of this story except, perhaps, the children.

The Gaslight-Baker Theatre cast of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is expertly led by Dawn Wright Calvert (Maggie the “Cat”/Margaret). Calvert offers an exceptional performance, portraying the passion, guile, and blunt honesty of Maggie with skill and integrity. The first act is carried in near entirety by Calvert, showing us Maggie’s vacillation between vying concerns: disdain for her brother- and sister-in-law’s family, annoyance with their children, a deep desire to become pregnant, concern and sorrow in her marriage, and discerning what she must do to retain a measure of the security she has married into. Calvert is partnered by Derek Byzinski (Brick), who embodies Brick’s aversion to Maggie, alcoholic haze, and general disinterest in anything concerning the family effectively.

Greg Dew (Big Daddy) gives a stand-out performance, delivering Big Daddy’s toxicity, vitriol, and divisiveness without reservation. Dew does not hold back in volume or shy away from the unsavory aspects of Big Daddy, compelling us to confront the reality of these persons in our own lives even as the action unfolds on stage. Andrea Littlefield (Big Mama) gives a nuanced performance of the busybody-ish, emotionally oppressed, and long-suffering wife of Big Daddy; her delight in her grandchildren and persistent guarded optimism are hallmarks of many women remembered from the Great Generation in the US.

The cast is completed by Luke Jenkins in the role of Dr. Baugh, a nervous physician disinclined to be forthright; Jonathan Jones as Reverend Tooker, who seems to be more interested in being friends with the family than in offering spiritual support or guidance; Tifani Pust as Mae, the eavesdropping and conniving sister-in-law; and Tyler Spillman as Gooper, the less-favorite older brother of Brick. In charming, and often precocious roles, are Sydney Davis (Trixie), Sydney Claire Jones (Polly), Luhana Lopez (Buster and Souki), Rene White (Sonny), and Shea White (Dixie) as Mae and Gooper’s children.

Set on the extended apron of a proscenium stage, Sam Plumb’s scenic design is versatile and efficient, providing multiple play areas and - through clutter lining the walls on either side - providing a visual for the clutter of the characters’ lives pressing in on the story. Also, a shout-out to the box office and concessions team who offered a genuine welcome and patience with the complications that come with having a city festival in the street outside and taking over all the parking. The accommodations for late arrivals were generous and partnered with kindness.

Gaslight-Baker Theatre’s production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is extremely well done, bold and convincing as the plot winnows its way through one family’s dysfunction. I highly encourage everyone to take an afternoon trip out to Lockhart, enjoy some local barbecue, stroll through their historic downtown, and then settle in for an evening of gripping story-telling. There are trigger warnings that come with this show: significant profanity, frequent male toxicity, depictions of emotional and relational abuse, very loud expletives and demeaning language directed toward characters, language surrounding issues of sexuality, mention of suicide, and issues concerning cancer and death.

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Written by Tennessee Williams

Gaslight-Baker Theatre, 216 South Main Street, Lockhart, Texas 78644

April 26 - May 11, 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm shows

Running Time: 2 hours 55 minutes ; one 15-minute intermission and one 10-minute intermission

Tickets: $8 - $18 https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=209513

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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

By tennessee williams, cat on a hot tin roof character list.

a taciturn and stony-faced drunk, Brick is too numb to feel much of anything anymore. His good looks and cool aloofness have won him admirers his whole life, from his own parents to his wife Maggie, despite his inability to reciprocate their affections. Since the death of his friend Skipper, Brick has retreated into a drunken shell, and the only emotions that he can express are disgust and boredom. A rise can still be coaxed out of Brick, however, when he is goaded about Skipper.

Maggie is a vivacious and attractive woman whose curse is a love for a husband who does not love her. Her one driving goal is to get Brick to sleep with her – both to satisfy her own needs, and to allow her to conceive a baby, which would cement her claim to the Pollitt family's fortune. She is deathly afraid of abandonment, both by Brick and by the comfortable lifestyle to which she has grown accustomed. Despite her self-focused interests, she is also kind and warm-hearted.

