Streetcar Literary Devices in Scenes 1-2 Setting: May-September (hottest time of the year) Post WWII New Orleans/French Quarter = seemingly beautiful, but a façade (Stella and Stanley s apartment) = appearance vs. reality Elysian Fields (symbol)- Greek myth, Elysian was a paradise that was free from cold, rain, or any misfortune. Blue Piano- suggests sadness, lost love The meat (symbol)- barbarian behavior of Stanley, and Stella s acceptance
Blanche s looks vs. her environment (theme) Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light (theme) Flaws Light/daylight - Truth Darkness - Covered up/secrets Whiskey- Blanche s escape Belle Reve- family s wealthy and historic home but is now abandoned Belle Reve papers/allan s letters = Blanche s past Losing Belle Reve - Blanche losing herself/breaking down Napoleonic Code- rights to inheritance and property (male dominance and old way of thinking)
Scene 3 Notes: The poker game is still underway when Blanche and Stella return from their night out. -Stanley snaps at Blanche, whacks Stella on the thigh, and orders the two women to leave the men to their game. -Stanley soon thereafter shouts after the women, You hens cut out that conversation in there. -When Blanche turns on the radio, Stanley demands that it be turned off. When she refuses, he does it himself. The poker players, like nervous animals before a storm, become restless with Stanley s antics. To which theme do all of these ideas connect? Answer = Victory of the Apes Describe your observation of Blanche with Mitch. What did you conclude?
-She knows just how to charm him: she talks of the beauty of sick people and she playfully slurs her words, pretending to be slightly drunk. -She tells him that Stella is her older sister (a lie), and that Stella s need for help has brought her to town (another lie). -Blanche asks Mitch to cover the naked light bulb with a colored paper lantern. Why does she do this? To which theme does this connect? Answer = to hide her real age and when you consider her other deceptions, perhaps even more than that. Theme= Illusion vs. Reality Light vs. dark will be a reoccurring symbol or MOTIF throughout the rest of the play that contribute to this theme. (*Side note a hidden allusion: The waltz, Wien, Wien, nur du allein, is a sentimental expression of love for old-time Vienna, the city of dreams. The song conjures up images of elegance and splendor that contrast with the run-down
apartment of the Kowalskis. Ironically, at the time A Streetcar Named Desire was written the beauty of Vienna existed only as a memory. The city lay in ruins from heavy bombing during the war. Watch for other discrepancies between illusion and reality in the play.) Stanley, in a rage, stalks into the room, grabs the radio and throws it out the window. Then he charges Stella and strikes her. Just as quickly as he charges Stella, he then emerges from the shower, crying like a vulnerable little boy, crying for his baby, Stella. (Read stage directions on pg. 59 then on pg. 60.) To which theme do these directions connect? Do you see any of our literal vs. figurative devices? Answer = Victory of the Apes and/or sexual dominance
Stanley being forced to shower = washing away the sins/rebirth now ashamed for his abusive behavior -We hear the Blue Piano which is a symbol for? Answer = sadness or lost love Scene 4 Notes: The next morning Stella, tired but evidently content after a night with Stanley, lies peacefully in bed. (To understand Stella, you might ask why she chooses to stay with her illtempered husband. Is she a model of broad-mindedness? Or is she a weakling? Or has she become a fatalist, that is, someone who just accepts her lot in life? As you ll see later, Stella s personality and values will help seal Blanche s fate.) Shep Huntleigh is a symbol for/connects to which theme?
Answer = Inventing a beautiful past Blanche begs Stella, Don t- don t hang back with the brutes! Blanche s speech illustrates one of the play/s major conflicts, a symbolic clash between civilization and barbarism. By the end of the scene, Stella s moment of decision has come. Will she be swayed by Blanche s eloquence? Stanley s grin of triumph, flashed at Blanche over Stella s shoulder, suggests it was really no contest. ANY connections between Naked Lunch and Streetcar?