Cat on a Tin Roof

1. Where and when does the story take place?

The story takes place in Mississippi in the Fifties.

2. Who are the characters?

Brick and Maggie

3. What is their relationship?

They are husband and wife.

4. What is the mood of the scene?

There is a lot of tension in the scene: between Brick and Maggie, but between Brick and his dad.

5. What and whom are they talking about?

They are talking about Big Daddy, Brick's father, and how he isn't sick. Maggie is also insisting that Brick comes down to the party.


Context: Write short answers.

What kind of family did Tennessee Williams (TW) have? His family was dysfunctional. His father was a drunkard and a gambler, while his sister was schizophrenic.

Where does his first name come from? He is nicknamed Tennesse by a college friend.

What is the Pulitzer Prize? It is the top American award, worth $5,000, for journalism and literature, including plays, novels, poetry and short stories.

How was the original play changed for both Broadway and the cinema? The Broadway director changed Act III for a better resolution; the movie director took out references to Brick's homosexuality.

How did TW die?

What was the new American drama that TW represented?


Plot Overview: Put the events in the correct order.

Maggie confesses to making love with Skipper. _____

The family gets together with Mama and talks of Big Daddy’s cancer._____

Big Daddy asks Brick about his drinking problem. _____

Maggie says the Brick’s brother and wife are plotting to take all the inheritance. _____

Maggie announces that she’s pregnant. _____

Maggie talks about Brick and Skipper’s love for each other. _____

We learn that Brick injured his ankle. _____

Big Daddy enters the room. _____

Brick says that the relationship with Skipper was pure. _____


Character List: Write down all the adjectives used to describe each character. Find the definition of the words you don’t know.

Margaret:

Brick:

Big Daddy:

Big Mama:

Mae:

Gooper:

Reverend Tucker:

Doctor Baugh:

The children:


Analysis of Major Characters:

Why is Maggie the most interesting character?

What does Brick’s injury represent?

Why does Maggie call Big Daddy a “redneck’?

What does Mama desperately want?


Themes, Motifs, and Symbols:

What was American society’s view of homosexuality at the time?

What are the two “lies” in the play?

What does the image of the “cat” represent?

What is Big Daddy’s narcissistic love for Brick?

What do the children represent?

Symbols:What do these three things symbolize?

- Bed

- Console

- Crutch


Quiz

1. What is Gooper's occupation?
(A) He is a planter
(B) He is a defense attorney
(C) He is a corporate lawyer
(D) He is a sports annoucer

2. What is the name of Skipper and Brick's pro football team?
(A) The Dixie Chicks
(B) The Dixie Stars
(C) The Dixie Stripes
(D) The Dixie Cups

3. What happened to Big Daddy in Morocco?
(A) He was propositioned by a rent-boy
(B) He was fed to a man-eating plant
(C) He was eaten alive by a mob of street children
(D) He was propositioned by a child prostitute

4. What body part do Mae's children apparently lack?
(A) Chins
(B) Eyes
(C) Necks
(D) Legs

5. What did Maggie buy Big Daddy for his birthday?
(A) A clock
(B) A chandelier
(C) A tie
(D) A robe

6. Who is described as a cat at some point in the play?
(A) Maggie
(B) Mae
(C) Brick
(D) All of the above

7. Daddy believes that he suffers from which of the following?
(A) A ruptured spleen
(B) A spastic colon
(C) Appendicitis
(D) Liver failure

8. What is the ostensible object of Brick's disgust?
(A) Mendacity
(B) Time
(C) Women
(D) Children

9. Where did Maggie and Brick go to school?
(A) Emory
(B) Old Miss
(C) Duke
(D) Notre Dame

10. How old is Big Daddy?
(A) Seventy-five
(B) Fifty-five
(C) Seventy
(D) Sixty-five

11. Who was a cotton carnival queen?
(A) Maggie
(B) Big Mama
(C) Miss Sally
(D) Mae

12. What do the children sing to Big Daddy?
(A) Skinamarinka-dinka-dink
(B) My Heart Belongs to Daddy
(C) For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
(D) Yesterday Once More

13. What is Big Daddy's trademark word?
(A) Goddamn
(B) Shoot
(C) Darn
(D) Crap

14. What is Big Mama's name?
(A) Polly
(B) Cornelia
(C) Sally
(D) Ida

15. What were the names of the plantation's previous owners?
(A) Straw and Othello
(B) Straw and Ochello
(C) Ochello and Sawyer
(D) Othello and Sawyer

16. How many official versions of Cat are in circulation?
(A) Two
(B) Three
(C) Four
(D) One

17. Who directed the premiere of Cat?
(A) Burl Ives
(B) Richard Brooks
(C) Elia Kazan
(D) Madeleine Sherwood

18. When did Brick start drinking?
(A) When Skipper died
(B) When Maggie slept with Skipper
(C) When he injured his back
(D) When Big Daddy got sick

19. Who confronted Skipper on his love for Brick?
(A) Brick
(B) Big Daddy
(C) Gooper
(D) Maggie

20. Who revealed this love to Brick?
(A) Maggie
(B) Big Daddy
(C) Skipper
(D) Mae

21. How does Maggie get Brick to sleep with her?
(A) Big Mama convinces Brick to impregnate her
(B) Big Daddy commands Brick to do so
(C) She locks up his liquor
(D) She tricks him into thinking she is Skipper