"Like father, like son," is the rule of the Pollitt family. Big Daddy, like Brick, is the sort of man who inspires admiration and adoration without doing much of anything to deserve it. He worked hard for economic success, and now he wants to enjoy it. He is uninterested in his wife and treats her cruelly, belittling her love and that of his other son, Gooper. He sees himself in Brick, however, and therefore Brick is the only person for whom he feels love.

She is an older version of Maggie – more hysterical, sloppier, needier, having let herself go, but still like Maggie. She loves her husband unconditionally despite his cruelty and indifference. She loves both her sons but she cannot help but prefer Brick, who is so much like his father. Her outbursts are a willful effort to avoid the truth about Big Daddy's health – she is a bit cleverer than she lets on, though not much.

The elder of the Pollitt children by eight years has languished in Brick's shadow since the day his brother was born. While Brick got the attention with looks and football, Gooper married into society and became a successful lawyer. But the continued focus on his ne'er-do-well brother has turned Gooper bitter and mean as well as paranoid, and so it is out of both greed and spite that he actively campaigns for control of Big Daddy's estate.

Gooper's wife has picked up his bitterness and greed, without any of his justifying history. She taunts Maggie's barrenness by parading her own substantial brood around the house, and considers herself to be Maggie's superior both socially and within the context of the Pollitt family. She is indiscreet and petty, and brings out the worst in her husband.

The family doctor shows sensitivity and discreetness, allowing the brothers to make their own decision about when and whether to tell Big Mama and Big Daddy about the patriarch's terminal condition (or, perhaps, shirking that responsibility himself).

Reverend Tooker

The clergyman indelicately makes frequent reference to parish donations and needed repairs while hovering around the Pollitt estate, campaigning for a mention in Big Daddy's will. He displays a particular lack of taste and tact.

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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

a cat on a hot tin roof

Big Daddy, like Brick, is the sort of man who inspires admiration and adoration without doing much of anything to deserve it. He worked hard for economic success, and now he wants to enjoy it. He is uninterested in his wife and treats her cruelly,...

what function does the setting also serve in cat on a hot tin roof ?

The setting for the play is in the cotton plantations in the Mississippi Delta in the 1950's. It is very hot which provides the metaphor for the simmering character and racial conflicts near boiling point in the play.

Elizabeth Taylor played Maggie in the film.

Study Guide for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a study guide on the play that contains a biography of Tennessee Williams, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Summary
Character List

Essays for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams.

Cat on a Four Post Bed
Those People: A Look at Demonic Othering and Homosexuality in Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Kushner’s Angels in America
The Portrayals of Sexuality in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire
Brick's Isolation
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Film vs Play Comparison

Lesson Plan for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

About the Author
Study Objectives
Common Core Standards
Introduction to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Relationship to Other Books
Bringing in Technology
Notes to the Teacher
Related Links
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Introduction
Stage productions
Notable casts

