Social Expectations In Tennessee Williams Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

Most people care greatly for image. Social groups will usually change their interests, clothing, and sometimes personality to fit the cultural norm or popular standard. Tennessee Williams depicts this in his popular play, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Throughout the show, the audience can notice the characters’ various overdramatic mannerisms and even what comes through their speech. Thus, a viewer can conclude that this production’s main theme is social expectation and its effects on society. A literature theme is an idea that the author attempts to imply through the behavior of the characters and the development of the plot. This is the code through which writers convey and communicate their ideas and explorations. “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” reviews and explores social expectations and their effects on society. Some of these ideas include homosexuality and feminism.
Williams explores homosexuality in Brick and Skipper, while he illustrates feminism through Maggie. “She adjusts the angle of a magnifying mirror to straighten an eyelash,” (Williams 20). Clearly, the audience can see that she is vain in that she deeply cares about her appearance, like all distinctly feminine women do. “She giggles with a hand fluttering at her throat and her breast and her long throat arched.” (Williams 24).

In this case, viewers definitely notice that she is an overdramatic woman. This implies the social push for women to be overly emotional. Williams made Maggie to be the epitome of femininity in this play. Later in act two, the audience witnesses the long talk between Brick and Big Daddy. Brick tries to deny that his relationship with Skipper was more than normal. However, he starts to question himself as he opens up to Big Daddy. “I left out a long-distance call which I had from Skipper…in which he made a drunken confession to me and on which I hung up!” (Williams 126). It is quite likely that Skipper was confessing his homosexuality and his feelings for Brick, upon which Brick was taken aback. Bricks deems it “his truth, not mine!” whilst talking to Big Daddy (Williams 127). The viewers can see that Brick is fighting what seems to be homosexual desires. It is clear that Williams is a brilliant writer due to the transition between subtlety and near forthrightness.
The story begins by informing the reader of the broken relationship between Brick and Maggie. Brick will not sleep with Maggie because she slept with the homosexual Skipper. “…we made love to each other to dream it was you, both of us!” (Williams 57). Maggie attempts to name Skipper and Brick’s friendship to be clean because of the fact that she had heterosexual sex with Skipper. The only reason why they remain bound by marriage is because divorce was disrespectable during the Victorian era. Later, during the same act, the audience can take note of Maggie’s overdramatic feminism, but also her manliness. “I love to run with dogs through chilly woods, run, run leap over obstructions…” (Williams 37). It is now clear that Maggie may act like a woman, but she is a tomboy at heart. Williams cranks up the heat in the second act with Brick and Big Daddy’s long conversation about alcoholism and Skipper. As previously mentioned, viewers get a glimpse into Brick’s near-doublethinking mind. He fights his homosexual desires and considers himself a heterosexual. Tennessee Williams slowly, but cleverly turns up the heat as the story progresses.
In “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, Williams’ exploration of social expectations assists viewers in getting a glimpse at the damage that is caused in society.

Through Maggie’s fight between femininity and boyish activities and Brick’s struggle with homosexuality, readers are given the option to see and understand the world through Williams’ perspective. The playwright likely chose this topic to outline in his play because it is something that everyone struggles with daily. One may try to live up to impossible social standards, yet one has no grounds in one’s character to even begin. No human being is perfect. Despite this, these standards remain expectations and social

norms.
In addition, Williams illustrates social expectations through Big Daddy. “Not, well, exactly normal in your friendship with…” (Williams 116). Victorian culture expects that friendships and relationships be pure. A homosexual relationship is frowned upon at this point in time. Thus, Williams uses Big Daddy to display this. The idea of social norms and expectations can be applied today. The current culture is promoting skimpy clothing on women and the glorification of other races that leave whites out of the question. Thus, it is expected that whites treat people of a different skin color with glory and the utmost respect. At the same time, the most easily found clothing in the women’s section is dedicated to the exposure of skin for public sexual identity. Social expectations will never go away.
Today, society is bent on maintaining an impossible appearance while simultaneously posting everything on social media. Social media gives people a false sense of importance and popularity. It is also extremely important that one does not offend another. Although it is not easily seen, heterosexuality, feminism, and manliness are still expectations today. These social expectations are brilliantly exemplified in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”. Tennessee Williams’ exploration of a few of these in Brick and Maggie are unforgettable. A lot of social standards put major stress on individuals and families, sometimes to the point of destruction. Finally, let one conclude that these social expectations tend to do more harm than good.