ASND quotes Flashcards
They…
told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries, and ride six blocks and arrive at – Elysian Fields!
AO2 - allusion
* Williams constructs Elysian Fields as a catalyst for Blanche’s downfall
* It represents the sheer interconnectedness of death and desire
* Because in Greek Mythology, Elysian Fields became the resting ground reserved for the ‘blessed dead’ (virtuous heroes)
* However, it’s ironic as it represents a stark contrast to its mythological namesake.
Instead of being a paradise, Elysian Fields is a run-down, working-class neighborhood in New Orleans, marked by poverty, violence, and decay. It is the Big Easy where people from all over are confined to such a chaotic space.
This dichotomy ultimately represents Blanche having to confront the harsh truths of her existence, leading to her disillusionment
- Symbolically, “cemeteries” connotes death, foreshadowing Blanche’s mental disintegrration in the culmination of the play
Belle Reve
…which translates to “beautiful dream” in French, suggests an idealized, romanticized image of the past—a beautiful dream that has since faded.
* For Blanche in particular, Belle Reve represents a symbol of her aristocratic upbringing and the genteel Southern society she once inhabited
* Unfortunately, this idealised image is merely an intangible fantasy, as it has fallen into despair & financial ruin
* She clings onto the memory of Belle Reve as a reminder of her former glory
* using it to construct her illusion of refinement against the harsh realities
AO3 - Similarly to Williams’ mother, Edwina, she was once a Southern Belle who lost her privileges and had to move to a tenement house in St. Louis, New Orleans. Her mental health deteriorated there
I don’t…
want realism. I want magic!
AO2 - exclamatory sentence
* encapsulates Blanche’s yearning for escapism & resistance from facing reality
* she’s unable to reconcile with the truth, digging herself deeper into her delusions
* desire for ‘magic’ reflects a longing to be in a world where she can control the narrative, and inconvenient truths can be surpressed or transformed into something beautiful
AO3 - Williams’ suffered from several childhood mental illnesses and depression, and moved from his expansive home where he was brought up with genteel culture in Mississipi to an ugly Tenement house in St, Louis
I can’t…
stand a naked light bulb
AO2 - repetition (put it over the light bulb!…)
* Blanche’s aversion to harsh light symbolizes her desire to conceal her past and maintain a facade of gentility.
* The “naked light bulb” represents the exposure of truth, which she desperately tries to avoid.
* she prefers to live in the darkness of her delusions than confronting the truth
AO3 - Southern Gothic fiction is a reaction against the Lost Cause, particularly involving a dispossessed class and using macabre, ironic events that was meant to give messages about the Deep South
[she
crosses quickly to him and presses her lips to his.]
AO2 - stage directions, kinesthetic imagery
* In her vulnerable state, she seeks solace in the physical affection of another person, however fleeting it may be.
* On one hand, she yearns for genuine human connection , a longing rooted in her profound sense of loneliness.
* On the other hand, the kiss also reflects Blanche’s propensity for self-destructive behavior, as she seeks refuge in moments of pleasure to escape from the painful realities of her life.
* Blanche’s flirtation with the young collector reflects her longing to recapture the innocence and vitality of her youth. (Allan Gray)
AO3 - Blanche tries to make up the appearance of a Southern Belle which is a virginal, harmlessly flirtatious and expected to be treated with courtesy, upper-class woman. Everything she was once was
Hey,
canary bird! Toots! Get OUT of the BATHROOM!
AO2 - animal imagery, exclamatory sentences, capitalisation
* Blanche’s entrapment: Stanley asserts verbal dominance, degrading her to a dehumanising comparison to a bird
* The bathroom for Blanche is her only space of freedom, a place where she can indulge fantasies as respite from a life she is ashamed of.
* Many argue that Stanley’s unforgivable antagonism towards Blanche throughout the play occurs because, ultimately, she is the one that poses the biggest threat to both his social status and power as a man.
* He resents and is unused to being undermined; as an ‘alpha male’ he is used to respect, and her disrespect on the basis on his class position and Polish ethnicity is intolerable to him.
