A Streetcar Named Desire - Flashcards

Flashcards based on lecture notes for 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

What behavior does Stanley exhibit that links to his father's neglect?

Stanley neglects his responsibilities by playing cards with friends after Blanche leaves, leaving Stella with the baby.

How does Williams' mother link to Blanche's character?

Williams' mother, a Southern belle born into high class and well-educated, reflects Blanche's character.

How does Williams' sister link to Blanche's character?

Williams' sister, who suffered mental illnesses and was later institutionalized, reflects Blanche's character as she was institutionalized as her mental state declined.

How does Williams link to Alan, Blanche's husband?

Williams, who had a difficult childhood and was gay, links to Alan who was Blanche's husband and was gay. He also killed himself in front of Blanche.

What was the South known for after the Civil War?

Racism and poverty.

What does Williams explore in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'?

The time of transition for the American South and tension resulting from the shift.

What does the tension in the play reflect?

Stanley and Blanche's relationship and gender roles.

What does Williams critique regarding gender roles?

The limitations that post-World War American society imposed, the emergence of masculinity, and women being pushed back into traditional roles.

How did the audience and critics initially view Stanley regarding the rape scene?

As a victim of Blanche's madness and attack against his masculinity, class, and heritage.

From a Marxist perspective, how is Stanley viewed?

As a reigning champion of the working class who defeats the old aristocratic ways by removing Blanche (bourgeoisie).

How is 'survival of the fittest' (Darwinism) reflected in the play?

Stanley intends to pass down his way of life to his newborn son as he defeats the bourgeois threat (Blanche).

From a feminist perspective, what does the rape scene represent?

Stanley asserts his masculine power and authority over Blanche through sexual violence.

What does New Orleans represent in the setting of the play?

A transition from old money into modernity and diversity; a city of heritage, culture, major economic growth, social change, immigration, and a liberal, more free area.

What does 'Plastic Theatre' symbolize?

The characters' psychological state.

What elements are used in 'Plastic Theatre'?

Props, costumes, colors, light, and sounds.

What does Blanche arrive in at the beginning of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'?

A streetcar.

What do the stops on the streetcar represent?

Stages of Blanche's life.

What motivates Blanche's actions?

Coping mechanisms for her grief and loneliness.

What is the last stop on the streetcar?

A cemetery.

What does the cemetery symbolize?

Blanche's mental death.

What does Elysian Fields represent?

The name for the land of the dead in Greek Mythology.

What happened during the antebellum era?

White plantation owners made fortunes from slave labor.

What kind of character was the Southern Belle?

A stock character of the deep south's upper socio-economic class.

What was expected of the Southern Belle?

That she would marry a respectable young man and become a lady of society dedicated to family and community.

What is the American Dream?

The idea that all men are born equal and can succeed equally unrestricted by the barriers of earlier civilization, placing importance on race and class.

What is the darker side of the American Dream?

That the pursuit of happiness in one person can be used to justify the destruction of others.

Why does the Southern Gothic use irrational and horrific thoughts, grotesque characters, and alienated settings?

To expose the South's aberrations that slipped through official historical record.

What is 'The Scarlet Letter' about?

It is set in Puritan Massachusetts and about Hester, who tries to build a life of repentance and dignity after being alienated from society for conceiving a daughter through an affair.

What is is 'The blind are leading the blind' about?

Shows the importance in having a spiritual moral guide.

What is 'Casting my pearls before the swine' about?

Recognising one's own value before the rape.

What is 'La Dame Aux Camellias' about?

A doomed love where she is a prostitute and he is a young bourgeois.

What does Dumas paint of Marguerite?

A favourable one, she is rendered virtuous through her love for Armand. Blanche wants this kind of redemption.

What is 'I pulled you down off them columns and how you loved it, having them coloured lights going.' a reference to?

'I'm falling, I'm falling' from Miss Julie.

What does Tennessee Williams say he could identify with in women?

Fragility and vulnerability.

What was the inspiration for 'Streetcar'?

Williams lived in New Orleans in 1958 and saw 2 streetcars named desire and cemeteries and thought these were the two leading factors of life: death and desire.

What did Williams fear would happen to him?

He would go insane.

What is an Aristotlean Tragedy?

A man of high status falls to low status due to fatal flaws.

What are Blanche's hamartias?

Pride and prejudices and refusal to change.

Why does 'Streetcar' not conform to Aristotlean tragedy?

Because Blanche falls before the play and her flaws come from desperation not dominance. Also it is the compassionless New South that causes her downfall. Symbolises the way the New South exploited the Old South after the Civil War.

What does Williams lament the loss of?

