streetcar named desire Flashcards

1
Q

Williams’ father

A

an alcoholic - seen in Stanley?
absent father

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Williams’ mother

A

Southern Belle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

mother and fathers’ relationship

A

unhappily married, she resented his drinking and affairs, believing it did not reflect on her well

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

relationship with sister (Rose)

A

very close - she was institutionalised for mental illness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Williams’ early life

A

severely ill, bedridden for 2 years - returned to school to be bullied and ostracised

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Williams’ sexuality

A

homosexual, was seen as mental illness at the time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

the setting

A

aftermath of civil war of Northern and Southern states

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

reason for racism

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

New Orleans

A

characterised by diversity and influx of immigrant population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

The American Dream

A

working class can achieve their goals through hard work, perseverance and individualism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Stanley and WWII

A

not huge focus in play, but wc had survived and reintegrated into society, so Stanley - hero

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Williams’ described his work as

A

“the one major theme for my work, which is the destructive power of society on the sensitive, non-conformist individual”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Williams often likened himself to which character?

A

Blanche

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

women in the war

A

women in workforce 27% to 37%, then pushed back to domestic spheres

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Post- Harlem Renaissance Era

A

after the point of African American cultural movement of the 1920s, inspired the civil rights movement
music, art, writers that inspred belonging and pride

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

links to religion

A

female subservience was linked to the Fundamentalism on which America was born

17
Q

reception of the play

A

undesirable in its crude portrayal of sex, desire and morality
admirable in its realistics

18
Q

audience reception to Stanley in scene 10

A

justified in his rape, due to her flirtatious advances - some audiences cheered

19
Q

Marxist reading of Stanley

A

his rape of Blanche was a wc championing over aristocracy

20
Q

Feminist reading

A

Blanche is asserting power through sexual dominance, the rape scene shows male dominance

21
Q

in the screen play, what happens after the rape scene?

A

Stella leaves Stanley

22
Q

changes made in the 1951 version

A

increased censorship, compared to 1993.
Alan wasn’t gay he was “weak” and couldn’t hold a job

23
Q

the polka music

A

when Allan died
represents the beginning of her decline and loss of innocence

24
Q

plastic theatre

A

coined by Williams
the exploitation of Expressionist style to mirror internal psyche

25
poetic realism
film movement, characters did not have perfect lives and dreamt of the lives that eluded them
26
Southern Gothic genre
often have grotesque characters or setting to mirror the derelict society examines deeply flawed characters, stemming from poverty, alienation and crime
27
Huey Long
corrupt politician of 1930s, popular with wc "every man is a king"
28
Allan Edgar Poe
used by Blanche to describe Stella's living situation- conveys decay, new vs old south his work usually examines madness, seen in blanche
29
Elia Kazan
the audience should sympathise with stanley
30
Almedia 2023 production
Allan appears as a ghost