Context Flashcards
What was the American civil war
•Slavery was seen is southern states as essential for cotton, tobacco and its on these materials that the south’s wealth was founded
•However, the abolition of slavery became the aim of the northern states
•The break up of the union and confederacy became a reality and civil war began
•In 1865 the confederate states surrendered and the south was left in ruins
•Slavery was abolished in the southern states and as northerners moved in as victory’s the southern states were treated harshly and the south felt bitterness of defeat
•This notion of the south influenced the imagination of writers like Tennessee Williams
How did the civil war affect literature?
•After the 1865 Confederate defeat, literature of the south tended towards nostalgia
•A regional patriotism saw a romantic appeal in a “lost way of life”
•This is seen in books like ‘Gone with the wind” (1965 novel) which was adapted into a 1939 film, continued to romanticize the south
What is “southern Gothic”
•A sub-genre of the gothic style
•Depicts the history of the south though the setting- old slave quarters, decaying plantations, old traditional building and features like the “columns” Stanley mentions
•The southern Gothic came from an awareness of belonging to a dying culture while at the same time living in an economy based on deep injustice and cruelty
•This contradiction devoured literature which explored the individualistic, eccentric and outcast
How did Tennesee Williams view the south?
•T.Williams saw the south as a broken, damaged society but within this he saw the charm of its decay
•He describes writing “out of love for the south”
•In this way he sets the foundational ideas of the play, old south vs the new emerging America and presents this through characters like Stanley and Blanche
•Blanche, broken and damaged yet having a vitality and charm that causes the audience to feel pathos for her
•Stanley the brute, masculine, pragmatic force which replaces and destroys Blanche and effectively the old south
•In a way, Tennessee Williams is depicting the events of the world around him thorough characters, themes, contrasting settings and stage craft
What is the Post World War Two context shown in the play?
•The idea of realism is typical of texts following the depression and ww2
•After ww2 America was beginning to establish itself as a global superpower
•The concept of the American Dream suggested that those who work hard, are strong and were self reliant would be successful regardless of their background
•Refuges and immigrants poured into America at this time
•This changed Americas sense of identity as it became multicultural
•Rural agriculture was no longer significant and as time moved on industrialization continued in the cities whilst plantations continued to decay under a new economy that valued industrialistsion
What is the American dream?
•The idea of the American dream arguably stems from the American Declaration of Independence; “all men… are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights… life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
• James Truslow Adams’s described America as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” - this perfectly encapsulates the notion of the American dream
•The ideal of the American dream was a real driving force in 1940’s American society particularly for the working classes and post ww2 immigrant population like Stanley
•but, Tennessee Williams challenges its validity
