Gambling Flashcards
How is Gambling presented in streetcar?
-Tennessee Williams presents gambling in A Streetcar Named Desire as a metaphor for power, control, and the precarious nature of survival in the modern world
-The poker games that take place in the Kowalski apartment are not mere pastimes but instead serve as a battleground where dominance is asserted and lost
-Poker, a game of risk, deception, and calculated aggression, mirrors the dynamics of Stanley’s world—a space where success belongs to those who can manipulate, strategise, and overpower their opponents
How does Gambling reflect Stanley’s wider authority?
-From the outset, Stanley is established as the master of this world, his control over the game reflecting his wider authority over his home and those within it
-His winnings are “piled in front of him”, an immediate symbol of his success and dominance. His dismissive attitude towards others, particularly Mitch—whom he scorns for being “not the type that goes for jasmine perfume”—further reveals his belief that only the strongest can win in both poker and life
What is the significance of the choice and risk imagery associated with gambling?
-The game itself is laden with imagery of chance and risk, reflecting the fragility of power in a rapidly changing society
-Stanley thrives in this environment, where brute strength and shrewd calculation dictate survival, while Blanche, by contrast, is entirely unsuited to it
-Her intrusion into the poker scene in Scene Three disrupts the rhythm of the game, immediately placing her at odds with Stanley. The fact that she arrives dressed in “a dark red satin robe”—a stark contrast to the masculinity of the room—emphasises her foreignness in this world
-Unlike Stanley, who embraces risk to assert his control, Blanche gambles with illusion, constructing an identity based on charm, manipulation, and fantasy. However, Williams ensures that her gamble is doomed to fail.
-Just as in poker, where a player must eventually reveal their hand, Blanche’s carefully constructed façade is inevitably exposed.
How does William’s use gambling as a microcosm of Stanley’s household?
The poker game in Scene Three also functions as a microcosm of Stanley’s household, where his dominance is unchallenged until Blanche’s arrival threatens the established order
How does Stanley’s outburst after the poker gamer establish his power?
-His drunken outburst—where he “stalks fiercely” and “charges after Stella”—is a display of raw physicality, reinforcing the reality that in his world, violence is a tool of control
-Stella’s return to him after the attack, descending “in a rush of hysterical tenderness”, further solidifies his power, demonstrating that his grip over his household remains unbroken.
How does background music hold significance whiting the polker games?
Williams’s use of music heightens this moment, as the “dissonant brass and piano” swell to mirror Stanley’s aggression, while the distant “blue piano” reflects Blanche’s growing isolation
When does the polker imagery reach its climax?
-The significance of poker reaches its climax in Scene Eleven, where Stanley, once again at the table, deals the final hand as Blanche is led away to the asylum
-The stage directions state that the game continues “as normal”, underscoring the brutal indifference of Stanley’s world—Blanche’s destruction is of no consequence to the men who continue to play.
How does Aurhur Miller link to gambling?
-The game, much like Stanley himself, moves forward, leaving the weak behind
-Arthur Miller’s assertion that tragedy belongs to “the common man’s struggle to secure his place in society” is reflected in Stanley’s unwavering confidence at the poker table
-Just as he has ensured his dominance over Blanche and Stella, he reaffirms his place in the new social order, where power belongs to those who seize it
-The poker game, then, is more than just a motif—it is a symbol of the ruthless, survivalist world of post-war America, where those who can manipulate the rules will thrive, and those who cannot will be discarded
