Explore how Tennessee Williams uses symbols and expressionistic stage devices in the play.
Explore how Tennessee Williams uses symbols and expressionistic stage devices in the play. The play is rich in symbols, which serve as foreshadowing; hinting of things to come. These hints can be recognized from the beginning of the drama. The most obvious symbol used in A Streetcar Named Desire is its title and the actual reference, in the play, to the streetcars named Desire and Cemeteries. They are the means by which Blanche was brought to the home of Stanley and Stella and, as the play unfolds, we realize the names of the streetcars have a greater significance. Blanche's instructions were to "take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries." When Blanche first arrives she is possessed by a desire for love and understanding, but always in the background lurks the fear of death and destruction. If the one cannot be obtained, a transfer to the other will be the inevitable alternative. Blanche indicates this in her speech to Mitch in scene nine: "Death - I used to sit here and she used to sit over there and death was as close as you are ... We didn't dare even admit we had ever heard of it. The opposite is desire." A subtle use of this symbol makes scene six very poignant: Mitch and Blanche have just returned from the amusement park and she asks how he will get home - she says, "Is that streetcar named Desire still grinding along the tracks at this
Blanche is depicted as unstable from the beginning of the play. Discuss
Blanche is depicted as unstable from the beginning of the play. Discuss "A Streetcar Named Desire" was written by Tennessee Williams. The play is set in New Orleans were 'you are practically always just around the corner'. This means that it is a close knitted community and a cosmopolitan city 'where there is a relatively warm and easy intermingling of races'. Blanche is Stella's sister and she takes a Streetcar Named 'Desire' to one called 'Cemeteries' and 'ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields!'. This already gives us a foreshadowing of later events as she has been led by desire to her destruction or mental death. Blanche arrives and stays with her young sister, Stella. When we are first introduced to Blanche, she appears to be lost and out of place with the surroundings. She portrays vulnerability and people help her without her asking for help. On a first impression, she would appear innocent looking but as time goes on, we see that all is not as it is portrayed to be. She appears to be jumpy, nervous and fragile to small unnoticed sounds like when 'cat screeches'. We also get a glimpse of her true personality when she is alone, 'she pours a half tumbler of whiskey and tosses it down. She carefully replaces the bottle and washes out the tumbler at the sink'. The way she handles the drink gives us the impression that she is not new to the idea of drinking. When
In What ways is Sexuality portrayed as central to the conflicts of the individual-v-society in Ken Kesey's 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest' and Tennessee Williams 'A street car named desire'?
In What ways is Sexuality portrayed as central to the conflicts of the individual-v-society in Ken Kesey's 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest' and Tennessee Williams 'A street car named desire'? The capacity of sexual feelings within the individual is central to both the development and fundamental basis of any significant character. As observed in both 'One flew over the cuckoos nest' (AKA Cuckoo's nest) and 'A Street car named desire' (AKA. St. car) sexuality emerges as a principal device used in defining a character to the audience. By the reliance on and close association of the text with the stereotypical characters found within society, the characters presented to the audience can be made more identifiable with. The physical description of a character can therefore be said to be symbolic of its sexuality, "Broad across the jaw...shoulders and chest"1 and in likening a description to a stereotype "I fight and fuh..too much"2 this can be greater reinforced. As you can see the physical description of McMurphy is twinned with boastful memoirs of his masculinity via his sexual prowess. This also being evident in St. car with the introduction of the character Stanley Kowalski, "blood stained package"3 is symbolic of the instinctive masculine act of the hunter-gatherer, this in collaboration with the description that precedes it "Roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes"4
Many definitions of tragedy claim that at the end of the play positives have emerged. Is it possible to see anything positive in the ending of A Streetcar Named Desire?
Many definitions of tragedy claim that at the end of the play positives have emerged. Is it possible to see anything positive in the ending of A Streetcar Named Desire? Many definitions of a tragedy claim that by the end of the play positives have emerged, I'm going to investigate whether this can be said for A Streetcar named Desire. I want to look at the outcome of the play for each of the main characters and see who, if anyone came out on top. A Streetcar Named Desire is considered by many to be a modern tragedy, this genre differs from a Greek or Shakespearian tragedy in that it's protagonists are not usually great people from noble backgrounds who suffer an epic downfall that has drastic consequences but ordinary people, in domestic settings who's downfall although tragic for them has no real impact on anyone other than themselves and those close to them. Streetcar centres around three main characters Blanche, an aging southern belle, her sister Stella who has shook off her gentile, southern upbringing and settled into a simple life in run down New Orleans and Stanley Kowalski, Stella's husband, a man of Polish decent that seems to represent the 'new America'. Blanche disrupts the lives of the Kaplowski's by turning up to stay with them claiming she's been given leave from her teaching job in Laurel, where the sisters grew up. We later learn however this is not
How much is Desire a force for destruction in the play 'A Streetcar Named Desire'?
How much is Desire a force for destruction in the play 'A Streetcar Named Desire'? The play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' obviously has the theme of desire playing a key role in it, since the play is so named. However, due to it being only a title, it cannot distinguish the role of this emotion, the many different subtleties of this emotion, and even the diverse range of ways it can be taken as meaning. It is not merely an emotion, but a force of nature, even a rite of passage. Within the play itself, as this emotion runs through the various scenes, no one threatens it, or even particularly acknowledges its very existence; yet, if it is not mentioned, then it should be unable to affect the characters and the plot as a whole. The actual depiction and reality of desire has not changed over time, but reactions are very different to it in the play to both what they are now, and what they were thousands of years ago. In this period, men were seen as being superior to women, but women had their place in the social order nevertheless. Stanley talks about the Napoleonic code; this is still used today, but only in principle. This is because for the most part, women and men are their own separate entities and have their own lives. In this point of time, and primarily in this location (since one cannot definitively say this was the overall mood towards desire when one only reads about
With close reference to the language and action of the following passage, discuss Williams presentation of Blanches first appearance in the play.
