Exploration of Pain in a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", written by Tennessee Williams is a brilliant play about a dysfunctional family who is forced to face hidden deceptions and hypocrisy. The questions this piece revolves around transcend time and region. By 1955, Tennessee Williams was already a well-known and respected playwright. Theatergoers, as well as critics, had eagerly awaited the arrival of “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.” Many liked the piece, but they had difficulty with the resolution of the piece. (Winchell, 711)...critics and ordinary theatergoers have not always known what to make of the play. The original and Broadway versions of the third act leave unanswered questions and an uncomfortable feeling that the suggested answers are intentional and contrived. (Winchell, 711) Additionally, many people like Williams' play "Cat on a Hot Tin Tin Roof" because the plot is intriguing and the character's secrets are slowly revealed. The premise of his play is unique and it is not a rehashed drama. They appreciate that Williams entertains and enlightens. "Audiences go to his plays not to be shocked but to see the playwright's sympathetic portrait of characters whose fears and loneliness mirror their own."" (The New Book of Knowledge, 174) The plays of Tennessee Williams have been praised and criticized by literary scholars Most applaud its prose and mastery of character development, but they are sometimes offended by its subject Mark Royden Winchell wrote a compelling article analyzing Williams's play "The Cat About a Cat." burning roof". In his essay, Winchell states that the play "is a powerful work of art", but he exclaims that it is perverse and "scandalous". (Winche...... middle of paper ......filmsite.org/cato/htm/Leverich, Lyle. Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams New York: WW Norton & Co., Inc. 1995, 3 , 17, 55, 59, 128, 129, 260, 417, 574McLean, Colin Interview, April 25, 8:10 p.m. Knowledge vol. January 1999 7-8 proquest.umi.com/pqdwebSmith, Bruce. New York: Paragon House, 1990, 6, 17, 59, 157Cat on a Hot Tin Roof New York: Penguin Books Ltd. 24, 124, 125Winchell, Mark Royden. "Return to the locker room against Brick Honey." The Mississippi Quarterly 48 Fall 1995 701-712 webspirs3.silverplatter.com/cgi-binwaldo.cgiWolter, Jurgen C. "Strangers on the Williams stage ." The Mississippi Quarterly 49 Winter 1995 33-51 webspirs3.sinverplatter.com/cgi-bin/waldo/cgi