Violence

Question 1

what are the main points I want to make for the topic of violence?

Answer 1

1. ) The Poker night, and how it sets a precedent for the governing of violence throughout the subsequent narrative.
2. ) sex and violence
3. ) the alignment of violence to animalism and masculinity
4. ) deliberate violence and cruelty towards Blanche

5.) the prevalence of death and violence in Blanche’s past:
and the undercurrent of violence present throughout the drama as perpetuated through this

Question 2

what are the quotations I want to use for point 1?

Answer 2

Point 1= poker night as the scene in which violence is most prevalent, and how it sets a precedent for subsequent violence of the narrative.
- not only explicit in actions of characters, but also implicit in the setting and general attitudes the characters possess:
- ‘lurid nocturnal brilliance’
- ‘nigger’ -Context: use of expressionism of a character to represent a more general attitude or belief, Williams depicts lack of social decorum typical of divergence of south. Industrialisation in New South (new orleans) devoid of social class/ - Williams personally spent time there
- violence becomes explicit in torrential force:
- ‘ drunk drunk animal thing you’,
- ‘ shouted oath’, ‘tosses the radio’
- ‘ a blow is heard’
Context: relentlessness and lack of self- preservation- void of social propriety- divergence of attitudes- torrential force- individualism and relentless urbanisation of post WW2 America?

Question 3

What are the quotations for point 2?

Answer 3

Parity of sexuality with violence:
- ‘loud whack on the thigh’, ‘kind of thrilled by it’
- ‘ rushed around the place smashing lightbulbs’
- brute human passion directly contrasts Blanche’s romantic ideals of southern gentlemanliness and cultivation
- ‘rushed’ relentlessness perhaps represents torrential materialism and urbanisation of post-ww2 America
takes on a more sinister form:
- ‘ tongue protrudes between his teeth… (softly) maybe you wouldn’t be so bad to- interfere with.’

Question 4

what are the quotations for point 3?

Answer 4

• point 3= alignment of violence with animalism and the primitive:
• ‘forced..pinioned…nearly throws them off’
  (all male- pack mentality?)
  -=context: relentless force (no holding back) represents ruthlessness of post ww2 industrialism and ‘Rugged Individualism of America?
• ‘subhuman’
• use of meat to convey Stanley’s primitive quality- depicts him as violent and carnivorous ?
• ‘throws package of meat’ ‘spears the remaining pork chop’ which he eats with his fingers

Question 5

what are the quotations for point 3?

Answer 5

point 3 = deliberate violence and cruelty of Stanley towards Blanche:

• ’ deliberate cruelty is not forgivable’ - mirrors Williams own ideal that ‘you should never make fun of insanity. It’s worse than death’ = character as a mouthpiece for a more general message.
• ‘jerks open the small drawer… hurls the furs… grabs a fistful of costume jewellery’
• ’ its a bus ticket! Back to Laurel!… coughing, gagging noises are heard.’
• exploration of the effects of deliberate cruelty on the individual, in particular concerning mental health and stability.

Question 6

what are the quotations for point 4?

Answer 6

point 4= the recurrence of death and violence in Blanche’s past and the way that this reinforces the violence prevalent to the narrative:

• ’ I took the blows to my face and to my body. I saw! Saw,saw.’
• as with his contemporaries, Williams expressed an interest in the almost romantic nature of the decaying grandeur of the way of life to which Blanche Dubois and Belle Reve adhere- explores the effects of a loss of an aspect of culture and the deterioration of a way of life on the individual
• ‘a shot’ ‘stuck the revolver into his mouth… the back of his head had been blown away’
• Context: personal exploration of mental turmoil and self violence as well as examination of guilt?
• position of homosexuals in American society?