COMMENTS

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The thesis statement. The major themes the author discloses in his plays are related to sexual violence, family and financial constraints. When speaking about Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, one is to keep in mind that the key aspects Tennessee Williams highlights are associated with "undertones of emotional, sexual, and spiritual need that are ...
A Summary and Analysis of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The 1955 play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is widely regarded as Tennessee Williams's greatest play, and in it we find an echo of many of America's main social and political preoccupations and struggles of the 1950s.But the way Williams taps into the national psyche at a particular point in US history is subtle, and requires closer analysis.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Essays and Criticism
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was heralded by some as the play in which homosexuality was at last to be presented without evasion. But the miracle has still not happened. The cat of the title is the ...
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Study Guide
Key Facts about Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Full Title: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. When Written: 1955. Where Written: New York. When Published: 1955. Literary Period: Realism. Genre: Family Drama/Tragedy. Setting: Big Daddy's plantation in the Mississippi Delta, 1950s. Climax: Brick confesses that he hung up on Skipper when Skipper confessed his love ...
Essays on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Analysis of The Mendacity Scene. 1 page / 640 words. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a film that was released in 1958 and was directed by Richard Brooks. The movie was derived from a play with the same title written by Tennessee Williams, the renowned playwright. The movie centers around the tumultuous relationship...
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Critical Essays
Closely connected with the question of life are the topics of sex and homosexuality, which made Cat on a Hot Tin Roof controversial in the 1950's and 1960's but that had come to seem tame by ...
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Essays
The American Family and Excessive Social Demands in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Xuan Vu 12th Grade. Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" explores the difficulties of moral progressiveness due to character's inherent desires to fulfil the ludicrous demands of contemporary society which are rooted in traditional values.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Critical Overview
Critical Overview. When Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opened at the Morosco Theatre in 1955 it starred Ben Gazzara as Brick, Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie, and folk singer Burl Ives (in his first dramatic ...
Analysis of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Categories: Drama Criticism, Literature. One of Williams's more famous works and his personal favorite, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. This three-act play is set in the Pollitts' stately home, a Southern plantation in the fertile Mississippi Valley. Act 1 Brick Pollitt emerges from the bathroom at the ...
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Essay Questions
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Essay Questions. Characterize the relationship between the Pollitt brothers. Brick is eight years the junior of Gooper, and has always been coddled and adored as the baby of the family. There is a sibling rivalry, but it is entirely one-sided. Gooper is threatened by the universal adoration for Brick and resents his little ...
Social Issues in the "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee William Essay
This essay aims to discuss "tragedy" as presented in various ways in the play. Kolin argues that, the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with its classic antecedents, share a basic principle: "Man is not the master of his soul. The great decisions are made by forces beyond control (1)". In the play, superior forces that the characters fight against ...
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
A text like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is rife with complexities in both its narrative features and literary devices, all prime for discussion in your own essay.‍ Consider the following prompt: "Discuss the proposition that 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' is a condemnation of 1950's American society."
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Study Guide
In 1955, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof vaulted Williams back into the theatrical stratosphere. It took eight years, but he had produced another serious blockbuster - a play that was simultaneously a significant artistic achievement and a box-office draw. The road to Cat's commercial and critical success was not a straight one.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Act 1 Summary & Analysis
Analysis. Margaret marches into the bedroom, undressing, while Brick showers in the connecting bathroom. She complains that one of Gooper's "no-neck monsters" hit her with a hot buttered biscuit, so she has to change. Brick finishes his shower and reluctantly engages in the conversation, supporting himself on the towel rack as he does so ...
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof': Critical Essay
Tennessee Williams heightens the metaphor "Cat on a hot tin roof," by emphasizing and adding to Maggie's representation of a "Cat," as strong, wild, and bold. However, explores her character going through difficult, painful situations that she bravely withstands, and is able to fight through all the hurdles and achieve her will.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Act One Summary and Analysis
Analysis. The first act of Cat On a Hot Tin Roof is one continuous scene, a single dialogue between Maggie and Brick, almost unbroken save for the occasional brief interruption. Many plays will compress all the action of an act into a single scene, but it is rarer for that scene to not feature the periodic re-alignment of the characters ...
Crafting a Literary Perspectives Essay: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
A text like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is rife with complexities in both its narrative features and literary devices, all prime for discussion in your own essay. Consider the following prompt: " Discuss the proposition that ' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' is a condemnation of 1950's American society.". Don't let this prompt's simple exterior ...
Review: CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at Gaslight-Baker Theatre
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. Written by Tennessee Williams. Gaslight-Baker Theatre, 216 South Main Street, Lockhart, Texas 78644. April 26 - May 11, 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm shows. Running Time: 2 hours 55 ...
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
What are the plastic theatre techniques in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof? Quick answer: Plastic theater techniques are used in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to create a world that is disjointed, illogical, and ...
Claude Ams
197 likes, 0 comments - codewithclaude on May 16, 2024: "" Ever felt like a cat on a hot tin roof because you had to deliver a project NOW and you had no clue how? Well, been there, done t...". Claude Ams | Programming Guru 💻 750K 🎯 | "🎯 Ever felt like a cat on a hot tin roof because you had to deliver a project NOW and you had no ...
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Characters
Essays for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. Cat on a Four Post Bed; Those People: A Look at Demonic Othering and Homosexuality in Williams' Cat on a Hot ...

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Reverend Tooker

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