Streetcar practice questions

Explore Williams’ presentation of family bonds in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire'

Stella & Stanley -

Conflicting

Stella & Blanche - Stella defers to Blanche (costume, blocking) and

Explore the ways in which Williams presents masculinity in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

Explore how Williams presents characters’ inner lives in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

How does Williams use confrontation in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

The conflict presented as being reflective of class divides in post-war society

Stella & Stanley's relationship

• domesticated, traditional - rooted in lust and abuse; there's a clear divide between them through masculinity and femininity & social class

  • linking to the American dream

• Their relationship dynamic is reflective of the stereotypical of relationships within the time-period

Blanche

• disruption of their relationship, due to her sense of aristocracy being much more flamboyant than Stella

  • linking to the new world order & antibellum era.

Conflict between Blanche and Stanley -

Explore how Williams allows us to see different points of view in ‘A Streecar Named Desire'

Different Demographics - conflicts within Gender, Class and

Gender

• Stella vs Stanley

• Eunice vs Steve

• Blanche kissing the young boy

• Masculinity within the Poker game

Class

• Blanche being derogatory towards Stanley →

• Fall of the Southern Belle

Explore the ways Williams portrays the rise of a new social order in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

Conflict between the new and old

1. Aristocracy and the Old South

   1. Blanche and the personifications of death

   2. English teacher & Stanley not being good at english

2. Gender

   1. Equality of women

   2. Setting - lack of privacy, everyone living together

   3. Eunice and Steve

3. American Dream

   1. Stanley reaching a new style of equality with Stella

   2. Use of colour in costuming; Stanley’s red pyjamas & Blanche's red robe

Explore how Williams presents marriage in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

Violence - presets the marriages within the play as being violent, animalistic and abusive

• Stella and Stanley - power imbalance, Stanley = dominant, Stella = submissive

  • Their marriage is rooted in a volatile combination of physical desire and abuse, exhibiting the darker aspects of love tied to societal expectations and class. Stella’s identity is heavily tied to her relationship with Stanley, emphasizing her compliance as a means of survival and stability.

• Steve and Eunice - mirror stella and stanley, but Eunice chooses to overlook Steve's violence for her survival, which presents her as being more worldy than Stella

  • Marriage is a method for survival for women within a Patriarchal society - women couldn't survive on their own

  • The depictions of abusive realtionships, is linked to what Williams witnessed of his parents’ abusive relationship and the power imbalance between his mother and father

Class & Gender -

• Steve and Eunice - own the apartment building; reflects marriage within the working class, where financial necessity plays a critical role.

• Stella and Stanley - Their relationship exemplifies the power dynamics of class and gender in post-war America.

  • Stanley holds dominant power both economically and socially. This reflects traditional gender roles where masculinity is associated with control, while Stella, despite her submissiveness, becomes a crucial figure in maintaining their household.

• Blanche and Allan Grey - Blanche represents the fallen aristocracy, contrasting with working-class characters like Stanley. Her past with Allan Grey showcases fragility and loss of social standing. Allan’s tragic fate is a catalyst for Blanche’s character arc, emphasizing how the pressures of societal expectations can lead to personal tragedy, especially for women of her class

  • The relationship between Blanche and Allan highlights the decline of the Old South and the genteel Southern Belle ideal. Allan's suicide after coming to terms with his homosexuality sharply contrasts with Blanche's delusions of grandeur, revealing her deep insecurities and mental decline.

Appearance vs Reality -

• Blanche and Allan Grey

• Stella and Stanley