Death and desire

Question 1

Mitch

Answer 1

• “A very strange girl, very sweet- very”: description of women is polite, has a similar experience to Blanche
• “Oh-good evening”: manners
• “coming!”: Saviour for Blanche as he shows that he is a vocal match for Stanley
• “Put it over the light bulb will you, please?”: Can give him orders which opposes Stanley
• Chp3

Question 2

Allan gray’s suicide

Answer 2

• ostracisation of anyone who displays a different form of sexuality
• Symbolic of Blanche’s tragic past
• “degenerate” these discriminatory views inhibit social mobility, only allowing alpha males the privilege of the American Dream

Question 3

The pocker night

Answer 3

• exploitation is mixed with sexual desire
• “Stanley gives a loud whack of hand on her thigh”
• objectification of women
• male dominance/violence

Question 4

Scene 4

Answer 4

• Stella is thrilled by Stanley’s bestial (animalistic) qualities
• “Smashed light-bulbs with the heel of my slipper”
• violent demonstrations of masculinity
• submission

Question 5

The rape

Answer 5

• unapologetic sexuality from Stanley
• Sexual abuse/violence/both
• Stanley emerges victorious according to the expected norms of male superiority
• couples themes of death and desire

Question 6

“They told me to take a streetcar named Desire and then transfer to one called cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian fields”

Answer 6

• Symbolic of her reckless past of desire
• Transitions to death
• And ends up in heaven however its ironic because this heaven does not seem peaceful because she does not belong in this society. and her beliefs are opposing with the modern world

Question 7

I stayed for it, bled for it almost died for it

Answer 7

• Suggests that the old world is dying

Question 8

Blanches monologue: Don’t let me go, sickness and dying, Grim reaper, long parade to the graveyard, struggle for breath, gorgeous boxes they pack them away in, funerals

Answer 8

• The south owes moral debt to slavery
• Hubris of plantation owners and blindness to the death of slaves

Question 9

“Where you from Blanche?”,”Have a shot?”, “What do you teach?”

Answer 9

• Antagonist seems to be all knowing (omniscient) about the protagonists weaknesses

Question 10

Tragedy- Aristotle

Answer 10

• Makes us feel sympathy
• Reader/audience must fell pity/fear
• Emotional consequence of their downfall in the audience

Question 11

“When she comes in, be sure to say something nice about her appearance…and admire her dress and tell her she’s looking wonderful. That’s important to Blanche. Her little weakness!”

Answer 11

This kind of attitude from Stella regarding Blanche tells us about both of them. It shows Stella’s gentle personality and the way she appeases Blanche’s fantasies and anxieties. Hearing this phrase directly from Blanche’s sister, who is closest to her, shows us how integral her need to appear a certain way is

Question 12

“They come together with low, animal moans”- Stage direction

Answer 12

This is an instance where Stanley’s association with the animalistic stretches into our perception of his relationship with Stella, forcing us to see their relationship as intuitive, inevitable and obsessive. especially following from the domestic abuse we see earlier in the scene. It also depicts the primitive nature of sex and desire

Question 13

“There’s so much- so much confusion in the world…Thankyou for being so kind! I need kindness now”. - Blanche

Answer 13

This line is the first line we see Blanche latching on to Mitch as a vessel of hope, reaching out for a sense of comfort when she is frightened and feels incredibly vulnerable. This reliance on other’s kindness is important to Blanche’s character as it shows how she latches on to small things that allow her to escape from her reality. Mitch here is established as different from Stanley and the other men. She really trusts him at this point in the play, and trust is something she needs in order to stay sane.

Question 14

“I was sort of thrilled by it”- Stella

Answer 14

This line is key in tying together Stanley’s violence with his sexuality. Both are intrinsic to his animalistic masculinity. It therefore shows us the extent to which Stella is blinded by her desire for Stanley due to the strong masculine force he represents. It ties in thematically to the idea of the danger of desire

Question 15

“In this dark march towards whatever it is we’re approaching…don’t don’t hang back with the brutes”- Blanche

Answer 15

This picture of progression painted by Blanche, wherein Stanley represents ‘hanging back’ is ironic due to the context the play is set in as well as the wider ties between Stanley and modernity. It illustrates Blanche’s illusion, as she is still attached to the values she was brought up in, and sees them as modern despite the fall of the Old South
- Disrupts the movement of the modern world because Stella is pregnant

Question 16

Blanche’s monologue

Answer 16

• Makes the antagonist Stanley appear omnipresent and has an advantage over Blanche
• Stanley knows Blanches opinion of him making him omniscient
• Blanch antagonises Stanley’s world “acts like an animal, animal habits”
  -Highlights Stanley’s physical abuse and terrifying aspects of him
• Paints his physical strength as a problem/dangerous
• Tries to diminish and condemn Stanley’s role as the provider

Question 17

“Plaster statuette of Mae West”- stage directions

Answer 17

• Plays a dangerous woman
• Draws men in and destroys them when they fall in love
• femme fatale

Question 18

“Je suis la dame aux camellias! Vous etes- Armand”

Answer 18

• Story of an innocent man who falls for a prostitute
• Shows how Mitch is a potential victim

Question 19

“I talked to my mother about you”

Answer 19

• Suggests that Mitch is really interested in a relationship with Blanche, even marriage?
• Which could save her from Stanley

Question 20

“You need someone and I need someone too”

Answer 20

• Able to relate on a ground of common suffering and loneliness
• Brought together by a mutual experience
• Blanche needs Mitch as a stabilising force in her life otherwise she faces a world that offers few prospects to a middle-aged and unmarried woman

Question 21

Mexican Vendor

Answer 21

Blanche suffers from a terrible loneliness and has so for years together since Allen’s death. Surrounded b death and decreasing wealth, Blanche looked for companionship desperately and unhealthily as depicted by the incidents in laurel. The theme of death is made visual and explicit in the scene, as it foreshadows Blanche’s past and impending doom.