Pride in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Pride
After a summer full of early morning workouts and endless hours in a stuffy gym, the week of tryouts was finally here. As I shuffled into the gym early Monday morning, I had no idea what I was getting into. Little did I know that this would be a week of high school volleyball tryouts that included: conditioning, drills, and scrimmages. By the time Friday rolled around, I was physically and emotionally drained. Surrounded by older, more experienced players, I was sure that this was the beginning of the end. When I was selected to become a part of the team, I was overwhelmed with pride knowing that I had succeeded where others had fallen short. Although some of the characters in Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof were able to aggrandize through the pride they had gained throughout life, others fell short of this success and instead spent time drowning themselves in reminiscence and rum. Big Daddy could be considered the epitome of pride in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He owns “twenty-eight thousand acres of the richest land” (112), all of which he gained through hard work and dedication during his early life. Time never went to waste when it came to Big Daddy for, “Being a success as a planter is all [he] ever had any devotion to in [his] whole life” (111). The pride that he has for his large estate is genuine and well deserved, although the effects it has are not always positive. Similar to blinders on a horse, Big Daddy’s pride often causes him to lose sight of those around him. Harming everyone he encounters, even those closest to him, Big Daddy refers to people as “lying dying liars” (131), and even acknowledges his wife as “that fat woman over there” (167). He makes these statements, along with other vulgar remarks throughout the play, because his pride in his estate has given him a sense of power, which leads him to believe that he is superior to all others. Big Daddy’s actions are similar to what Kevin McManus calls “pride-based decisions” (18)
After a summer full of early morning workouts and endless hours in a stuffy gym, the week of tryouts was finally here. As I shuffled into the gym early Monday morning, I had no idea what I was getting into. Little did I know that this would be a week of high school volleyball tryouts that included: conditioning, drills, and scrimmages. By the time Friday rolled around, I was physically and emotionally drained. Surrounded by older, more experienced players, I was sure that this was the beginning of the end. When I was selected to become a part of the team, I was overwhelmed with pride knowing that I had succeeded where others had fallen short. Although some of the characters in Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof were able to aggrandize through the pride they had gained throughout life, others fell short of this success and instead spent time drowning themselves in reminiscence and rum. Big Daddy could be considered the epitome of pride in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He owns “twenty-eight thousand acres of the richest land” (112), all of which he gained through hard work and dedication during his early life. Time never went to waste when it came to Big Daddy for, “Being a success as a planter is all [he] ever had any devotion to in [his] whole life” (111). The pride that he has for his large estate is genuine and well deserved, although the effects it has are not always positive. Similar to blinders on a horse, Big Daddy’s pride often causes him to lose sight of those around him. Harming everyone he encounters, even those closest to him, Big Daddy refers to people as “lying dying liars” (131), and even acknowledges his wife as “that fat woman over there” (167). He makes these statements, along with other vulgar remarks throughout the play, because his pride in his estate has given him a sense of power, which leads him to believe that he is superior to all others. Big Daddy’s actions are similar to what Kevin McManus calls “pride-based decisions” (18)