Exploring Pain in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

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Exploring Pain in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

"Cat On A Hot Tin Roof," written by Tennessee Williams is a brilliant play about a dysfunctional family that is forces to deal with hidden deceptions and hypocrisy. The issues that this play revolves around transcend time and region.

By 1955 Tennessee Williams was already a well known and respected playwright. Theatergoers, as well as critics, had enthusiastically anticipated the arrival of "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof." Many loved the play, but they had difficulty with the play's resolution. (Winchell, 711)

...critics and ordinary theatre-goers have not always known what

to make of the play. Both the original and the Broadway versions

of the third act leave questions unanswered and an uneasy sense

that the answers suggested are willed and artificial. (Winchell, 711)

In addition, many people love Williams's play "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" because the plot is intriguing and the character's secrets unfold slowly. His play's premise is unique and it is not a re-hashed drama. They enjoy that Williams entertains and enlightens. "Audiences go to his plays not to be shocked but to see the playwright's sympathetic portrayal of characters whose fears and loneliness reflect their own."" (The New Book of Knowledge, 174)

Tennessee Williams's plays have been praised and criticized by literary scholars. Most applaud his prose and mastery in developing characters, yet they are sometimes offended by his subject matter. Mark Royden Winchell wrote a compelling article analyzing Williams's play "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof." In his essay, Winchell states that the play "is a powerful work of art", yet he exclaims that it is perverse and "scandalous." (Winche...

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...filmsite.org/cato/htm/

Leverich, Lyle. Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc. 1995, 3, 17, 55, 59, 128, 129, 260, 417, 574

McLean, Colin. Interview, April 25th, 8:10 p.m.

The New Book of Knowledge vol. 20 US, Grolier, Inc. 1994, 174-175

Reiter, Amy. A Capital Cat." Entertainment Design January 1999 7-8 proquest.umi.com/pqdweb

Smith, Bruce. Costly Performances. New York: Paragon House, 1990, 6, 17, 59, 157

Williams, Tennessee. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof New York: Penguin Books Ltd. 1955 24, 124, 125

Winchell, Mark Royden. "Come Back To The Locker Room Ag'in Brick Honey." The Mississippi Quarterly 48 Fall 1995 701-712 webspirs3.silverplatter.com/cgi-binwaldo.cgi

Wolter, Jurgen C. "Strangers on Williams's Stage." The Mississippi Quarterly 49 Winter 1995 33-51 webspirs3.sinverplatter.com/cgi-bin/waldo/cgi

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