Mendacity, Lies and Ambiguity

Mendacity, the quality of being untruthful or having the tendency to lie, is a theme that resonates throughout Tennessee Williams’ play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The art of lying is also examined in one of Mark Twain’s short stories, Was it Heaven? Or Hell?. Both authors discuss the detrimental effects of lying especially lying through the character’s hypocritical actions. Ambiguity is the other tool that Williams uses effectively throughout his works. It is used to increase the dramatic tension within the play and add realistic aspects for life is not black and white, there is always some grey. Through out the duration of this essay I will be discussing Williams use of ambiguity as well as his dislike of mendacity.

This play is about a Southern aristocratic family who is getting together for Big Daddy’s (the father) 65^th birthday. It begins with Brick, the “favorite” son of Big Daddy, spent his time drinking. His wife, Margaret is childless and wants to have a child so that they can secure their chances for the inheritance. Gooper, the other son, works with his wife, Mae, at impressing Big Daddy so that they could win his inheritance. Throughout the duration of the play, the characters try to protect and not upset Big Daddy through repetitive lies via their behaviors as well as their words. At one section in the play, Big Daddy forces Brick to give a reason for his alcoholism. Brick attributes his alcoholism to mendacity. Big Daddy responds with stories about the mendacity that he has had to put up with his business as well as the mendacity in his family. In this play

Similarly, lying is also a major theme in one of Mark Twin’s short stories, Was it Heaven? Or Hell? In this story, a small family consisting of a mother, her daughter, and their two elderly aunts, faces a problem for the mother is suffering from tuberculosis and is on her death bed. In this small family, morals are taught to an extreme even to the degree that when the young girl confessed that she lied, the two aunts felt it necessary to disturb the bedridden woman about the small trouble. The mother’s doctor chided the aunts for their careless behaviors and for their tactless disruption of the ill mother. He rebuked them for their false-righteous actions saying that though they were “correcting” one lie, that the two of them lie constantly through their thoughtless and even hurtful actions, not always through their words. He then dared them to abandon their false niceties, and try to help their sick niece and to help others and not bother them with all the problems happening around. This meant, if they had to utter a lie to help easy the suffering of a person, that should be done rather then focus on their self-centered interest of “saving their souls”.

The doctor really has the personality and understanding as Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Both men were fed up with people “buttering up” or being presenting a façade and false image to others and trying to lead exemplary life on the outside, while always maintaining ulterior motives to their actions. In Was it Heaven? Or Hell?, the doctor had to deal with the mendacity of the two aunts who refrained from lying with their mouth, but lied through their actions or through their false kindness that they showed to others. In the same way, Big Daddy was annoyed with May and Gooper who tried to hypocritically curry favor between them and Big Daddy so as to receive his inheritance. Likewise, Margaret appeared to want to get pregnant so that she could be the principle recipient of Big Daddy’s inheritance. The mendacity that was expressed by the characters in this family is one of the many things that Williams was trying to address and critique.

Williams’ apparent dislike of mendacity and hypocrisy resonated through this particular play. Mark Twain reverberates the same vibes throughout his short story about false righteousness, and lying through one’s actions. Michael Josephson, founder of the Josephson Institute provided a rather interesting view on the subject of lying. In his commentary called “If You’re in a Hole, Stop Digging,” he brought to light the idea that despite the natural tendency of humans to cover up the truth so as to distance them from the discomfort it may cause. This cover up is almost always worse then the original problem, and eventually the truth will come out. This is true in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, when Brick is finally forced to examine his relationship with Skipper, and to come out from hiding under the guise of an alcoholic. Similarly, the truth that the aunts refused to confess to the dying mother about the illness of her child, in Was it Heaven? Or Hell?, eventually would be brought forward when the mother meets up with her daughter in heaven. In both circumstances, the perpetrators’ actions would be uncovered and yet they postponed the inevitable.

The hypocrisy characters of Mae, Gooper, and Margaret in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and the two aunts in Was it Heaven? Or Hell, both exercised a certain sense of truthfulness, it was just not the whole truth. Ferdinand De Saussure, in his Course in General Linguistics discusses the signs and signifiers of the verbal and non-verbal components of language. In essence, the word “a” in English can be an article normally referring to one item; however, in Spanish, this same word means the preposition to. Though it is the same signifier, what is signified is very different. Using his knowledge and understanding, it is arguable that the things that they were doing was the correct and truthful thing from their point of view. But just as “a” can mean many different things from different points of view, their actions may be not as admirable as they wish them to be interpreted.

Similarly with Saussure, as the mother’s illness worsened, the two aunts began to take care of her. Regrettably, after visiting her mother, the young daughter also contracted the illness. Keeping with the dare of the doctor and in attempt to not bring along undue pain, the two aunts began to fabricate the condition of the young girl, refusing to tell of her illness. At first, the girl was able to write notes to her mother to keep the mother’s hope up, but as the girl got sicker, the aunts began to write notes to the mother in her stead. The notes were laced with alluding to the reality of the situation, however, it was told in such a way that from the point of view of the mother reading them, the girl seemed to be feeling fine. In this way, the notes signified one idea in the situation of the aunts and signified a very different idea for the mother. The double connotation of these letters sent by the aunts is successful because of the ambiguity or vagueness of the words used. Mark Twain uses ambiguity to great effect to propel his story and add some effect to it, just as Tennessee Williams uses it to add drama to his own works.

