Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof examines the relationship between a queer man and his dysfunctional family. The man, Brick, ceased being happy following the death of his friend Skipper. He is a captivate in the world that he created, a world of pain and isolation. A man who has internal struggles that prevent him from living and loving to his full potential. Brick fears his natural instinct to love because society would say that his love is wrong. He’s sexual orientation causes his other relationships to suffer. Williams uses Brick to make a statement about the treatment of queer people in society during this time period. Williams’ play tells the emotional struggles of a man who is forced to suppress his romantic feelings
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He is married to a woman named Margaret, whom he affectionately calls Maggie. Margaret views the marriage out of love, but Brick sees the marriage as a social status. He knows that his wife cannot be satisfied in the bedroom with his lack of performance. He encourages Margaret to take another man to have a physical relationship with: “I’d be relieved to know that you’d found yourself a lover” (801). Brick refers to his sexual orientation as a “condition” that forces him and his wife to be together (795). Brick believes that he is incapable of love following the death of Skipper, his true love. Brick becomes an alcoholic as a result of Skipper’s death. Skipper was Brick’s one true love; however, he suppressed his desires for Skipper because he feared that he would not be accepted by him. Margaret recalls their college days where they used to go on double dates with Skipper and his girlfriend Gladys. She believed that her and Gladys were there “to make a good public impression,” for the men who were really on the date by themselves (805). Margaret saw the signs that Brick was homosexual while they were dating, yet she chose to ignore those signs and marry him …show more content…
In June of 2015 the supreme court legalized same sex marriage. Brick claimed that he “had a friendship with Skipper” and nothing more; however, if he lived in an era where being homosexual was more widely accepted he could have proclaimed his love for his friend (805). Brick was embarrassed of the reactions that he would get for coming out, but now is forced to live his life regretting that he never professed his feelings for Skipper. He implies that there is a right and a wrong way to have a sex life: “Our sex life didn’t just peter out in the usual way” (800). Big Daddy at his old age even looks forward to having intercourse with a woman. Brick tells his father that it is “remarkable” that he still experiences the need to have intercourse with a woman (823). Big Daddy figures out that his son is gay because of his astonishment at his comment, his nervousness, and he wiped his wife’s kiss off of his face. Big Daddy wants to “straighten out” his son (826). This is relevant to today’s society because parents want to believe that they can cure their child’s queerness through visits to priests and doctors, which explains the significance of the Reverend Tooker and Doctor Baugh. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is still relevant today because there is more work to be done for equality for people of various sexual orientations, romantic orientations, and
He is married to a woman named Margaret, whom he affectionately calls Maggie. Margaret views the marriage out of love, but Brick sees the marriage as a social status. He knows that his wife cannot be satisfied in the bedroom with his lack of performance. He encourages Margaret to take another man to have a physical relationship with: “I’d be relieved to know that you’d found yourself a lover” (801). Brick refers to his sexual orientation as a “condition” that forces him and his wife to be together (795). Brick believes that he is incapable of love following the death of Skipper, his true love. Brick becomes an alcoholic as a result of Skipper’s death. Skipper was Brick’s one true love; however, he suppressed his desires for Skipper because he feared that he would not be accepted by him. Margaret recalls their college days where they used to go on double dates with Skipper and his girlfriend Gladys. She believed that her and Gladys were there “to make a good public impression,” for the men who were really on the date by themselves (805). Margaret saw the signs that Brick was homosexual while they were dating, yet she chose to ignore those signs and marry him …show more content…
In June of 2015 the supreme court legalized same sex marriage. Brick claimed that he “had a friendship with Skipper” and nothing more; however, if he lived in an era where being homosexual was more widely accepted he could have proclaimed his love for his friend (805). Brick was embarrassed of the reactions that he would get for coming out, but now is forced to live his life regretting that he never professed his feelings for Skipper. He implies that there is a right and a wrong way to have a sex life: “Our sex life didn’t just peter out in the usual way” (800). Big Daddy at his old age even looks forward to having intercourse with a woman. Brick tells his father that it is “remarkable” that he still experiences the need to have intercourse with a woman (823). Big Daddy figures out that his son is gay because of his astonishment at his comment, his nervousness, and he wiped his wife’s kiss off of his face. Big Daddy wants to “straighten out” his son (826). This is relevant to today’s society because parents want to believe that they can cure their child’s queerness through visits to priests and doctors, which explains the significance of the Reverend Tooker and Doctor Baugh. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is still relevant today because there is more work to be done for equality for people of various sexual orientations, romantic orientations, and