Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh Quiz

Take our free Tennessee Williams quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. Take the free quiz now!

What caution did Elia Kazan give Tennessee Williams about "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" before it went into production? (from Thunder of Disintegration)

Kazan told Williams he should quit drinking.

Kazan told Williams to be certain the script was complete and finished, unlike "Camino Real" which failed because of a defective script.

Kazan said the actors should all speak with the same southern accent.

He told him not to cast Barlon Brando as Brick Pollitt.

How did Tennessee Williams characterize his life? (from The Sudden Subway)

As "a never-ending contest with the squares of the world."

As a search for sanity and serenity is a life and world filled with madness.

As a constant discovery and revelation of truth.

As the struggle of a gay artist to be accepted despite his sexual preference.

What was the darker side of Tennessee's success following "The Glass Menagerie?" (from The Erotics of Absence)

His resentment at feeling "bullied" by fans and sycophants, and a growing sense of paranoia that he had written himself out in the face of success by other playwrights such as Arthur Miller.

Williams' descent into alcoholism and drug addiction.

Williams' loss of confidence in himself as an honest artist.

The playwright's inability to sustain an intimate relationship.

What did Dakin Williams do to intervene in his brother's downward spiral after the dearth of Frank Merlo? (from Waving and Drowning)

He convinced Tennessee to come with him for a visit to their sister, Rose.

Dakin bought Tennessee a dog, to replace the one that had attacked him in Key West.

Dakin affirmed for his brother that they were the products of an insane family and that they were, in fact, sane.

Dakin convinced Tennessee to come with him to a specialty hospital in St. Louis to be treated by a world-renown psychiatrist.

How did Williams countermand the directions of Dr. Kubie? (from Beanstalk Country)

Williams said he could not afford to be hospitalized for three months.

He continued to drink, use drugs and write.

Williams refused to renounce his homosexuality.

Williams had contact with his family within a few weeks.