We're sure you didn't start reading Cloud 9 without some basic knowledge about sexytimes. But probably nothing is going to prepare you for the free-for-all Churchill dishes out. Sure, things might start off normally with an affair here and a secret kiss there, but soon every conceivable sex act is thrown on the table, from incest to pedophilia.
This ain't a play to take your grandmother to see, no doubt about it. Some of the sexytimes are, well, sexy and some of them (like the aforementioned pedophilia and incest) are super-icky. Churchill gets mad points for daring. We bet you had a few WTF?!? moments during your reading of this play.
Questions About Sex
- Do you feel like there is a problem with the way Churchill portrays pedophilia in this play? Why or why not?
- Does it ever seem as if Churchill is portraying homosexuality as more positive than heterosexuality? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
- What do you feel is the overall point of Churchill's portrayal of sex in this play? Do you think Churchill conveys this point effectively? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Cloud 9 suggests that all forms of sexual intercourse are legitimate as long as they're consensual.
Cloud 9 shows us that, no matter how hard we try, we'll never escape the gender roles society has laid out for us.