Ambiguity, the art of vagueness, is a tool that is utilized by both authors to enhance the duplicity and similarly the sense of care and sensitivity shown by the characters. Tennessee Williams uses it to add drama and to leave the viewers the opportunity to decide what they feel about the characters and the plot. Examples of the use of this ploy include the possibility of Brick having homosexual tendencies toward his late friend, Skipper. Also there is the possibility of Brick bedding with Margaret at the end, to rectify her lie of being pregnant. This same use of ambiguity is exploited in Mark Twain’s short story. Throughout the story, the two aunts lie to the mother by being ambiguous with their words, and not explaining the full truth of the situation. Furthermore, at the end of the book, an angel comes to question their motives and to establish whether they were destined for heaven or hell, a question that is left to the discretion of the reader.

Thus, it is through the reading and understanding of these works, the reader can understand the author’s view about the mendacity shown and illustrated by and through these characters. In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Williams articulated his dislike for mendacity in the current era. Likewise, Mark Twain used his books and short stories to display his apparent for false righteousness an hypocrisy especially concerning lying. Finally, it was through their writings, and the employing the use of ambiguity to add drama and to allow the audience to impose their own views on the situation, that they were able to better reach their readers and better broadcast their opinions and ideas to a larger audience, so that they eventually could have that they were able to better reach their readers and better broadcast their opinions and ideas to a larger audience, so that they eventually could have a bigger effect on a greater amount of people.

Works Cited

Josephson, Michael. "If You’re in a Hole, Stop Digging 613.3." Michael Josephson Commentary. 07 Apr 2009. Josephson Institute, Web. 12 Oct 2009. .

Twain, Mark. "Was it Heaven? or Hell?." The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain. Ed. Charles Neider. Garden City, New York: Hanover House, 1953. Print.

Williams, Tennessee. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." The Theatre of Tennessee Williams. Volume 3. New York, New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1990. Print.

Society Surrounding Coffee

A few days ago, I found myself sitting at a Starbucks Coffee location, about three o’clock in the afternoon, watching the groups of people who came into the establishment. As I began to pay attention to the people, I began to focus on the styles that the different people exuded, as well as the many ways that the different people interacted with each other and with the people around.

As I sat at my table near the front, I saw two girls, probably in their early teens skip in. They projected a certain amount of friendship and happiness through their demeanor. Soon following, a young mother walked in with two children: a boy about two years old and a girl who looked about four. The children seemed to have a genuine love for their mother for they constantly were hugging her and running around her legs. In contrast, later I saw a thirty to forty year old man with his young, teenage daughter. She hung back from him while he ordered the drinks and did not come very close to him throughout the extent of the ordeal. Another couple that deigned was a teenage girl and boy. The boy seemed to have a honest interest in the girl and constantly followed her around wherever she went. They talked for a while before they ordered and then sauntered out after they finally ordered and received their drinks. Quite the opposite, a further couple who entered was a middle age couple. They seemed to have lost their fascination with each other as they walked to the barista, ordered a refill of their drinks, and slowly left when they were done. Other couples that came to the establishment included more mother/daughter or mother/son pairs, and three teenage girls who appeared to be hanging out. A large percentage of the customers during my stay were singles. There were multiple, young to middle aged women and men, there were a couple teenagers, including one who stayed by herself in the corner, on her laptop, tuned out from the world, and the other group were a few elderly people. Throughout the period of time I spent there, though, the bulk of the customers appeared to be adult women ranging between the ages of late 20-early fifties.

The first couple I am going to analyze is the two teenage girls who walked into the Starbucks. These two girls seemed to personify the “typical” teenager, influenced by the culture. They, both, wore short jean shorts and T-shirts, probably bought new at department stores and of the usual “fashion” of the upper to middle class. This look probably developed as culture from above, for it would coincide with the type of dress that huge department stores would impress upon them. Further, taking in the fact that they live in a rich neighborhood and they would be in on the latest styles and trends, they would be more easily influenced by top of the line items. Their friendship seemed to portray what Brick, the Peter Pan-like character trying to live in his childhood from Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, called a “true, pure friendship.” They seem to radiate a certain amount of innocent joy and fun being in each other’s friendship having the ability to hang out and without a care. Their friendship did not seem tainted by conservative social prejudices. In the society of La Canada that they were probably brought up in, this trip to Starbucks was just another hang out which would be a normal sighting in the well to do neighborhoods in this area.

