The relationship between Big Daddy and his sons is very similar to the biblical parable of “The Prodigal Son.” One son does everything that he believes the father wishes him to do, and the other son lives a life of extravagant waste. Gooper believes that he has exemplified Big Daddy’s idea of the perfect son, as he has become the father of many heirs and has made a career as a lawyer. Brick on the other hand has lived a life of play and his lifestyle by societal standards should bring shame to Big Daddy. Why with all of his faults, does Big Daddy favor Brick over Gooper?
One reason Big Daddy favors Brick is because of their similarities. He sees himself reflected in Brick. He also sees that Brick is disgusted with the same unpleasant parts of life that he too despises, namely mendacity. Big Daddy: “Think of all the lies I got to put up with! – Pretenses! Ain’t that mendacity?” (Williams 80) Big Daddy treats Big Mama in the same manner that Brick treats Maggie. They have the same disdain for their wives and both speak to them with the scorn of hatred.
The exception is that Big Daddy claims that throughout his marriage he has put up pretenses that he loves his wife and enjoys going to church. Perhaps he admires Brick’s refusal to put up the same pretenses in his own life and live in approval of others. Aside from Big Daddy’s previous exposure to homosexuality, his admiration for Brick’s refusal to live by the standards of others may be why he is not repulsed by Brick’s story about what truly happened to Skipper. It is just as Big Daddy has come to face the end of his life that he sees the freedom in straying from convention.
The Pollit men and their dynamic is very similar to the father and sons from the biblical parable of “The Prodigal Son.” According to The New Testament, a Student’s Introduction, “The Prodigal Son” and his actions are described as; “Besides squandering his inheritance “with his women”, the younger son violates the most basic standards of Judaism, reducing himself to the level of an animal groveling in a Gentile’s pigpen. Listing the young man’s progressively degrading actions, Jesus describes a person who is utterly insensitive to his religious heritage and as “undeserving” as a human being can be” (Harris 207).
Much like the younger son from the parable violates the standards of his religion; Brick is violating what the rest of the Pollit family believes to be Big Daddy’s most basic standards of life. He refuses to have children with Maggie and provide heirs to the family fortune. He is wasting his life drowning in alcohol. The older brother from the parable has lived his life to please his father, as Gooper believes that he has done. Gooper feels that Brick’s lifestyle is a disgrace to the family and that his younger brother should not be rewarded for his behavior and is incapable and undeserving of inheriting his father’s fortune.
Big Daddy’s favor for Brick over Gooper lies within what he admires about Brick and how much of himself he sees in Brick. Much like the father from the parable, Big Daddy’s unconditional love for Brick far outweighs any preconceptions the rest of the family has concerning Big Daddy’s standards of an ideal son.
Harris, Stephen L. The New Testament, a Student’s Introduction. Fifth Edition. McGraw- Hill. 2006.
Williams, Tennessee. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Signet. 1983.
