What do you believe Tennessee Williamsis saying about human sexuality in A Street Car Named Desire?

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Sarah Khalil

What do you believe Tennessee Williams is saying about human sexuality in A Street Car Named Desire?

   

   Tennessee Williams presents each character in his/her typical gender roles that the attitudes of post-war America recognised. Stanley’s family portrays a typical nuclear family that was common and ideal at the time. Stanley appears to be a fully masculine breadwinner who has power and control over his family. Williams uses Blanche and Stella's dependence on men to present and review the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South in post-war America.  

   Blanche and Stella see male companions as their only means to achieve happiness, and they depend on men for both their sustenance and sexual desires:

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“When he is away for a week I nearly go wild”

Stella appears to be fully dependant on her husband financially as she is a housewife and therefore relies on Stanley’s income as her means of living. When Blanche advises Stella that she could be happier without a physically abusive husband, Stella chooses to remain with Stanley. Stanley is the man she relies on, loves and strongly believes, as he is the only man between his friends who is “likely to get anywhere”. Stella knows Stanley is common and aggressive but she explains to her sister that she ...

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The essay has a good introduction, offering an insight into the line of argument. However, there is no conclusion to weave together the ideas! I feel this is possibly due to the lack of analysis meaning there is not much else to say. Some of the paragraphs have strong signposts, allowing for a focused argument. For example "Williams highlights the dependence of women on men for financial needs when Blanche contacts Shep Huntleigh as an alternative to Stanley for financial support." shows the ability to introduce the point and how it is relevant to the task. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are fine.

The analysis here is basic. There are a number of good points here, but there are few quotes to support them. Even when quotes are used there is little analysis of the language, imagery or craft used by Williams. This essay shows potential in the way it is able to comment on how sexuality is used, but I must stress how crucial analysis is before you make these judgements. Without a strong foundation of reasoning, essays won't receive top marks. I would be looking at the animalistic imagery used throughout, or the motif of the blue piano to denote sexuality. I liked the reference to contextual features, as this is one of the assessment objectives. I would note that these comments should be weaved into the argument, rather than being a bolt-on paragraph. However, what is shown here is a positively stark difference to an introductory paragraph which just gives useless background information.

This task is quite sophisticated for GCSE level, looking at the context of production and reception of sexuality. The knowledge shown here is great, and the argument built is strong. However, there isn't enough analysis within this essay as there isn't an engagement of how Williams presents sexuality in the play. If I were answering this question, I would be looking at how Blanche's sexuality becomes her hamartia, leading to her tragic downfall. This essay picks up upon Blanche's previous lover killing himself due to homosexuality, yet there is no discussion of why Williams chooses to use this. Further to this, I would be discussing how a contemporary audience would respond to this in relation to their sympathy towards Blanche.