Another group that came in consisted of a young mother and two young children. The relationship that they portrayed seemed to be a mutual love between the mother and her two children. This small family was out at this period, probably because the mother was taking her children out on a ride and the father was probably at work. This view really captured the “traditional” American household: the wife in charge of rearing the children while the husband was out earning a living to support them. This could though be an image of the strong, modern woman living a single life with her young children. That would fit with this new rise of independence and the desire to equal the man in everything that they due. There were other groups that followed the same format as this group. There were more groups of a mother with her young children, which seemed to place this grouping as a “normal” sight to see.

The next couple, a middle-aged man and his young teenage daughter appeared to present a very differing picture to the “family life” displayed with the last group. As Jacques Derrida presented, we only know something based on our knowledge of something else. Therefore, we would only know something is abnormal when it is compared to something that is thought of as normal, or put another way, we only know something based on the fact that it is different from something else. This couple differed from the couples before because neither of the individuals seemed to be totally interested in each other’s company. Also unlike the previously stated parent/child groupings, instead of the mother being there, it was the father, and instead of the children hanging around, this girl kept to herself. Possible explanations for this change, maybe the culture, that once you are a teenager, you are meant to be preparing to live on your own and therefore, you spend less time with your parents, also, due to the economic crisis, the wife in this family may be working because it is easier for her to get a job, or because they live in the upper to middle class, the husband is able to take time off to attempt to spend time with his daughter.

Another group was a young teenage couple; both individuals were probably about 16 years old in high school. At a time where there is a rise of romantic movies with teenagers of opposite sexes getting into relationships, this scene would not be considered out of the ordinary or strange. The following of these relationships of younger individuals would be part of culture from above because through the media, they are being shown how to lead their lives, which would now require being emotionally involved with someone. Coincidentally, the guy seemed to fit the stereotypic hero, for he was a guy who didn’t seem to hold back his emotions. Quite on the contrary, he seemed to constantly try to attract the girl’s attention. He attempted to impress his feelings upon her, however, for an outside observer, he almost came across as a goofy character with his movements and gambits to try to win her over. The girl did seem to be attracted to him as well. Her body language assumed a somewhat dismissive façade, which poorly covered her happiness at the prospect that she was the object of attention. Through the culture from above, the teens see the relationships promoted in the big screen and decide (possibly unconsciously) to play it out like they see it. This scene played out further as they pursued their own objectives for some time allowing other customers go in front of them. Eventually they ordered, filled their waiting time with talk and more of the girl playing disinterested looking at the glasses on display while the boy followed behind. Also, this young couple conformed to the traditional roles as men treating the woman as de Beauvoir had talked about, for he was decidedly, the leader, and as the one in charge, he paid for her drink and opened the door in and out, in the same way, following the rules of chivalry. Finally they headed out, after getting their drinks.

The next group differed greatly from the preceding group. Thought the group make up was the same, a male and a female, their ages differed: both of them being in their 30’s, and their body language towards each other was quite different. They didn’t seem to do very much talking, and they kept a distance from each other. It was still pretty clear that they were a couple, but they appeared to pretty indifferent about the other person. This is kind of like the stage after they were in love when they are used to their partner and takes the relationship for granted. It is possible that they were having a hard day, that they were at a hard part in their relationship, or that they just don’t show their emotions very much, this seemed radically different then the media and movie culture propagates.

As the people ordered the drinks, I saw Saussure’s theories in action concerning languages. Where at one point, people ordering drinks at a restaurant like McDonalds would order a large, here at Starbucks it was called venti. These different words, or collection of sounds, though very insignificant and basically meaning the same thing were totally different due to the place and situation that they were used. It is not normal to go to Starbucks and order a large, just as it is not normal to go to McDonalds and order a venti.

Through the observations that I faced during my stay at Starbucks, I was able to conclude a lot about the people who live in this area. The people who go to Starbucks at three o’clock include some mothers to go get their daily drink of coffee, many teenagers coming back from school, as well as couples going for a time together. The different relationships that are presented serve as a small incite to the greater view of the society and the effects that different forms of the media may have on this current generation.

The Jeopardy Analysis

As part of the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof group, I was the person in charge of the actual making of the presentation. After the initial breaking into groups, we immediately started to choose a format for how we would present the information. Within a week it was decided that we would put together a Jeopardy game and each of us were going to provide a category. Besides putting together my category, I began to set up a format on my computer as a medium for the game because I had the most experience on the computer (as far as I knew). Subsequent to the choosing of the method in which we would use, we then gathered together one time as a group (outside of class) where we discussed the different categories that we would cover and how we could incorporate themes and group discussions. Since there were only four members who showed up at the meeting, we got a chance to discuss possible categories, and then, in class, we got a chance to review with the other group members what was discussed and they chose the categories that they would cover, which for me was symbolism. At that point we left the creating of the categories to the different group members and I became the nagging, monomaniacal group member who pursued the group members who hadn’t sent me their categories. After that, I incorporated them into the Jeopardy “game” that I had created. Finally, 8:30 PM on Sunday, my pestering paid off, for I was sent the last category and was able to finish up the presentation, ready for class. Then, we gathered before class, did a final rundown on how we would present it and set it up in the room.