Streetcar Named Desire Quotes Flashcards
“You can almost feel the breath of the brown river”
Alliteration, Personnification, Motif.
“b” sound - Gunshot = bad neighborhood.
Heartbeat to show that the place is alive. Makes setting more interesting. Chaotic, Unpredictable atmosphere.
[Stanley Bellows] + [Stella talks mildly]
Juxtaposition.
Difference between masculinity and femininity. May foreshadow fight between the two.
“Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light”
Motif + Simile + Foreshadow.
Light represents truth. Interior and exterior appearance - beautiful on outside, ugly inside. Compared to moth to show how delicate she is and foreshadows her downfall at the end of the play.
“Yes. [Wanting to get rid of her]”
Repetition.
Shows she doesn’t care. She is trying to avoid questions, showing that she is hiding her past.
“The blind look goes out”
Metaphor.
Shows duality of Blanche as her real self comes out as she realises she’s alone.
“Her hands tightly clutching her purse as if she were quite cold.”
Simile.
She is being described as someone who is frail and cold-hearted.
“Only Poe”
Allusion.
Edgar Allen Poe is an author who writes about depression. Shows deep dark truth of Blanche.
“Stella you have a maid, don’t you?”
Rhetorical question.
Thinks she is in a higher class than Stella, hiding the truth that she has nowhere to stay and owns nothing.
“You’re just as plump as a partridge”
Simile.
Blanche is very vein, feeding her self-esteem by comparing someone to something lower than her.
“When he comes back I cry on his lap like a baby.”
Simile.
Shows Stella’s dependence on Stanley, foreshadow her choice between choosing Stanley’s story over Blanche’s at the end. Alternatively, foreshadows her pregnancy.
“I stayed and fought for it, I bled for it, almost died for it”
Hyperbole + Metaphor + Semantic Field.
Compares herself to a soldier. Insteading of facing consequences of her actions, she blames Stella for the loss of Belle Reves.
[She darts and hides behind the screen at the head of bed.]
Stage Direction + Foil Character.
Shows that she is intimidated by Stanley.
[She jumps up and kisses him which he accepts with lordly composure]
Stage Direction + Metaphor.
Social hierarchy between men and women. Stella appeals to his needs.
Compares Stanley to royalty which is ironic because he is the opposite.
“Admire her dress and tell her she’s looking wonderful. That’s important with Blanche. Her little weakness!”
Tragic Flaw.
Blanche’s weakness is her interior appearance being revealed. The truth. Results in her downfall later on in the play.
“Let me enlighten you on a point or two, baby.”
Characterization + Allusion.
Stanley is mansplaining, calling her a baby as if she doesn’t know anything. Also portrays her dependence on Stanley. Allusion to the Napoleonic code, which deprived women’s rights.
