A “Cat”alogue of Components…

Character, Theme, Imagery and Symbolism in Cat on a Hot Tin

Roof

ENGLISH CLASS EPISODE XV:

RETURN OF THE NOTE

BUT FIRST…

KITTIES!!!

CHARACTER:

Prrrroowwwwwwr!

Revealed by:

a) What (s)he says

a) What (s)he does

b) What is said about him or her

Shaking the Pollitt Family Tree

1. Big Daddy: head of the Pollitt family, wealthy plantation owner

2. Big Mama: Big Daddy's wife

3. Gooper: their eldest son, married to Mae with whom he has 5 children

4. Brick: their youngest son, former star athlete turned alcoholic, married to Maggie who desires her husband's love

SETTING

Where: Big Daddy's plantation in the Mississippi River Delta (Southern USA)

When: circa 1950

THEME…- the ‘big ideas’ (vs. moral – the lesson)

Family Relationships

Communication

Appearance vs. Reality

Truth

Power

Dehumanization

MENDACITY!!!

Hypocrisy

LOVE (awww)

Sexuality

Class

IMAGERY…Creating a picture in the reader’s mind…

ANIMAL

BURNING

HUNTING

IMPRISONMENT

DIRTY/CLEAN

LIGHT/DARK

DISEASE

CYMBAL… errr… SYMBOLISM

Symbolism: When an object, animal, action, etc. represents something more than itself. Often, the concrete used to

represent the abstract.

For example:

SYMBOLS in Cat?

Also: Names (BRICK! ) and the title of the play…

DRAMATIC METHOD

- begins in media res—in the middle of the story—right on the verge of the climax

- climax occurs at the end of Act II—plot-based and psychological in nature

- past revealed in parcels

- very focused on characters and relationships

- many monologues