gah, this tin roof is so hot. i feel like a cat on it.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is such an amazing play. It may be the only play I've ever actually enjoyed reading as opposed to seeing. I've never seen it, and I think it'll probably be even more amazing to see -but my point is this: MOST PLAYS ARE NOT FUN TO READ. And when I say most, this is what I mean:
Most=All plays except for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The characters are amazingly nuanced and the dialogue is just heartbreaking. For those who don't know much about it-which was me before this semester when I had to read it-it's a story of a rich family in their southern plantation home. The two main characters are Brick and Maggie. He's an alcoholic who doesn't love his wife anymore. She's his wife and desperately wants a baby. This is at the heart of the dramatic tension in the play. Add onto that an entire family ridiculing Maggie for not having children and a domineering patriarch(the dad) who loves his alcoholic son, Brick, more than his other responsible lawyer son and you still only have a piece of the story.
I love so many things about this story. Mostly what gets me is that it exhibits parts of the gospel that we don't understand. We have the prodigal son story here in a way. Brick is an alcoholic, irresponsible has-been athlete who can't leave his glory days behind. The other son is a lawyer and works hard on the family plantation. But it's the alcoholic son the father dotes on. And not because of his alcoholism-it pains his father so much. It's unexplainable. We sympathize with the responsible son in the parable, the son who doesn't understand why his brother who ran away and squandered his inheritance gets a huge party thrown for him when the responsible brother served the father faithfully for so long. It's the whole "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated" thing. What did Esau do to deserve disfavor with God? It boggles our little minds the people God chooses to lead and to accomplish great things through. Like adulterers, guys with speech impediments, and guys who cheat their brothers out of birthrights.
Most=All plays except for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The characters are amazingly nuanced and the dialogue is just heartbreaking. For those who don't know much about it-which was me before this semester when I had to read it-it's a story of a rich family in their southern plantation home. The two main characters are Brick and Maggie. He's an alcoholic who doesn't love his wife anymore. She's his wife and desperately wants a baby. This is at the heart of the dramatic tension in the play. Add onto that an entire family ridiculing Maggie for not having children and a domineering patriarch(the dad) who loves his alcoholic son, Brick, more than his other responsible lawyer son and you still only have a piece of the story.
I love so many things about this story. Mostly what gets me is that it exhibits parts of the gospel that we don't understand. We have the prodigal son story here in a way. Brick is an alcoholic, irresponsible has-been athlete who can't leave his glory days behind. The other son is a lawyer and works hard on the family plantation. But it's the alcoholic son the father dotes on. And not because of his alcoholism-it pains his father so much. It's unexplainable. We sympathize with the responsible son in the parable, the son who doesn't understand why his brother who ran away and squandered his inheritance gets a huge party thrown for him when the responsible brother served the father faithfully for so long. It's the whole "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated" thing. What did Esau do to deserve disfavor with God? It boggles our little minds the people God chooses to lead and to accomplish great things through. Like adulterers, guys with speech impediments, and guys who cheat their brothers out of birthrights.
posted by Ethan at 12:29 PM
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