Character Analysis Of Tennessee Williams Suddenly Last Summer

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Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer is a one-act play with a cast of colourful characters ranging from the eccentric Violet to the troubled Catherine. One individual, George Holly, is more minor than others, and as such might get overlooked. However, the Fictional World method of analysis uncovers new insight into his nature. By analysing George’s character in the Social World of the play specifically, we get a better understanding of how traumatic and powerful the climax really is. Firstly, to understand George as a character it’s important to look at his appearance: both how he presents himself to the world and how that reflects his nature. When we meet George, the stage directions tell us that he is “typically good-looking, he has the best ‘looks’ of the family, [and he is] tall and elegant of figure” (255). He is wearing attractive clothing that we soon find out he inherited from his late cousin Sebastian, altered to fit him perfectly by “a little Jew tailor on Brittannia Street” (261), and he carries with him a tennis racket in a zippered cover. …show more content…

The entire play has been leading up to the moment where we find out how Sebastian died. If the story doesn’t have weight, we’re left feeling unfulfilled. But the truth about Sebastian’s death is so horrific that it caused George to completely change his character. He had been relentless in his attempts to take power, but hearing the story makes him give up completely. By understanding George before and after, we can see how meaningful Sebastian’s death really was, and that makes the play worthwhile. All of the characters in Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer are important, but minor individuals like George should not be overlooked. By studying the evolution of George’s character, more significance can be gleaned from the climax of the play, making it that much more important to the audience and

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