Improvements Needed: I would like to improve the length of my essays, shorten my introduction and use far more quotations more effectively. With close reference to the language and action of the following passage, discuss Williams' presentation of Blanche's first appearance in the play. Introductions and first impressions play an important role in a novel. Streetcar Named Desire, the character of Blanche is the center of the play, in which all the problems that arise are as a result of Blanche's actions or simply her presence. Tennessee Williams conveys this in the beginning scene of the play, where Blanche is instantly distinguished as a stranger to the setting. She is seen being patronizing towards the other characters of the play, giving of the impression to the audience of a snobbish attitude. Blanche's character may just be the most interesting character, and arguably the main character, as we see her character evolve from the start due to the ways she finds ways to cover her true self, like by her clothing; she dresses as a noblewoman to come across as a classy Victorian lady, but this facade deteriorates significantly. When she enters, it is fairly easy to see that Blanche is new to the neighborhood, through her action of looking at "a slip of paper", which was an address. The numerous ornamental accessories ("necklace", "earrings of pearl") give the feeling that
"A Streetcar Named Desire" written in 1944 by Thomas Lanier Williams.
Marco Wu Class 10° ENGLISH ESSAY Throughout the play "A Streetcar Named Desire" written in 1944 by Thomas Lanier Williams, better known as Tennessee Williams; we can meet various social issues such as homosexuality, loneliness, psychiatric illness and the contrast between the New and the Old America. This are all social issues presented during the life of the author. The protagonist of the play have the characteristics of Tennessee Williams' family, Stanley is like his father, the one who decides everything, as a "KING". Meanwhile Blanche is a mix between his sisters Rose who was mentally ill and his mother who had hysterical attacks, and as we know the author of the play was homosexual who consumed his 1rst experience at age of 28 and declaring it openly during an interview, this connects directly to Blanches' husband who was Homo and killed himself. Once William said "Symbols are nothing but the natural speech of drama...the purest language of plays". In the whole play there is hidden meaning; we know that the initial title of the play was "the moth" which represents Blanche a fragile being, in literature the moth is the soul, therefore the entire play is a big allegory that talks about the way to heaven (Elysian Fields) of the soul. So the
"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
Williams is attributed with furthering "Domestic Realism" in Modern American Drama. Discuss his exploration of the emotional burdens of ordinary life within the domestic setting. Consider how the: Dialogue, setting and stage directions add to the effectiveness of the family dynamics exposed. Throughout the play of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" various members of the family are at loggerheads. However, this comes to a climax in this passage as Big Daddy's imminent death is confirmed and the question of the heir to the estate becomes an important issue. The Oxford Companion to American Literature describes the play as "depicting bitter, abnormal family tensions". These family tensions are clearly seen in this passage. Big Daddy is dying and the only characters who appear to be more concerned about his death than the estate are Big Mama and Maggie, "Precious Mommy. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry". Maggie is sorry for the death of Big Daddy and all the petty arguments surrounding it. "Big Daddy is not going to die" This denial of what the doctors have claimed as inevitable is evidence of her not wanting Big Daddy to die. Mae and Gooper, however, seem to be desperate to get rid of him. "Eventualities have to be considered and now's the time". This is inhumane of Gooper and he is wrong when he claims, "now's the time". Big Mama is still discovering Big Daddy is going to die and Gooper is
"Each of these two characters is fundamentally incomplete." Examine the contrasting personalities of Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski in the light of this comment.
Oct 13 Daniella De Silva "Each of these two characters is fundamentally incomplete." Examine the contrasting personalities of Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski in the light of this comment. To examine these characters, their backgrounds must first be uncovered. Blanche is a middle aged, former Southern Belle. She grew up in a dream world, on a beautiful country estate called Belle Reve. Her entire childhood was spent doing whatever it was that she pleased and being waited on by the family's servants. She was never forced to work hard, unlike Stanley. He grew up in America: More than likely right there in Elysian Fields. He too enjoyed his childhood, although they were very different from each other. Stanley has had to work hard all of his life for things that he wanted or cared about. These different upbringings and ideas on life create their personalities to clash continually. Blanche, although she portrays quite a self-controlled character, has endured some tough situations. She mentions in the play how while trying to hang on to Belle Reve and her childhood, she, "stayed and fought for it, bled for it, almost died for it." She also mentions her dead husband and how the music, especially the Varsouviana makes her reminisce on him and the homosexual situation. She tries to escape from the reality of these things by "misrepresenting things" to people
Explore What a Streetcar Named Desire has to Say About Male and Female Roles in the Society the Play Depicts?
Explore What a Streetcar Named Desire has to Say About Male and Female Roles in the Society the Play Depicts? Set in the years immediately following the Second World War, A Streetcar Named Desire displays the typical roles of both men and women within both home and life in general. With men portrayed as leaders of the households and women simply cleaning up after them. Through Tennessee William's usage of dialogue, specific descriptions of characters both in stage directions and from other characters and finally in lighting and music changes depicted in the stage directions, he illustrates to the reader of modern society how men and women coexisted in the mid 1900's in comparison with life today. It almost seen as if women are dependent on men financially. A fine example of this would be Blanche contacting Shep Huntleigh for financial support. Also women would look on men for emotional support, Blanche uses their praises where as Stella tends to use hers and Stanley's sexual activity as a form of emotional support. William's uses both Stella's and Blanches dependence on the men in their lives to expose the treatment of women and the fact that these women see male companionship as their only means to achieve happiness, Blanche for example thinks that her relationship with Mitch will allow her '...to rest! I want to breathe quietly again!' which shows the reader that
