Manipulative Family Affairs
Liar! Liar! Pants on fire! In Tennessee Williamss play, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Williams presents a family with an unusual habit of lying and/or withholding the truth. Big Daddy Pollitt is dying of cancer and both of his sons and their wives are vying the fortune. The two rival couples in the play, Brick and Maggie and Gooper and Mae, would stop at nothing to get the fortune which includes a huge estate along with a large inheritance. The dysfunctional family resorts to lying, backstabbing and conspiring in order to increase chances of obtaining the fortune. In any greedy family such as the Pollitts, deception and manipulation are inevitable and an overall solution and consensus is unattainable.
Although this play shows only a few hours in the lives of these families, it is hinted that these rivalries go far back. When families are in competition, members will usually go through any means possible to gain an advantage. Mae and Gooper are perhaps the biggest schemers in the play. They indeed possess a voracious appetite for food sex and money. [They] eat like dogs procreate like rabbits and maneuver to grab Big Daddys wealthas well as off Brick and Maggie [Dukore] The couple takes to endless spying to find out private information that they could use against Brick and Maggie. Because Gooper and Maes bedroom is next Brick and Maggies, they can very easily eavesdrop on the couples conversations. Immediately, when Maggie announces her pregnancy, Mae is quick to dispel the lie and simultaneously reveal their spying. We know its a lie because we hear you in there; he wont sleep with you, we hear you! [129]. Despite their many prying efforts, none of this phases Big Daddy, as he addresses the issue of Mae and Goopers snooping during his heart to heart with Brick in Act II.
Mae and Gooper continuously parade their children around in an attempt to present themselves in the best possible light in hopes of receiving the best share of Big Daddy's enormous wealth. Another reason for this is to constantly remind everyone that Brick and Maggie have no children. Maggie, honey, if you had children of your own youd know how funny that is [23]
Jealousy plays a major role in the competitive nature of this family..
In Act III, Big Mama reveals her desire for Brick and Maggie to have control over the estate as she calls for her only son and begs Maggie to straighten him up so he will be able to take over the estate. Oh Brick, son of Big Daddy! Big Daddy does so love you! Yknow what would be his fondest dream come true? If before he passed on, if Big Daddy has to pass on, you gave him a child of yours, a grandson [126]. After Goopers previously drafted will was rejected by Big Mama, he, furious with sibling envy, proceeds to tell Big Mama the truth about Big Daddys condition with a certain relsish in his voice.
You jest wont let me do this the nice way, will yah?...I dont give a goddamn if Big Daddy likes me or dont like meIm just appealin to a sense of common decencyIve resented Big Daddys partiality to Brick ever since th goddamn day you were bornI was just barely good enough to spit onBig Daddy is dyin of cancer an its spread all through him (156)
The biggest lie of all is the one in which Big Mama is given a false diagnosis from the Oschner Clinic which leads Big Daddy into thinking he is in good health and isnt dying after all. In reality everyone except Big Mama and Big Daddy knew the truth, Big Daddy was terminally ill. The motive for this lie was to make Big Daddy feel better and stop Big Mama from stressing and carrying on. Also, no one wanted Big Daddy to be suspicious of people scheming to take hold of his estate. [CITE---ADD EVIDENCE]
Most people would expect there to be a solid resolution at the conclusion of the play. Although Maggie is just as mendacious as the rest of the characters, she is a bit more subtle with her deception. She feels intimidated because she and Brick have no children while Gooper and Mae have five no-neck monsters, and are expecting another. Maggie, who is sexually repressed, begs Brick for intimacy; however he refuses to sleep with her. Maggie knows that without a child, they will not be able to gain a secure hold of the estate. Maggie is fervent about gaining Big Daddys inheritance. For Maggie, this is especially important, coming from a background of poverty She incessantly pleads with Brick to stop his drinking habits and to clean himself up so that Big Daddy will feel more comfortable in leaving them his fortune. She even goes as far as to present Big Daddy a birthday present that was supposed to be from Brick. However, watchdog Mae criticizes Maggie revealing her lie, you bought it yourself at Lowensteins in Memphis last Saturday [53].
Eventually, at the very end of the play, Maggie, dying from sterility [Dukore] becomes so desperate that she proudly announces to the family that she and Brick are expecting. Even though this is completely untrue, Big Mama and Big Daddy are thrilled with the news of their favorite son finally having a baby. Maggie later bribes Brick with liquor to make him have sex with her, stating that Brick, I used to think you were stronger than meBut now, since youve taken to liquor- you know what?...now Im stronger than you and I can love you more truly (131) There is much irony in this statement because Maggie is basically stating that because Brick is an alcoholic, it is easier to manipulate and take advantage of him, which makes things easier for her. However, a marriage can only run so far without true love.
The fact that this play ends with more lies proves that there is no resolution in sight for these characters. By curtains close, Brick is still a drunk, Mae and Gooper are still malicious and conniving and Maggie remains manipulative. This can be attributed to the fact that the play takes place over the span of a few hours, so realistically, nobody is going to have an epiphany in such a short amount of time. However, it doesnt seem likely that the Pollitt family will reach any common ground soon. As Brick told Big Daddy, Mendacity is the system that we live in (100) Until, the Pollitts can come together peacefully and address their issues with greed, competition and manipulation, the tension in the family will only worsen.
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