A Streetcar Named Desire Flashcards
1
Q
[wolfish grin]
A
- animalistic
- shows Stanley’s animalistic characteristics.
- his facial expression exhibits that he doesn’t care what he is doing to Blanche and his wife.
- he has no guilt for this actions
- ‘grin’ can be viewed as being quite sinister.
2
Q
Maybe he’ll strike you or maybe he’ll grunt and kiss you!
A
- brutality
- Blanche about Stanley in scene 4
- this is foreshadowing blanche’s rape.
- he’s quite bipolar and the exclamatory sentence implies that Blanche is aware of this and is trying to convince Stella the same.
3
Q
I pulled you down off them columns
A
- social status
- Stanley to Stella scene 8
- he took Stella from her upper class lifestyle and gave her a life of thrill and love
- use of levels, he lifted her down and she enjoyed it
- she was escaping from her trapped lifestyle as a southern belle
4
Q
Blanche! Blanche! Blanche!
A
- betrayal/ recourse
- Stella, scene 11 when Blanche is leaving
- exclamatory sentence shows that she is distressed and upset by what she has just done
- she feels remorse and guilty for sending her sister away and regrets her decision
5
Q
[he crosses the dressing-table and seizes the paper lantern, tearing it off the light bulb]
A
- social status/power
- Stanley’s proxemics in scene 11
- symbolic of Stanley taking everything away from her, by ‘seizing’ his power to completely destroy her.
- symbolic of the north becoming triumphant over the south
- cruelty
- ‘tearing’ shows that he lacks sympathy or remorse for his actions and will go to any extent to destroy her
6
Q
Tiger tiger. We’ve had this date since the beginning
A
- Stanley scene 10 to Blanche
- ‘Date’ implies that they both want what’s about to come, when in reality it’s just Stanley because Blanche is defending herself against him.
- ‘Tiger’ presents animal imagery, he is a predator about to catch his prey.
7
Q
Deliberate cruelty is unforgivable
A
Blanche to Mitch
8
Q
[Mitch collapses at the table, sobbing]
A
Scene 11, regret
9
Q
You suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow
A
Blanche to Mitch
