Scene 1 Flashcards
“Stanley carries his ______ ______ and a ______-____ package from a _____”
“Stanley carries his bowling jacket and a red-stained package from a butcher’s”
“Stanley carries his bowling jacket and a red-stained package from a butcher’s” theme
patriarchy/ hypermasculinity
“Stanley carries his bowling jacket and a red-stained package from a butcher’s” analysis
- noun phrase red-stained package, presents him as a traditional male,
-colour ‘red’ is polysemic and alludes to the overt sexuality in Stanley and in his relationship with Stella.
-Allusion to blood in compound adj ‘red-stained’ aligns him with violence & danger - foreshadowing his role in Blanche’s demise
“can I _____ _____?”
“can I come watch?”
“Can I come watch?” theme
patriarchy/ hypermasculinity
“Can I come watch?” analysis
- Modal verb ‘can’ - Stella asks permission. Verb ‘watch’ she is inert and passive.
-Stanley is an active, vital force - they fulfil narrow gender roles
-Post WW2, women had achieved greater emancipation, yet there was still a desire from men to force women back into limited gender sphere - Stella has to ask permission to enter the external male sphere
“When he’s _____ for a _____ I nearly go ___!”
“When he’s away for a week I nearly go wild!”
“When he’s away for a week I nearly go wild!” theme
patriarchy/hypermasculinity/women’s roles
“When he’s away for a week I nearly go wild!” analysis
- Adverb ‘away’ reflects Stanley as a male figure with the freedom to come and go, whereas Stella, a female figure, is stagnant with no power to move.
- Adj “wild” presents Stella as rendered animalistic & dehumanised by Stanley’s absence as if the women rely on the men to give them purpose and direction, without it, they deteriorate.
“______ dressed in a white ___ with a ____ bodice, necklace and _____ of pearl, white _____ and a hat”
“daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and a hat”
“daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and a hat” theme
Blanche’s demise
“daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and a hat” analysis
- Blanche’s clothing establishes her hubristic desire to align herself with her aristocratic heritage, even though she no longer has money or property.
- Her clothing is absurd in this setting, showing how she fails to assimilate into this new environment.
-adverb ‘daintily’ conflates her with traditional & old-fashioned ideas of femininity. Also connotes fragility, foreshadowing her tragedy
-the diacope of the colour ‘white’ alludes to her active desire to appear virginal and innocent
“Mr _____ is the high school _______ - he suggested I ____ a leave of ____”
“Mr graves is the high school superintendent - he suggested I take a leave of absence”
“Mr graves is the high school superintendent - he suggested I take a leave of absence” theme
male power/ hypermasculinity
“Mr graves is the high school superintendent - he suggested I take a leave of absence” analysis
-The noun phrase in apposition reinforces Blanche as a female at the mercy of male power.
- The aptronym ‘Mr Graves’ is a reminder of Blance, a tragic hero, on a rapid demise.
- The euphemism ‘leave of absence’ reflects Blanche’s desire to alter reality, her need to hide aspects of her past.
“But I saw! I saw! I saw!” theme
Blanche’s/ 1940s women’s illusory worlds
“But I saw! I saw! I saw!” context
Blanche talking about the loss Belle Reve & the death of her families
“But I saw! I saw! I saw!” analysis
-tricolon of dy verb ‘saw’ alongside the exclamative adds empathic stress to the delivery of the words - Blanche is clearly emotionally unstable and hysterical
- The horror Blanche portrays as she talks about the brutal reality of her experiences perhaps explains Blanche’s inclination to live within the safety of an illusionary world.
- William’s contemplates the division between reality and illusion and presents both as equally damaging and dangerous to the individual.