Culture, poetry, gentility, grace and manners, he also acknowledges the rejection of class prejudice and newly installed liberal values.

What is the Tennessee quote linking to one of the characters?

"I am Blanche DuBois" (repeated many times)

What is the Tennessee quote for describing true human nature?

"We are all savages at heart"

What is the Tennessee quote for his main theme in his work?

"I have only one major theme for my work which is the destructive power of society on the sensitive, non-conformist individual"

Three facts about Tennessee's father

He was an alcoholic, he had a dominant personality, and he was working-class (a salesman)

Three facts about Tennessee's mother

A faded Southern belle who fantasized about her past genteel Southern living, born to a higher class, and resented her husband's drunken and philandering ways

Three facts about Tennessee's sister

Called Rose, suffered from mental illness, and eventually institutionalized

What were many of Tennessee's characters built around?

His real-life relationships

What are the Greek tragic terms as outlined by Aristotle?

Hamartia - a mistake due to a fatal flaw, Hubris - excessive pride or arrogance, Peripeteia - result of reversal of fortune, Catharsis - emotional outpouring which causes relief/renewal, Anagnorisis - characters insight into mankind through the plays unraveling.

Who embodies the American Dream?

Stanley

Sharp critique of the way the institutions and attitudes of post-war America placed restrictions on women's lives.

What does the play present?

Homosexuality, female sexuality and mental illness.

What were seen as taboo subjects at the time?

Rigid social hierarchy, aristocracy, etiquette and gentility.

What were some Old Southern interests and values?

What is a Southern Belle?

Young, unmarried woman in the plantation-owning upper class of Southern society

Poverty, laid-back attitudes, multiculturalism

What was New Orleans known for at the time?

It takes place in the contemporary American South, but it remains affected by the legacy of the Civil War, Impoverished settings, grotesque characters, violent or lurid events Insanity, Sex figures prominently in the action.

How can A Streetcar Named Desire also be seen as a Southern Gothic?

What is Plastic theatre?

Using props, sound, stage direction and costume to present symbolism. It is not intended to be realistic, but symbolic - they mirror the emotional and mental psyche of Blanche and sometimes other characters.

Acting style can be intense and voilent, expressing emotions. Speech also rapid, breathless and staccato Dialogues is poetical, febrile, rhapsodic, clipped and fragmented, Self-conscious = separate elements of production oblivious and undisguised.

Give 3 pieces of Expressionism Theatre that the play employs

"He heaves a package at her. "(Page 2, Scene 1)

Example of where Stanley is asserting his male dominance over Stella.

"Her appearance is incongruous to this setting. " (Page 3, Scene 1)

Blanche's background of Belle Reve directly contrasts with the modern setting of New Orleans.

"She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl. " (Page 3, Scene 1)

Blanche is dressed in white, decedent accessories to reflect her alleged purity.

"I've got to keep hold of myself!" (Page 5, Scene 1)

Exclamatory comment foreshadows Blanche's drinking issues.

"No coke, honey, not with my nerves tonight!" (Page 6, Scene 1)

Further evidence of Blanche's dependance on alcohol to cope with the stresses of life. She wants to drink whisky neatly for a greater effect.

"And turn that over-light off! Turn that off!" (Page 6, Scene 1)

Blanche is self-conscious about her ages and feels insecure about being wholly visible to those around her. This can be both literal and metaphorical.

"You thought I'd been fired?" (Page 7, Scene 1)

By posing this question, it covers Blanche's true story as it rules out the truth due to her incredulous tone.

"The Grim Reaper had put his tent on our doorstep!… " (Page 12, Scene 1)

The metaphorical statement suggests that many in Belle Reve are dying constantly.

"The power and pride of a richly feathered male bird among hens. " (Page 13, Scene 1)

Stanley is described as a prominent figure who stand out from the rest of the characters.

(Page 16, Scene 2)

Blanche is constantly portrayed in the bath as she is trying to cleanse her immoral actions.

"Now let's skip back a little to where you said the place in the country was disposed of. " (Page 17, Scene 2)

Stanley is only concerned with the economic ramifications of losing the family property in Belle Reve.

"Have you ever heard of the Napoleonic code?" (Page 18, Scene 2)

Stanley is demonstrating that he is part of a multicultural society and is also displaying his intelligence about finances.

"Stalks" and "Jerks" (Page 18, Scene 2)

Extreme verbs to describe Stanley's actions.

"Then he jerks open a small drawer in the trunk and pulls up a fistful of costume jewellery. " (Page 19, Scene 2)

Stanley is rummaging through Blanche's trunk and this foreshadows the rape scene later in the play.

