A Streetcar Named Desire (Marxist Lens) - Blanche

Question 1

Marxist paragraph Blanche - WHAT Statement

Answer 1

Through the utilisation of Blanche, Williams portrays the decreasing social and economic influence of America’s old South.

Question 2

Marxist paragraph Blanche - Evidence 1

Answer 2

During her confrontation with Stella, Blanche remarks that Stanley is nothing but ‘common’ and ‘bestial,’ with ‘animal habits’ and ‘ape-like’ movements, deprived of any ‘particle’ of poise or genteelness.

Question 3

Marxist paragraph Blanche - Analysis 1 (x2 sentences)

Answer 3

Here, the adjectives ‘common’ and ‘bestial,’ with their connotations of monstrosity and viciousness, highlights Blanche’s view of Stanley as an inferior and unrefined member of society.

However, it also underscores her desperate ‘Desire’ to preserve the last gasp of the agrarian South, the melodramatic notion held by many former plantation owners in estates such as Belle Reve.

Question 4

Marxist paragraph Blanche - Evidence 2

Answer 4

The irrationality of Blanche’s opinions are further illustrated by her hysterical remark as she pleads Stella to not ‘hang back with the brutes.’

Question 5

Marxist paragraph Blanche - Analysis 2 (x2 sentences)

Answer 5

The use of the imperative phrase ‘don’t hang back,’ suggests that Blanche is frantic to grip on to her illusions of her youthful and glamorous past.

Fearing to face the destitution of reality, she urges Stella to join her in ascending the social hierarchy and distance herself from the inferiority of the working class ‘brutes,’ despite the fading ideals of the Old South, much like Blanche’s fading beauty.

Question 6

Marxist paragraph Blanche - Analysis 2 (3rd sentence)

Answer 6

Consequently, Blanch is depicted as an antiquated relic of a deceased society, while working class individuals such as Stanley, who epitomise the industrialized American dream, rise to the top and establish a new legacy.

Question 7

Marxist paragraph Blanche - WHY sentence

Answer 7

Thus, through his characterisation of Blanche, Williams explores the ways in which holding onto a fading past at the expense of the present can evidently lead to emotional fragmentation and a loss of control.