Character Essay Flashcards
Introduction
- title, playwright
- the main protagonist of the play, Blanche Dubois, is tormented through the play by her inner conflict. she is forced to live in a world of illusions due to the trauma her past, her fading beauty and her guilt over her behaviour
- …problem with drinking, insecurities and her tendency to lie (link start of sentence to the question)
- when she comes into conflict with the brutal antagonist, Stanley kowalski, her brother in law, she is forced to face her illusions and try and survive in this new environment of the new south
- her inner conflict plays a massive part in her decline to insanity
- make sure to link intro to question and mention theme throughout
Stanza 1
Blanches costume in scene 1
- makes her appear prim and proper and someone of upper class
- implies through entirely white costume ”white fluffy suit with a white fluffy bodice” (white symbolises purity an innocence, mirrors blanches desire to appear youthful)
- also described as ”incongruous to this setting”, clothes very different room those around her in the new south which is much lower class than what she is used to being brought up in a wealthy family in the old south. her immaculate appearance makes her stick out from everyone else
- highlights attempt to survive in the n south as she is trying to portray an image that doesn’t match the reality of what her life has become, by hiding reality indicated the start of her downfall into illusions
Costume in scene 10
- contrast to ”soiled and crumpled”, just before Stanley rapes her
- highlights Blanche now feels powerless and unable to survive in the new south of America as she has given up
Stanza 2
- facade isn’t enough to hide her reality as her flaws are immediately established to the audience through her drinking and lying about it
- when Blanche arrives at Elysian Fields she searches for something to drink immediately. She ”pours a half tumbler of whiskey and tosses it down”, Blanche drinks as a way to escape reality and enter a fantasy world
- as we learn more about Blanche it becomes clear she is hiding from her tragic past involving a lot of death specifically her husbands whom she feels some guilt for
- beginning of descent into illusions as she is already struggling to cope with reality of her life and doesn’t want to face the truth
- Blanche then hides the bottle an any evidence she has drink before sister arrives home
- Stella arrives Blanche states ”I know you it have some liquor on the place. Where could it be I wonder” clearly covering up that she already knows where the alcohol is kept
- lying highlights blanches attempt for survival as she recognises it threatens to ruin her reputation and facade which is why she tries to hide it
- it contradicts her facade of being upper class and a southern belle and she doesn’t want people to know she is struggling or judge her
Stanza 3
Conflict
- throughout the play an increasing conflict arises between Blanche and Stanley due to there contrasting personalities and different backgrounds
- Blanche represents the old south as she was brought up in a wealthy family and Stanley represents the new south as he is a polish immigrant who has worked for everything he has
- in opening scenes Blanche acts flirtatious towards Stanley despite the fact she doesn’t like his personality
- in there early conversations ”she sprays herself with her atomiser and then playfully sprays him with it”, this behaviour towards Stanley highlights blanches insecurities as she is so desperate for male attention to boost her confidence she will even flirt with her brother in law
- as play progresses their personalities start to clash more as Stanley is the first person to see through blanches facade to the reality of her life
- blanche then tries to convince Stella to leave Stanley after he hits Stella, and Blanche calls him and ”ape” and says ”there’s something downright bestial about him”, implying how much Blanche dislikes his personality
- shows blanche is protective over her sister but also highlights that Blanche wants to get rid of Stanley as she knows she is starting to see past her illusion
- blanches attempt for survival is emphasises as she doesn’t want others to see her downfall into illusions
Stanza 4
- Blanche is very desperate for male attention and heavily relies on it for her own happiness
- in scene 5 a paper boy comes to blanches door and he is described as a ”young man”
- Blanche starts to flirt with him even though he is much younger than she is and the fact that she is about to go on a date with Mitch who she genuinely sees a future with
- she says ”you make my mouth water” and then she kisses him right before Mitch arrives
- her being flirtatious emphasises blanches desperation for male attention and also implies Blanche flirts with younger man to make her feel much younger
- highlights her downfall into illusions as she is doing things that will make her appear much younger however this is not reality and she can’t accept the fact she is aging
- in scene 9, Blanche admits ”I had a lot of intimacies with strangers. After the earth of Allan, intimacies with trances was all I seem able to fill my empty heart with.”
- highlights how lonely Blanche felt after her husband died
- she filled the void by relying on sexual encounters with men to make her feel good about herself and help her temporarily forget about the pain her husbands death caused her
- Blanche can’t cope with reality of her tragic past, aging and fading beauty
Stanza 5
Paper lantern
- from early on in the play Blanche uses a paper lantern to hide her true self by dimming the light to make herself appear younger
- in scene 3 she says to Mitch ” I can’t stand a naked lightbulb” so it gets covered with a lantern that becomes a symbol of blanches illusions as this is one of the early indications she is struggling to cope with reality by hiding her real age
- by hiding he true self she feels people are more likely to love her and also feels a sense of protection which highlights he attempt to survive
- Blanche continues to use the paper lantern to hide until Mitch ”tears the paper lantern off the lightbulb” in scene 9, so he can get a proper look at her after he finds out about the truth of her past in laurel
- cracks are starting o appear in blanches facade and people are starting to see passer illusions to who she really is
- the lantern is ton off again by Stanley in scene 11, and as this is done Blanche ”cries out as if the lantern was herself”, this extreme reaction to the physical exposure to the truth highlights how desperately blanche wants to avoid reality and how she doesn’t want to face the truth of her fading beauty and aging
- Blanche then retreats into a complete world of fantasy as she loses control due to being unable to cope with the reality she is left with
Conclusion
- although Blanche initially appears as a stable, southern belle, this is far from the truth
- she is traumatised by her past experiences as will as her insecurities leading to her downfall
- carefully employed techniques such as costume, symbolism and characterisation help to convey blanches downfall and helps to highlight the themes of illusion, the old vs new south and blanches need to survive
