Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
by Tennessee Williams
About_
This study guide covers Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, following the Pollitt family through a single
tense evening at their Mississippi Delta plantation. It explores the fraught marriage of Maggie and Brick, the
family’s reckoning with Big Daddy’s terminal illness, and the buried truths that come to the surface around
inheritance, alcoholism, and grief. This guide offers comprehension questions, critical analysis prompts, a
vocabulary crossword, and a character study to deepen students’ engagement with the text. This study guide
contains 39 questions across 3 chapter sections (30 Factual + 9 Critical), 1 Crossword Puzzle (12 clues), and 1
Character Focus Activity.
What’s Included_
This study guide features 3 sets of 10 Factual Questions with an answer key (30 total), 3 sets of 3 Critical Analysis
Questions (9 total), 1 Crossword Puzzle (12 clues), and 1 Character Focus Activity (8 traits + evidence prompt +
critical thinking question).
Target Grades_
Grades 10-12
Teacher Note_
This guide is designed to help students move beyond plot recall into genuine literary analysis, tracing how Williams
builds tension through withheld truths and family dynamics. The mix of factual checks and open-ended critical
questions supports differentiated discussion, whether you’re confirming basic comprehension or pushing
advanced students toward deeper thematic debate. We hope it saves you prep time while giving your students a
richer way into this challenging, rewarding play.