Cat post-viewing

1. Cat Quiz: How’s your memory?

1. What is Gooper's occupation?
(C) He is a corporate lawyer

2. What is the name of Skipper and Brick's pro football team?
(B) The Dixie Stars

3. What happened to Big Daddy in Morocco?
(D) He was propositioned by a child prostitute

4. What body part do Mae's children apparently lack?
(C) Necks

5. What did Maggie buy Big Daddy for his birthday?
(D) A robe

6. Who is described as a cat at some point in the play?
(A) Maggie

7. Daddy believes that he suffers from which of the following?
(B) A spastic colon

8. What is the ostensible object of Brick's disgust?
(A) Mendacity

9. Where did Maggie and Brick go to school?
(B) Old Miss

10. How old is Big Daddy?
(D) Sixty-five

11. Who was a cotton carnival queen?
(D) Mae

12. What do the children sing to Big Daddy?
(A) Skinamarinka-dinka-dink

13. What is Big Daddy's trademark word
(D) Crap

14. What is Big Mama's name?
(D) Ida

15. What were the names of the plantation's previous owners?
(B) Straw and Ochello

16. How many official versions of Cat are in circulation?
(B) Three

17. Who directed the premiere of Cat?
(C) Elia Kazan

18. When did Brick start drinking?
(A) When Skipper died

19. Who confronted Skipper on his love for Brick?
(D) Maggie

20. Who revealed this love to Brick?
(C) Skipper

21. How does Maggie get Brick to sleep with her?
(C) She locks up his liquor (breaks it)

22. Who tells Big Daddy that he is dying?
(C) Brick

23.Who does Big Mama jostle in her lap?
(D) Reverend Tooker

24. Who keeps calling from Memphis?
(B) Sally

25. Who sleeps next to Maggie and Brick's room?
(B) Mae and Gooper



2. Class / Group Discussion 20 minutes
Objective:
Explore a major theme of the play
• Class discussion on lies vs. truths.
Why do we tell lies?
Who do we lie to?
How do we tell the difference between a truth and a lie in our daily interactions with others?
Are lies good or bad?
What is the relationship between lies and mendacity?

• Small group discussion on Big Daddy’s line at the end of the play: “Don’t you notice it, Brick? Don’t you notice a powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room? There is nothing more powerful.” What is Big Daddy referring to?
Each group should create their own definition of the word mendacity based on Tennessee Williams’ use of the word in his play.
Us the following table to create your definition.
Cite instances from the play when a character tells a lie or the truth.
For example: what would be the Doctor’s first diagnosis of Big Daddy?
Truth
Lie