SND - impulsive character Flashcards
how to write an introduction?
A Streetcar Named Desire’ is a play written by Tennessee Williams. It involves our protagonist Blanche, who visits her sister Stella and her new brother-in-law Stanley in New Orleans over the summer period.
Throughout the play we can see how impulsive Blanche in order to cover up the truth about her past back in Laurel and how this affects her actions today.
‘Blanche: you thought I’d been fired?
Stella: No, I thought you’d - resigned…
Blanche: I was so exhausted by all I’d been through my - nerves broke
Blanche ‘ nervously tamping cigarette’ ‘
standoffish tone - Blanche instantly jumps to conclusion about what Stella thought on her being fired - hints that Blanche is hiding something and does not want her sister to know the truth.
‘nervously’ - word choice - highlights that she is anxious about something and she is worried that whatever she is hiding is going to come out and be revealed.
Later on the play, Blanche has been exposed to the audience that she had an inappropriate relationship with a seventeen-year-old boy.
Theme of Truth vs Illusion - Blanche’s avoidant nature makes her unable to snap back intro reality and it makes her unable to come to terms with the things she has done wrong, so she will make up constant lies to forget about them and we see her do this regularly throughout the play.
Blanche: ‘I can’t stand a naked lightbulb anymore than I can stand a rude remark’
its clear blanche is in denial of her age - she cannot stand the truth.
‘naked lightbulb’ - word choice - suggests she refuses to to go anywhere brightly lit like sunlight in the afternoon, this highlights how stubborn she is.
compares it to something she has no tolerance for to emphasise further how she feels - highlights how delusional she is.
she is afraid of people seeing what she truly looks like.
Stage direction ‘He turns on the light… she cries out and covers her face’
Blanche’s real age is finally revealed to Mitch.
emphasises she has been caught out
‘covers her face’ suggests that she is ashamed and is trying to hide herself to avoid dealing with the consequences of avoiding the topic of what her real age is.
Theme of truth vs illusion - Blanche still believes that she is young and beautiful and still has that delicate innocence as a result of her traumatic past whereas in reality she has now aged and things are not the same as they once used to be for her.
(Without waiting for him to accept, she crosses quickly to him and presses her lips to his)
BLANCHE: “I’ve got to be good and keep my hands off children”
consent is not a major concern for Blanche
thinks about her own wants and needs and places them before anybody else’s
‘I’ve got to be good’ - indicates that this is not a first-time occurrence and instead confirms to the audience that she was indeed fired from her job for this very reason
there is a reason for attraction towards young men - she lost her husband at a youthful age and her being with people at around that age is somewhat comforting for her, bringing her back to that type of young love
helps convey that this could also be the reason that she likes to be perceived as young that way in her mind she is not doing anything wrong. Williams uses this to portray the theme of death versus desire; she craves what she misses from her dead husband and will knowingly do things that is inappropriate and wrong.
(Murmuring excitedly as if to a group of spectral admirers)
“spectral” - connotations of ghost like therefore implying that blanche is talking to a group of imaginary people whom she thinks are there watching her.
experiencing hallucinations which has perfectly conveyed her deteriorating mental state which has been declining since the start of the play
BLANCHE: “Western Union? Yes! — I want to — Take down this message!”
STANLEY: “You left th’ phone off th’ hook”
Stanley returns home while Stella is at the hospital in labour. He then decides that this is his ample opportunity to confront Blanche and get his own back. Blanche’s response however is panicked and impetuous
Blanche is so deluded into her own thoughts and the voices in her head to even realise that the ‘person’ she was talking to was not even on the other line.
Stanley then makes an impudent comment to her as a sort of mocking and winning way, knowing that he has caught Blanche out and he will have his revenge with her.
This conveys to the audience that Williams is exploring the theme of violence versus cruelty and truth versus illusion.
