Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955, and was made into a well-known 1958 film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith Anderson, and Madeleine Sherwood.

Themes

The central theme of the play is mendacity, a word Brick uses to describe his disgust about the world. Moreover it revolves around the lies in the aging and decaying Southern society. With one exception, the entire family lies to Big Daddy and Big Momma, as do the doctors. Big Daddy lies to his wife. Will Maggie be willing to lie to her father-in-law in order to gain his favor? Brick will not lie to his father, but is he lying about the nature of his relationship with or his feelings for his deceased friend?

Related Topics:
Mendacity - Southern

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The play alludes to the presence of homosexuality in Southern society and examines the complicated rules of social conduct in this culture. The Hays Code required that the film could not be clear that Brick had sexual desire for his buddy, and thus toned down the original play's critique of homophobia and sexism.

Related Topics:
Hays Code - Homophobia - Sexism

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There are two versions of the play, one of which was influenced by director Elia Kazan, who directed the play on Broadway, and another which was performed for the first time in London, England.

Related Topics:
Elia Kazan - Broadway - London

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