"I never cared for wishy-washy people. " (Page 21, Scene 2)

Blanche is saying she prefers honesty and truth, yet this is ironic as she herself is playing a dishonest facade.

"He's just not the sort that goes for jasmine perfume!" (Page 25, Scene 2)

Euphemism for saying that Stanley lacks the refinement to appreciate fine taste as Blanche can.

"Coloured shirts, solid blues, a purple, a red- and-white check, a light green" (Page 27, Scene 3)

The poker players are all dressed in bold, primary colours so they can be portrayed as powerful.

"Stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh.

(Page 29, Scene 3) Stanley views Stella as his possession and he constantly sexualises her.

"You hens cut out that conversation in there!" (Page 31, Scene 3)

Stanley has little respect for women and perceives them as inferior within this male dominated society.

"I'm not accustomed to having more than one drink. " (Page 33, Scene 3)

Blanche is further hiding the alcoholism due to the shame around the disease.

"Mitch is delighted and moves in an awkward imitation like a dancing bear. " (Page 35, Scene 3)

The simile compares Mitch to a bear because of his strange movements.

"With a shouted oath, he tosses the instrument out of the window. " (Page 35, Scene 3)

Violent actions foreshadows how he simply discards Blanche after rap in her in scene 10.

"Poker should not be played in a house with women. " (Page 36, Scene 3)

Mitch contains the misogynistic view that women are meek creatures who should be protected from the roughness of poker. He blames the poker game rather than Stanley's temper for the chaos.

"Thank you for being so kind! I need kindness now. " (Page 39, Scene 3)

Blanche is displaying her vulnerability and desperation for wanting to be treated kindly by others.

"He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he's really very, very ashamed of himself. " (Page 41, Scene 4)

Stella uses a simile to show Stanley's soft side and she defends his violent actions.

"He smashed all the light-bulbs with the heel of my slipper!" (Page 41, Scene 4)

Stella is recalling when Stanley did this on their wedding night. Perhaps is seductive and somewhat violent.

"I ran into Shep Huntleigh" (Page 43, Scene 4)

Shep represents Blanche's delusions and the fantasy world she lives in.

"Stanley doesn't give me a regular allowance, he likes to pay bills himself" (Page 44, Scene 4)

Stanley controls Stella and she is financially dependent on him.

"What you are talking about is brutal desire - just - Desire!" (Page 46, Scene 4)

This is a euphemism for a need for sexual intercourse.

"He acts like an animal, has animal's habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one!" (Page 47, Scene 4)

Zoomorphism is continued as a motif throughout the play.

"That's much more practical!" (Page 50, Scene 5)

Stella ignores the seriousness of the dispute between Eunice and Steve and instead makes a joke out of Eunice's coping strategies.

"The hotel Flamingo is not the sort of establishment I would dare to be seen in!" (Page 52, Scene 5)

This is a brothel that Blanche has been spotted at. This is an example of the conflict between Blanche and Stanley as Blanche tries to maintain her illusions, yet Stanley is aware of her lies.

"There he throws back his head like a baying hound and bellows his wife's name. " (Page 52, Scene 5)

Stanley's is being compared to an animal again due to his primitive actions.

"I don't listen to you when you are being morbid!" (Page 53, Scene 5)

Stella does not entertain Blanche's deluded speech as it partially upsets her and also seems exaggerated.

"Stella pours the coke into the glass. It foams over and spills. " (Page 54, Scene 5)

The action of the coke spilling onto Blanche's white skirt is a euphemism for ejaculation. This symbolises the rape in scene 10.

"I want to kiss you … I've got to be good and keep my hands off children. " (Page 57, Scene 5)

This alludes to her crude behaviour back in Laurel and demonstrates her strong illicit sexual desires.

"Is that streetcar named Desire still grinding along the tracks at this hour?" (Page 59, Scene 6)

This symbolises a particularly destructive power of sexual power.

"Why do you always ask me if you may?" (Page 60, Scene 6)

Ironic because Blanche is a sexual character.

"It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow," (Page 66, Scene 6)

This simile conveys Blanche's feelings about falling in love.

"Allan! Allan! The Grey boy!" (Page 67, Scene 6)

Repetition suggests Blanche is reminiscing her old romance and the trauma it brings her.

"She's been feeding us a pack of lies here?" (Page 70, Scene 7)

The use of personification by Stanley indicates that he is exposing Blanche for her deceitful actions.

"She had an experience that - killed her illusions!" (Page 72, Scene 7)

Stella is explaining to Stanley why Blanche acts the way she does.

"This beautiful and talented young man was a degenerate. " (Page 73, Scene 7)

Negative connotations with his homosexuality. A euphemism is used so this is implied implicitly due to censorship.