22. Who tells Big Daddy that he is dying?
(A) Gooper
(B) Big Mama
(C) Brick
(D) Maggie

23.Who does Big Mama jostle in her lap?
(A) Big Daddy
(B) Mae
(C) Doctor Baugh
(D) Reverend Tooker

24. Who keeps calling from Memphis?
(A) Cornelia
(B) Sally
(C) Gladys
(D) Dixie

25. Who sleeps next to Maggie and Brick's room?
(A) Big Daddy and Big Mama
(B) Mae and Gooper
(C) Mae and Gooper's children
(D) The servants

Writing Journal 1

The Lady or the Tiger?

Even though Frank Stockton’s The Lady or the Tiger? is basically a construction of descriptive passages, his short story can still keep his reader captivated from the beggining to the end. We are at first introduced to a world that, while being contemporary despite its obvious antique roots, shocks us with its sometimes barbaric mores. This cultural collision creates a genuine interest in the future development of the story; the reader wants to find out what will be the outcome and the reason to this extensive description of the kingdom and its king. When the prelude is perfectly unfolded by the author, the rises and falls are quick and spasmodic, keeping the reader alert all through the text.

Just when the story seems to stop a moment to take a breath, the author creates a dramatic turn of events : will the king’s daughter let her lover die or will she save him? As we follow her mind debating the pros and cons of two possibilities before her, the reader can make up his own mind about the dual nature of this crude juridistic affair. It becomes a fable of love and hatred and the limits of undying connection with another human being. The reader is now in the edge of his seat, waiting, wanting to know is the woman will see the resolution of the conflict just as he do. The lady or the tiger?

Sentence Patterns

Pattern 1
Compound, two independent clauses;

Example: Gerard wears black; he is depressed.

1a. Compound, two independent clauses, adverb conjunction;

Example: Anna has only three books; however she will buy two more tomorrow.

1b. Compound, two independent clauses, coordinating conjunction and coma.

Example: Tatiana would love to visit Russia, but she does not have enough money.

Complete the sentences: (Sentence Pattern 1)

1. A mad scientist tried to recreate the Big Bang; the city was deserted and burning.
2. The old man slowly got into bed; he hadn't expect this gory turn of event.
3. The cat's tail began to switch back and forth; Griselda knew a storm was coming.

Complete each sentence using an appropriate conjunctive adverb: (Sentence Pattern 1a)

4. The crisis had passed; however we decided that it was still urgent to attack the Peloponnese coast.
5. Robert would never admit he was the one who stole the Dairy Queen display; however he was definitely guilty.
6. Jean was older than Grace ; therefore his knowledge of the German New Wave music movement movement in the Eighties was highly superior.

Complete each sentence using an appropriate subordinating conjunction: (Sentence Pattern 1b)

7. Edgar Allan Poe was primarily an author of horror stories, but the man did wrote numerous alexandrines.
8. The Silence of the Lambs is one of the most macabre movies ever produced, yet it could been seen as a metaphor of contemporary mal de vivre.
9. The "Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, so it can help us explore his internal universe.

Pattern 2
Compound sentence with explanation/using : (colon)

Examples

- The Origin of the Species by Darwin states a harsh truth: only the fittest survive.

- Yves Saint Laurent was an influential fashion designer: the dresses he created are still worshiped and copied all around the globe.

Pattern 3
Series A, B, C without conjunction for equal emphasis

Examples

- Sigur Ròs is awesome, peaceful, uplifting.

- London is eclectic, brilliant, extraordinary.

Writing a Thesis Statement

Definition: A thesis statement represents, in one strong sentence, the essence of the author's point of view on a given subject he attends to prove futher in the text with the help of arguments.

Examples: Although the story is considered more as a horror story, it can be viewed as a precusor to modern detective story.

Thesis statement for Tell-Tale Heart: Although the story does not present a specific historical context, we can sense its impact on the denouement of the plot.

Formative Work 1 Due 26th September

Course 1: Persuasive Writing

Interest Level

Difficulty Level

What I Learned

Score

Course 2:

Interest Level

Difficulty Level

What I Learned

Score

GAINS PROFILE FOR SIMONE

I recently had the chance to meet Simone Finken, a lover of small ugly things. Whether she is busy trying to find a job or talking loudly, she always finds time to stay in touch with her family even though she moved from Gatineau to Montreal. Once she is finished with CEGEP and her "Arts et Lettres" program, Simone would absolutely adore to recieve an acceptation letter to St-Martins Art School, London. By achieving this goal of hers, she will undoubtedly expand her flourishing network of contacts that is already constructed with her friends and family all the way from Vancouver to Paris. Between getting some spaghetti sauce ready, reading, or simply waatching a repertoire movie, Ferdinand et Pierrot le Fou most probably, Simone works steadily to avoid becoming an adult. This litttle fact is most likely to explain this young woman's love for observing people and theater. As my final word I will say this: Simone has been known for having a facility with remembering phone numbers. Why not give her yours?