Scene 2 Flashcards
“now let’s ____ _____ a little, to where you _____ the country _____ was _____ of”
“now lets skip back a little, to where you said the country place was disposed of”
“now lets skip back a little, to where you said the country place was disposed of” theme
importance of material property & capitalism
“now lets skip back a little, to where you said the country place was disposed of” technical terms
dismissive declarative “I get the idea”, imperative verb “lets”, colloquial metaphor “skip back”, FTA, breaking maxims of politeness
“now lets skip back a little, to where you said the country place was disposed of” analysis
- dismissive declarative closes Stella’s topic down, he does not want to talk about Blanche’s wellbeing, he is only concerned with the loss of material property, reflecting the brutal capitlaism.
-imperative verb “lets” reflects his dominance as he takes control of the conversation. - colloquial metaphor, he demands she returns to the former topic of Belle Reve the colloquial metaphor “skip back” is part of the restricted code that makes up his working class idiolect.
-FTA and breaking maxims of politeness - reveals how he doesn’t need to hedge his commands, portraying a generally dismissive and patriarchal view towards women.
“let me ______ you on a _____ or two _____”
“let me enlighten you on a point or two baby”
“let me enlighten you on a point or two baby” theme
class conflict & masculinity
“let me enlighten you on a point or two baby” technical terms
dynamic verb “enlighten”, sexist vocative “baby”, homogentistic and impersonal vocative
“let me enlighten you on a point or two baby” analysis
-dy verb establishes Stanley as assuming a position of knowledge an power in relation to the ownership of Belle Reve
- Ironically, much of what Stanley asserts in this extract is false (the relevance of the Napoleonic Code) revealing his lack of education and ignorance.
-Williams presents the new working class as placiing little value in culture and education.
-sexist vocative “baby” reinforces his desire to impose a limited identity onto Stella, reflecting his sense of ownership over his wife, perceiving her as an extension of his male property.
-Homogentistic and impersonal vocative infantilises Stella and limits her power and status, allowing him to emerge as the dominant partner in the marriage
“Open your _____ to this _____! You _____ she ____ them out of a _____ pay?”
“Open your eyes to this stuff! You think she got them out of a teacher’s pay?”
“Open your eyes to this stuff! You think she got them out of a teacher’s pay?” theme
financial worth in things, capitalism, bringing down Blanche
“Open your eyes to this stuff! You think she got them out of a teacher’s pay?” technical terms
vague noun “stuff”, imperative, noun phrase “teacher’s pay”
“Open your eyes to this stuff! You think she got them out of a teacher’s pay?” analysis
- vague noun “stuff” shows Stanley’s ignorant appreciation for Blanche’s belongings. He dismisses them, reflecting his limited knowledge, but also his avaricious nature perceiving her belongings as only having material value.
-imperative to Stella implies she has been ignorant and blinded by Blanche’s facade. “open your eyes” aligns both women with either active deception or low intelligence, revealing his misogyny.
-noun phrase “teacher’s pay” shows an acute understanding of the economic power of various groups in society. Stanley suggests that those on low pay should not have access to certain property, an idea that contradicts his own belief that he should be entitled to a share of Belle Reve, presenting him as hypocritical.
“_____ a dead boy _____”
“poems a dead boy wrote”
“poems a dead boy wrote” theme
marginalised figures, Blanche’s desire to stay in the past, creativity and culture was not valued in 1940s USA.
“poems a dead boy wrote” technical terms
noun “poems”, concrete noun “dead boy”, absolute adj “dead2 and plosive sounds
“poems a dead boy wrote” analysis
-the noun ‘poems’ aligns Allan with literature, creativity and culture – things that are no longer of any value in the New South that only revers money, capitalism and conformity.
-The poems also link Allan to qualities that would not have been considered hypermasculine after WW2 when masculinity was connected to physicality and heroism after the success of the war.
also poems are the theme of illusion and reality given that the poems written for Blanche were unlikely to be genuine declarations of love given Allan’s true sexuality.
-concrete noun “dead boy” presents Allan as a tragic figure - lost youth and potential
-the absolute nature of the adjective ‘dead’ with its hard plosive sounds at the beginning and end presents the finality of the loss of Blanche’s youth, innocence and optimism that were bound to Allan.
