Symbolism, Imagery and Allegory in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire
Tennessee Williams said, in the foreword to Camino Real, "a symbol in a play has only one legitimate purpose, which is to say a thing more directly and simply and beautifully than it could be said in words." Symbolism is used, along with imagery and allegory to that effect in both Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire. Both plays tend to share the same kinds of symbols and motifs; sometimes they achieve the same meaning, sometimes not. It is possible that Williams' took elements from A Streetcar Named Desire to make Cat on a Hot Tin Roof a success. After the success of A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams' next 2 plays The Rose Tattoo and Camino Real didn't relive the success of their predecessor, therefore it is prudent to assume that Williams went back to his `winning formula'.
A prominent symbol in both plays is that of alcohol as an escape. In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Brick's crutch is a symbol of his dependency on alcohol. Thomas Adler states, "The injured leg is clearly meant to symbolize a loss of power; without the crutch he is dependent on others ... [however, he] depends on a different kind of crutch, drink, to see him through." (Adler p.149-150). I agree with Griffin when she states "Brick drinks to escape a truth he cannot face, that he caused his friend Skipper's death" (Griffin p.153). Brick takes his physical and metaphorical crutch to defend himself from his past, while at the same time reliving an idealised version of that past.
Brick would rather lean on his `crutch' than on Maggie, this is expressed in the play's dialogue:
MARGARET: Lean on me.
BRICK: No, just...
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...er flirting fails since he is not interested in her illusion.
To conclude, Williams uses the same kind of symbols, imagery and allegorical figures in both plays to force home the themes inherent in both plays in a more sophisticated and elegant form than conventional realist drama can offer.
Bibliography
Griffin, A. Understanding Tennessee Williams, Columbia: University of South Carolina, 1995
Williams, T. A Streetcar Named Desire and other plays, ed. E. Martin Browne, London, Penguin, 1976
Williams, T., Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and other plays, ed. E. Martin Browne, London, Penguin, 1976
Internet references
`A Streetcar Named Desire', Literature Online, 10th December 2001, <http://www.lion.chadwyck.co.uk/authors/htxview?OutputType=html&OutputFile=knotes/astreetcarnameddesire/astreetcarnameddesire.html#Style
In Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams uses the suicide of Blanche's husband to illuminate Blanche's insecurities and immoral behavior. When something terrible happens to someone, it often reveals who he or she truly is. Blanche falls victim to this behavior, and she fails to face her demons. This displays how the play links a character’s illogical choices and their inner struggles.
War novels often depict a war hero facing off against an enemy, with a winner on the other side. However, Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse Five takes an opposite approach to the telling of a war story. The narrator uses the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, to display his own anti-war sentiment. Vonnegut’s style of writing as well as his characters help to portray the effect of war on individuals and society as a whole.
Williams, Tennessee. Cat On a Hot Tin Roof. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1958. 3-85.
Kurt Vonnegut’s anti-war science fiction novel entitled, Slaughter House Five otherwise known as “The Children’s Crusade” or “A Duty Dance with Death,” is a classic example of Vonnegut’s eccentric and moving writing capabilities.Originally published in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five pays tribute to Vonnegut’s experiences in World War Two, as an advanced scout in the 106th infantry division, a prisoner of war and witness to the firebombing of Dresden on February 13th, 1945 in which 135,000 people were killed, making it the greatest man-caused massacre of all times.This novel illustrates the cruelties and violence of war along with the potential for compassion in human nature and all that it encompasses.
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...me soldiers refuse to fire a shot due to the great personal conflict within them to kill another human being. Normal human beings cannot kill in cold blood. Normal human beings usually can’t even think about killing somebody. To not feel remorse after killing a fellow human being would be inhuman.
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In Williams’ Streetcar Named Desire the characters represent two opposing themes. These themes are of illusion and reality. The two characters that demonstrate these themes are Blanche, and Stanley. Blanche represents the theme of Illusion, with her lies, and excuses. Stanley demonstrates the theme of reality with his straightforward vulgar ness. Tennessee Williams uses these characters effectively to demonstrate these themes, while also using music and background characters to reinforce one another.
Svidrigailov is one of the most unfathomable characters in Crime and Punishment. As the novel goes on, Svidrigailov’s pursuit of Dunya progresses into sheer harassment. After eavesdropping on Raskolnikov’s confession to Sonya, he uses his newly acquired information to lure Dunya into his room. Svidrigailov proceeds to promise help to Raskolnikov if she will give him her hand in marriage. He then threatens to rape her when she tries to run away. Right when Svidrigailov appears to be purely evil, he surprises us all when his rational side kicks in and allows Dunya to leave. Although he may seem to be the cold-hearted villain of the book, his good deeds cannot go unnoticed. It cannot be forgotten that he is willing to give Dunya the three thousand rubbles in his wife’s will and offers ten thousand rubbles to help Dunya because he thinks her marriage will be a disadvantage to her in the end. Once Katerina Ivanonva dies, Svidrigailov also promises to pay for the funeral arrangements and to provide for the children, who will be sent to an orphanage. Although...
Hagopian, K. (n.d.). Film Notes -A Streetcar Named Desire. Film Notes -A Streetcar Named Desire. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/filmnotes/fns04n5.html
Hamlet has the disillusion that women are frail after his mother’s rushed remarriage as shown by “Frailty, thy name is woman!” He also believes women do not have the power to reason. (“O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason.”) Ophelia has the power to change his view but her unexplained rejection of him only adds to Hamlet’s disillusion. The ghost’s revelation that Gertrude dishonored Hamlet’s father but also their marriage by the adultery with Claudius is contemplated by Hamlet until he goes into Ophelia’s room to look upon her. As Hamlet searches Ophelia’s face for some sign that might restore his faith in her, he instead believes her face shows guilt and thinks she is another false Gertrude.
Written in 1947, A Streetcar Named Desire has always been considered one of Tennessee William’s most successful plays. One way for this can be found is the way Williams makes major use of symbols and colours as a dramatic technique.
A Streetcar Named Desire was written by Tennessee Williams in 1947 and it is a play that takes place after the second World War in the South of the United States; New Orleans, Louisiana. The play ultimately explores on the conflict amongst Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski as they both have a connection to Stella Dubois. Blanche being her sister, and Stanley being her partner. This play is considered to be a tragedy. Twelfth Night was written by the World renowned William Shakespeare and it explores the story of siblings being separated after a tragic accident at sea. ‘Without character there can be no drama’ is the overall theme of this comparison as every character contributes to a story, causing drama to arise in one way or another. This piece will ultimately explore the similarities and differences between Viola from ‘Twelfth Night’ and Blanche from ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Although Viola and Blanche come from two different books written by two different authors in different time periods, we can draw the conclusion that they both possess the theme of deception.
William Shakespeare has represented women in a wide range of characterizations and notions. The female characters play a significant or trivial roles in his plays, but nonetheless their actions affect the main characters throughout the play. In his most famous and memorable play Hamlet the character Gertrude played an impact on Hamlet by her acts of selfishness depicted throughout the play. However, in some cases she did mean well for her son, but her actions only resulted in a rage. Gertrude’s poor judgments of betrayal and selfishness result in the tragic conflicts with her son Hamlet.
Hamlet has just come from watching Claudius praying for forgiveness, his emotions and his nerves are very brittle, and he has just missed a chance to kill his uncle. Hamlet releases his pent up frustrations upon Gertrude, lashing out at her and condemning her despite the ghost’s order not to. Hamlet lashes out with his id, insulting her and accusing her, she defends with her Superego, innocent in her mind of any crimes he accuses her of.