Annotated Bibliography: Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Glass Menagerie

Annotated Bibliography

Draya, Ren. "The Fiction of Tennessee Williams." Tennessee Williams: A Tribute. Ed. Jac Tharpe. University Press of Mississippi, 1977. 647-662. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Sharon R. Gunton and Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980. Literature Resource Center.

This article by Ren Draya compares and contrasts the fiction of Tennessee Williams with his theatrical work. He claims that although Williams’ fiction has never been as admired as his plays that they are deserving of praise and appreciation. The article is most interested in illustrating themes and motifs that repeat in both William’s plays and short stories. Kingdom of Earth and Night of the Iguana were both short stories which became plays of the same title. In the case of Night of the Iguana, Draya believes the short story to be superior to the play given its more compact and direct delivery of the story. Draya provides numerous examples of the story form being superior to drama in presenting Williams’ ideas in this article.

Hamilton, Carole. "A discussion of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Drama for Students. Detroit: Gale. Literature Resource Center.

In this article Carole Hamilton addresses the common criticism of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof that its third act is extraneous. Some critics feel that the central conflict of the play is the strained relationship between Big Daddy and Brick which reaches its climax in act 2 and does not continue or get any resolution in act 3 because Big Daddy disappears after act 2. Hamilton argues that the central conflict of the play, illustrated in the Dylan Thomas poem that opens the play, is the family’s need to receive the blessings of a patriarchal figure and that act three continues to detail this conflict by showing the family struggle with the issue of inheritance and receiving the blessings of Reverend Tooker.

Mood, John J. "The Structure of A Streetcar Named Desire." Ball State University Forum 14.3 (Summer 1973): 9-10. Rpt. in Drama for Students. Ed. David M. Galens and Lynn M. Spampinato. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resource Center.

In this article John J. Mood asserts that Blanche Dubois’ opening lines in A Streetcar Named Desire, describing her real-life trip to New-Orleans, can be read as an allegory for the events that are to follow and structure the play. The metaphorical streetcar named desire, for Mood, is Blanche’s true love for her first husband, a love that is pure and innocent. After driving him to suicide and lustily pursuing other men, Mood posits, Blanche has made her transfer to the streetcar named cemeteries because her behavior will result in her destruction. According to Mood, Blanche never makes it to Elysian Fields because she fails to create an innocent and loving relationship with Mitch, which he asserts would have prevented her rape by Stanley.

Phillips, Rod. "'Collecting Evidence': The Natural World in Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana." The Southern Literary Journal 32.2 (2000): 59. Literature Resource Center.

The influence of the natural world upon the characters in Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana is the subject of this article by Rod Phillips. Phillips observes that unlike Williams’ previous plays which tended to take place in desolate, urban settings, Night of the Iguana utilizes a lush, jungle setting. According to Phillips, the attitudes and motives of the characters are revealed through their relationship to nature such as Reverend Shannon who is seeking to redefine his image of god by observing the frightening and often violent power of the natural world and Hannah Jelkes who views nature from the viewpoint of a romantic as being peaceful and idyllic. The relationships of all the major characters to the natural world are explored in this article.

Reynolds, James. "The Failure of Technology in The Glass Menagerie." Modern Drama 34.4 (Dec. 1991): 522-527. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter and Deborah A. Schmitt. Vol. 111. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

The symbolic role of technology in The Glass Menagerie is explored in this article by James Reynolds. He illustrates how the character’s relationships to the technologies of the day expose their own inner conflicts. According to Reynolds, Amanda’s struggle to maintain the electric lighting in her apartment is symbolic of the greater struggle between her wealthy-plantation upbringing and her current urban-industrial environment. Technology also serves to help illustrate Tom and Laura’s discomfort and desire to escape their environment: Tom tries to escape through the technology of film by leaving work to go to the movies and Laura through her frequent use of her phonograph record player. Jim is one of the few characters who seems comfortable in his environment given his aptitude for new technologies.