AO3 - Blanche’s coping mechanism in bathing reflects that of Williams’ coping mechanisms through pills and alcohol; after WW2, there was a wider acceptance of other races and waves of immigration spread throughout the USA, Blanche still acts ‘old-fashioned’ towards Stanley so this infuriates him
[Stanley
gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh.]
AO2 - onomatopoeia, stage directions
* S&S’ relationship, which is meant to be founded on love, is instead interlaced with machismo and violence.
* Stanley views the relationship to be beneficial to him, as he can use Stella to fulfill his lustful desires, hence portraying their connection to merely be transactional
* From the harsh onomatopoeic word “whack” to the sexualisation of her thigh, Williams provides an insight to gender roles in the 1940s
AO3 - Gender roles in the 1940s
Solid
blue, a purple, a red-and-white check, a light green, and they are men at the peak of their physical manhood,
AO2 - colour imagery
AO3 - masculinity in the 1940s: hardworking males who adhere to social expectations: competition, aggression, stoicism and toughness
Animal…
joy in his being is implicit in all his movements and attitudes. Since earliest manhood, the centre of his life has been pleasure with women, the giving and taking of it,
- hypermasculinity is made apparent; he is the foil of a southern gentleman
- ‘animal joy’ suggests that he reaps the gratification of being with women to fulfill his sexual desires. Also establishes him to be a primal, instinctual character instead of being driven by rationality.
- ‘implicit’ indicates that this animalistic nature is inherent to Stanley, rather than it being something he consciously cultivates.
AO2 - animal imagery
AO3 - masculinity in the 1940s: hardworking males who adhere to social expectations: competition, aggression, stoicism and toughness
(voluptuously…
soothingly) Now, honey. Now, love. Now, now love. (He kneels beside her and his fingers find the opening of her blouse.)
AO2 - repetition, stage directions, kinesthetic imagery
AO3 - Gender roles in the 1940s; ideal nuclear American family, Stanley got what he wanted now that Blanche is out of the picture
Her..
delicate beauty must avoid a strong light.
She springs…
up and crosses to it, and removes a whiskey bottle … She carefully replaces the tumbler and washes the tumbler at the sink.
- Her discreet drinking reveals a surrepticious side to her, as she desires to keep up her superficial southern belle appearance.
- The sibilance ‘she springs’ emphasises her enthusiasm when faced with alcohol - it serves as a way to escape from the harsh realities of her life, further enveloping her in her delusion
AO2: stage directions, sibilance kinesthetic imagery
AO3: Williams struggled with alcoholism; his mother who was once a beautiful southern belle also relied on her parents for financial support and suffered psychological problems
Now…
she is placing the rhinestone tiara on her head”
- Regressing into a child-like state, where her imagination is rife.
rhinestone tiara serves as a symbol of Blanche’s desire for glamour and fantasy.
It represents her longing for a life of luxury and refinement, which she associates with her aristocratic past. - rhinestones suggest that it is a cheap imitation of true wealth
- murmuring suggests that she is engaging in a fantasy dialogue with imaginary admirers.
AO2 - connotations of child-play, ‘tiara’ = royalty
AO3 - Lost Cause is the idea that the Old South (idealised, romanticised with the picture of upper-class whites) may rise up again and break away from the North
Streetcar passing
- represents the clash between the past and the present, particularly in relation to Blanche’s character.
- As a relic of the Old South, Blanche struggles to reconcile her nostalgic longing for a bygone era with the harsh realities of the present.
- tangible reminder of the encroaching modern world, which threatens to erase the remnants of Blanche’s aristocratic heritage.
AO2 - symbolism of the streetcar
AO3 - the literal streetcar named desire in New Orleans; Lost Cause belief - romanticised the Old South upper echelons
Blue piano
- Blue = sadness, introspection, and melancholy, which are central to the play’s themes.
- reflects the characters’ inner turmoil and emotional vulnerability, particularly Blanche’s fragile psyche and her struggles to cope with the traumas of her past.
-
symbolizes the elusive nature of happiness and the characters’ yearning for something beyond their reach.
AO3 - like in Williams’ other works, his characters are tortured with their mental illnesses, reflective of his sister Rose. The Glass Menagerie (1944), Laura is a girl trapped with her own glass menageries - Blanche is trapped with her illusions
