Dr.
EK. Sparks
Engl 209
February 2002
Initial Reading Guide for
Cat on A Hot Tin Roof by
Tennesse Williams
Person to Person (Introduction)
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vii -- How does Williams’
sense of loneliness and separation tie in with other major themes we have
seen so far? Think about how Vonnegut and Williams both use long distance
phone calls…
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ix – Why does Williams
write plays? Is his motivation similar in any way to Vonnegut’s reasons
for writing Slaughterhouse Five?
Notes for the Designer
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xiii – "The room must
evoke some ghosts" – why this background sense of tenderness?
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xiv – What about the "console":
what themes does its presence suggest?
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Why does he want the set
less realisitic?
Reading Questions on Act I
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Note the stage directions.
Read them carefully; they often tell us a lot about the characters.
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Remember to think in terms
of each character’s SPINE --- what is their central motivation? What do
they want most of all?
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Brick—cool, detached,
(check symbolic associations of the name). Who is he like from previous
works we have read? Why was he jumping hurdles?
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Maggie – is she really
vicious? Why does she dislike so much about Sister Woman? Why is she so
bitchy? Is Maggie a materialist? Or is she a humanist?
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Maggie and Brick represent
two possible solutions to life’s problems – what are these alternatives?
How do they react to their pasts? How are their pasts different?
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How does Brick use his
crutch? What could it symbolize?
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Brick’s "click" – what
does it remind you of?
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What is Big Mama like?
Whom does she remind you of? What are her values?
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Big Daddy-- what does
he want? Why does Maggie like Big Daddy?
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Skipper -- what did Maggie
do and why? What does Brick think she did? How are their two versions of
the story different? Why does Brick hate Maggie so much?
Characters
Plot Outline
Themes