harold mitch quotes and analysis

Question 1

‘you need somebody. And i need somebody, too. Could it be- you and me, Blanche?’

Answer 1

• scene 6, loneliness
  -potential relationship based on common loneliness and past sorrows
  -likes Blanche more than she does
  -‘-‘ shows he is shy and awkward
  -Blanche keeps their conversations going
  -he appears to be inexperienced with women and is very self-conscious as well
• inexperience and vulnerability make it easier for Blanche to manipulate him
• loneliness & past sorrows
  vulnerable- easier for Blanche to manipulate him
• Mitch functions as the last hope for absolution for Blanche
  idea of Mitch as an escape from her problems seems more appealing than him as an individual
  -Sentence fragmentation shows uncertainty. heightened by Williams’ use of an ellipsis
• Repetition of ‘need’ reflects loneliness and desperation.
• rhetorical question, means Mitch’s question will never have a true answer, reflecting his + Blanche’s doomed relationship

Question 2

‘You’re not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother’

Answer 2

• scene 9, masculinity
  -in his eyes, Blanche is now dirty
  -shows his underlying misogyny
  -shatters hope that he built with the presence of Mitch who represents the ‘decent man’
  -fall of mitch represents the depth of toxic masculinity and sexism in society that infliltrates even the gentle souls
  -doesn’t mean to be cruel [drunk heartbroken] in his worst moment, his true colours are revealed

Question 3

‘I like you to be exactly the way you are, because in all my - experience - I have never known anyone like you’

Answer 3

• scene 6, reality vs illusion, truth vs lies
  -he states, ironically that he wants her to be herself
  -within her desperation to keep a man who finally loves her lies to him to create an image of herself that she thinks is ideal
  -Sensitive and respectful man, much like the Allan she loved
  -Blanche is tired of all of the guilt she carries ans sees Mitch as a beacon of hope

Question 3

‘Mitch is delighted and moves in awkward imitation like a dancing bear’

Answer 3

• scene 6, loneliness
• clumsy, polite, shy and gentle Mitch as endearing to the audience as he is to Blanche
  -Mitch functions as the last hope for absolution for Blanche
  animal imagery here just like used to describe stanley except contrast
  dynamic verb dancing illustrates- clumsy and goofy- typically percevied as undesirable traits- lacks that inherent machismo the draws women in and fills them w lust
  -embodies an alt type of masculinity subversive of the stereotypes
  -consequently he has to work harder to get what he wants in society than someone like stanley
• bear - can have frivolous childlike connotations of teddies , sense he is endearing - williams suggests society should have more respect for these pure men with gd intentions and not overlook
  -embrace these men with emotive sensitve side
• dancing has connotations of romance suggesting these traits are what give rise to a more pure innocent bond
• simile- Bear- comforting or dangerous- foreshadows change in character
• awkward, uncoordinated, not sophisticated

Question 4

‘Poker should not be played in a house with women.’

Answer 4

• scene 3, masculinity and femininity
• gives the audience insight into Mitch’s ideas about women
  -doesn’t paint his as misogynistic, it shows him as sexist
  -believes Poker is a space where women have no place
• sexist rather than a misogynist
  -Mitch’s stereotypical 1950s sexist views of women
  -Mitch isn’t completely effeminate, he still has some masculine traits

Question 5

MITCH: Can I–uh–kiss you- goodnight? BLANCHE: Why do you always ask me if you may? MITCH: I don’t know whether you want me to or not. BLANCHE: Why should you be so doubtful? that night when we parked by the lake and I kissed you, you–

Answer 5

• scene 6, desire
  -picks up on a previous experience and is sensitive towards Blanche
  -asks for consent and permission before he kisses her
  -shows Blanche the respect he believes she is innocent, something he takes away when he finds out she had sex with other men

Question 6

‘I told you already I don’t want none of his liquor and I mean it. You ought to lay off his liquor. He says you’ve been lapping it up all summer like a wild-cat!’

Answer 6

• scene 9, masculinity
• Mitch’s use of the term “wildcat” for Blanche foreshadows Stanley’s outcry later in the play, when Stanley calls Blanche a “tiger” just before raping her
• calling Blanche a “wildcat” also symbolically pulls Blanche from the realm of magic into the physical world.
• mitch also proudly differentiates himself from Stanley in this exclamation
• stanley is the alpha male throughout the entire play. However, in this outburst, Mitch declares himself to be self-sufficient, and therefore, by implication, a sexual partner worthy of Blanche’s attention on his own terms. Blanche treats Mitch as a sympathetic and gentle character, but in this outburst, Mitch tries to reclaim some of the sexual energy that Stanley exudes.

Question 7

‘That one seems – superior to the others’

Answer 7

• blanche about mitch, scene 2, desire
• He repeatedly speaks of his sick mother and despite being mocked and made fun of for his sensitivity, he prioritises leaving early from games to tend to his sick mother who he loves very much
• Treats Blanche with respect and is sympathetic towards her when she tells him about Allan, realising that they are both lonely.

Question 8

‘how do you do?’

Answer 8

• scene 2, masculinity
• juxtaposed to the strong, sexual, objectifying, male gaze Stanley sizes her up with ‘hey there, Stella! Baby!”
• Mitch is masculine in nature as well as physically strong - he is sensitive and this sensitivity is what Stanley uses to dominate him as the ‘Alpha’.
  At the end = Mitch is a broken man when he is mourning Blanche’s treatment, his anger appears as he lunges at Stanley with a challenge to, he is thwarted by Stanley as usual after which Mitch reverts to his sobbing state

Question 9

‘[he tears the paper lantern off the light bulb]’
‘So i can look at you good and plain!’

Answer 9

• scene 9, truth and lies, illusion vs reality
• symbolic of his emerging out of the darkness
• this crude action is uncharacteristic of him and unnerving
• blanche lets out a frightened gasp and when he turns on the light, she cries out
• these actions are aggressive symbolic of him emerging out of the darkness he was in about her real-self

Question 10

“roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes.”

Answer 10

• scene 1, masculinity
• Adjectives - ‘roughly’, suggests a lack of refinement and care in his appeance. It implies a raw, unpolished quality in him
• ‘roughly dressed’ - suggests rugged working class demeanor
• Colour symbolism - blue symbolises masculinity, but it also associated with calmness and reliability. Mitch’s reliability is why Blanche likes him so much
• Denim - is symbolic of the working class in America, this situates Mitch into a specific socioeconomic class (working class)
• William sets up the audience’s expectations of Mitch when describing Mitch in this way, it shows that he shares two things with Stanley, being a man and working class in the New South
• (AO3) - Williams’ father, Cornelius Coffin Williams was a working class statesman
• (AO3) - As there was an increasing shift to the industrial economy, with this the working class emerged
• (AO3) A national spotlight was shone on working class men like Stanley and Mitch, who had survived the war, rejoined the peacetime workforce and were now seen as bearers of American hard working spirit