streetcar named desire Flashcards
Williams’ father
an alcoholic - seen in Stanley?
absent father
Williams’ mother
Southern Belle
mother and fathers’ relationship
unhappily married, she resented his drinking and affairs, believing it did not reflect on her well
relationship with sister (Rose)
very close - she was institutionalised for mental illness
Williams’ early life
severely ill, bedridden for 2 years - returned to school to be bullied and ostracised
Williams’ sexuality
homosexual, was seen as mental illness at the time
the setting
aftermath of civil war of Northern and Southern states
reason for racism
The South was anti- abolition of slavery, as they were the plantation foundations. The north won, but image of the “the south” was still very focussed on
New Orleans
characterised by diversity and influx of immigrant population
The American Dream
working class can achieve their goals through hard work, perseverance and individualism
Stanley and WWII
not huge focus in play, but wc had survived and reintegrated into society, so Stanley - hero
Williams’ described his work as
“the one major theme for my work, which is the destructive power of society on the sensitive, non-conformist individual”
Williams often likened himself to which character?
Blanche
women in the war
women in workforce 27% to 37%, then pushed back to domestic spheres
Post- Harlem Renaissance Era
after the point of African American cultural movement of the 1920s, inspired the civil rights movement
music, art, writers that inspred belonging and pride
