Scene 2 Analysis Flashcards
What does Blanche’s frequent baths symbolise?
her yearning for emotional rejuvenation and cleansing
Why does Stanley mistrust Blanche? Is he concerned with Blanche?
He sense that she has some power over Stella, but he wants to have Stella completely
He is not concerned with Blanche’s emotional fragility, he is only looking out for his own interests
What does Stanley’s blinded by flashy items show?
His lower-class origins all that glitters seems to be gold to his animalistic eye
What is shown in the scene where Stanley and Blanche flirt?
the red satin robe suggests sexuality
Blanche tries to flirt with Stanley by emphasising her femininity
Stanley continues to assert his aggressive physical dominance
Where does the power struggle sit? What do they struggle over?
between Blanche and Stanley when Stella tries to mediate between them
Stanley is suspicious of Blanche and insistent that she is hiding something from him
Blanche does not want her romantic vision of her past soiled by the present (Stanley contaminate the love letters from her husband)
Where does Blanche trace the loss of Belle Reve back to? And what does Stanley realise from this?
mismanaged sexual desire
that Blanche is as destitute as she pretends to be, he still have power over Stella
What makes Stella’s choice of Stanley’s world over the DuBois world concrete?
her pregnancy
What does the tamale vendor yelling “Red-hot!” symbolise?
the power of red-blooded physical world over lost dreams of the past
INSIDE VS OUTSIDE MOTIF
What does the motif of inside vs outside demonstrate? Give examples of this.
Home is not a refuge from the world, it is just as intense and restrictive
e.g. relationships are strained
Blanche is trying to seek a haven (sense of false sincerity and materialism)
INSIDE VS OUTSIDE MOTIF
How can outside been therefore?
Outside could be seen as even more positive than the house as the glimpse in Scene 1
INSIDE VS OUTSIDE MOTIF
What does the association with the outside with a wild and unknown environment lead to?
Give an example of dependency.
the idea of the need to depend upon another
Blanche’s dependency on Stella:
“Which way do we - go now - Stella?” - gaps within the speech helps to emphasise the uncertainty of the situation
“The blind are- leading the blind!” - uncertainty that she feels, stepping into the real world, out of her euphemistic ideals. Dash shows her hesitation and reluctant to admit she is uncertain of her surroundings
BATHING
What does bathing represent?
escaping reality, from harshness of reality
e.g. Blanche is unable to deal with life, drinking and dependence are her coping mechanism
a renewal of herself, as if to literally wash off the shock of Stella’s husband and abuse
BATHING
Why is ritual is a necessity?
rejuvenation and “feeling like a brand-new human being!”
the idea of scenting oneself could be interpreted as trying to hide a person’s true nature, distract herself and from her reality (“spraying” Stanley to distract him from the legal documents)
PAPERS
What does the Napoleonic Code show of Stanley?
his greed and suspicion
doesn’t want to be ‘swindled’ out of his money
PAPERS
What do papers show of Blanche?
her past as they proved ownership of “Belle Reve”
She might give these papers to Stanley with these papers to rid herself of her past
