cat on a hot tin roof by tennessee williams

While the notion of children is conventionally meant to arouse feelings of goodness and innocence, this is corrupted by the greed of Mae’s intentions which forces the audience to question even the nature of the children in this play. Just like most things in this play, when viewed superficially things appear to be loving and healthy, however, the reality of the relationships is that they are filled with lies and artifice. Not even the children are completely innocent in this plot, as they are often seen mocking Maggie, like when they say that she is “jealous because can’t have babies.” The children are also a nuisance to others through their screaming and uncontrollable behavior. However, this is all merely a trick in order to persuade Big Daddy to give them the estate. The lyrics are filled with amorous claims and the intention of this display is to demonstrate their love for Big Daddy. We see this primarily in Act 2 where the children are singing a birthday song to Big Daddy. The play is about a Mississippi family and was written during a time that was in love with good ole family values and the shock-value of blue jeans. The patriarch, Big Daddy, is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. Written in 1955, in the midst of the Leave It To Beaver era in America, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof garnered Tennessee Williams his second Pulitzer Prize. The play exposes the emotional lies governing relationships in the family of a wealthy Southern planter of humble origins.

While children are often thought of as innocent and honest, Williams demonstrates how Mae’s deceit and schemes abuse the trusting nature of children in order to manipulate Big Daddy. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, play by Tennessee Williams, published and produced in 1955.

Cat on a hot tin roof by tennessee williams