Street Car Named Desire Flashcards
Tenessee Williams
-Expressionist
-Plastic Theatre
-Work was risqué for time period
-The play works with binary oposites
Themes
-Illussions v reality
-Old South v New South
-Death
-Sex/ desire
-Power
-Masculinity
Symbolism of coloured lights
-the intense sexual desires between Stanley and Stella
-fuels their relationship ultimately overshadowing the brutal truth of their relationship
Symbolism of light
-reality and clarity
-exposes individuals for who they are
- shining search light on truth (Alan Grey)
Symbolism of light shade
-Illusions and fantasy
-Blanches attempt to cover up her past in order to be attractive to the New South men
-Mitch puts shade on light bulb as an invitation from Blanche to be part of her fantasy world (scene 3)
-ultimately ripped off by Mitch (scene 8) and Stanley (scene 10) to represent the New south destroying the Old south
- a weak front
Symbolism of the bathtub and water?
-cleansing
-Blanche’s obsession with cleansing herself from her past and ‘sins’
-allows her to appear pure but ultimately she is not enough to clear away her impurities
-Scene 11 monologue > wants to submerge herself in the sea to rid of the past and trauma
Symbolism of trunk
-Scene 2
-Blanches personal space
-Violated by Stanley (foreshadows rape scene) representing Stanley’s dominance and control over Blanche
-contains costume jewellery and clothes which creates a fake illusion of sophistication and Southern charm
Symbolism of poker
-Scene 3
-continuous game mirrors contest between Blanche and Stanley throughout the play
-ultimately Stanley has the upper hand
-metaphor of laying cards out on the table symbolises truth and honesty in the play
-poker also represents the hyper masculinity and vulgarity of the male characters
Symbolism of music
-Varsouviana- Blanches trauma and past. Ultimately leads to her downfall/ non verbal communicator of her last
-Blues piano- Isolation and Blanche having no belonging in the New South
-Jungle sounds- Blanche ultimately becomes consumed by Stanley and the ‘apeish’ world he lives in
Symbolism of birds
-Parot (Scene 5 party) Blanche is unable to hide her promiscuous past
-Flamingo- exotic creature but can’t fly very far (Blanche grounded by New south)
Turns into hotel tarantula (disturbing truths)
Symbolism of animals
-Ape - how Blanche views the New South society, specifically Stan and his friends
-Pig - Vulgar mannerisms of New South. Arguably provokes Stan ‘Swine’
Use of symbolism and motifs
Used to reach subconscious of the audience for psychological effect
New South
- Post War
-Industrialisation and growing economy
-slavery abolished
-Male dominated society
-diversified/ immigration due to new opportunity
-Drinking and domestic violence was more prominent
-New businesses and industry’s thrived
Old South
-Built on exploitation and slavery
-Aristocrats and white upper class
-Chivalry and etiquette
-Gentlemen
-Neo Darwinism
-Ultimately consumed and destroyed by the New South society
Southern Belle
-idea that young white women grow and develop into beautiful women
-chivalrous, charismatic and courteous
-Blanche overturns expectations of Southern Belle through drinking and seeking others approval however still puts on facade to be attractive to the New South men (survival)
Gender
-Patriarchal society
-Women forced back to conventional domestic roles
-Women are submissive to the men
-Men are brutish and pride their physical characteristics over their intellectual abilities - describes as animalistic ‘apes’
-Domestic violence towards women possibly due to brutality and trauma of the war
desire, sex and death
-Morality of characters
-Destructive, damaging and all consuming
-Drives characters decisions and behaviours
-Stanley: Power
-Stella: Sex
-Blanche: men and sex
-Engine that drives the streetcar and drops Blanche off at the cemeteries therefore presenting how desire leads to one’s death and downfall
-Death and desire inextricably linked through play
-Blanche operates off of her perception as an object of male sexual desire
Morality
- Williams plays with the audiences judgement of the characters morals
-Plays with their sympathy by revealing Blanches history later on in the play
-Williams doesn’t create heroes or villains but rather characters who make choices in order to survive, wether that’s to help others or at the expense of others
-Blanche lies to protect herself for survival and do avoid exile ‘I tell what ought to be the truth’
-Williams creates non conformist characters who behave as a result of society
Elysian Fields
-Home of Stella, Stan, Eunice and Steve
-A mythological place from Greek mythology
-An afterlife for heroes and those who lived virtuous lives
-Foreshadows blanches looming fate. Journey to the place is an allegorical version of her life. She is in pursuit of her sexual desires which ultimately ends in her social death and expulsion.
-Blanche can not escape her fate
Purposes of the final scene (scene 11)
-epitomises whole play and over arching message > realism beats illusions
-‘resolves’ issues
-triumph of new south
-how non conformist individuals end up exiled and alienated because the society can’t cope with those who don’t fit in and diverge from the dominant values of the new south
