Streetcar Context Flashcards
What is the division between the cultures?
- the post-war, industrial world of the ‘New America’
- decaying, rural life of the Old South
What kind of old fashion ideals are connected to the Old South?
- hereditary
- race
- ancestry
- strict boundaries
What qualities are connected to the ‘Big Easy’ New Orleans?
- carefree
- fun-loving
- unconventional
- relaxed atmosphere of ethnic diversity
What points are connected to the post-war context?
- notion of the American Dream
- changing sense of national identity ie. multiculturalism, New Orleans is a microcosm for that change
Williams says he wrote “out of love for the South” - what is the divisive nature of the American South?
- vying between the ideals and then criticising for black history
What is a modern tragedy?
- focuses on ordinary people in tragic situations and domestic settings
Who is the tragic heroine, the antagonist and the catalyst of the play?
- Blanche is heroine
- Stanley is the malevolent force
- Stella is the catalyst whose decision has a direct impact on Blanche’s tragic fate - ultimately her tragic downfall
Suggest Blanche’s hamartia
- weakened mental state
- weak grip on reality
- inability to see her effect on others
- denial of her sexuality
How does Williams use the modern tragedy more innovatively?
- shows that Blanche manages to reach a ‘tragic dignity’
What is Blanche’s tragic downfall?
- that she will suffer a living death in a mental institution
While rejecting the ‘unity of time,’ what does Williams maintain?
- unity of place
- unity of action
What makes Streetcar a melodrama?
- its sensational elements
What is the effect of the 11 short scenes?
- more intense
What is the effect of the narrative gaps?
- story becomes more fragmented and audience is isolated from some of the most intense times
How is pathos created at the end?
- a restored illusion of calm returns and it ends on the poker game which indicates the darkness of the American dream
