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Past and Present (Scene 1 (Blanche is living in the illusions of the past,…
Past and Present
Scene 1
Blanche is living in the illusions of the past, she believes that she is innocent when increasingly the audience realise she is in New Orleans escaping her sordid past, which is key theme in the play.
Blanche who represents Old South portrays herself as a "southern belle which stands for past American values of refinement, manners, aristocracy and high culture. However Stanley is grounded in the new naturalistic form and talks in colloquial language representing the new blue collar working class.His character embodies the post war values representing social change, power and patriarchy.
Blanche is quick to point fingers on Stella for not staying in Belle Reve and uses that to her advantage, she utilises her specific parts if her past to create a facade in front of others.
- Job as an English teacher but doesn't say that she was fired for having a sexual relationship with a student
Scene 2
Clashing of Blanche and Stanley begins, as both have different perspectives on life .The new world view the Stanley embodies can be summed up by the Poker game Scene in which he yells"come on!Are you in or out?" The violence of the scene and the metaphor of life as a competion goes a long way in presenting the rise of the working class and the corruption of the old ideas .
Stanley begins to fo through Blanches things , he already doesn't' trust her and begin s to question if she's telling the truth"he pulls open the wardrobe trunk standing in the middle of the room and jerks out an armful of dresses"
Stella"There's plenty of time to ask her questions
Stanley
In the past Blanche decided to follow her desires and to indulge in her promiscuous identity for pleasures, and for a realistic, working man like Stanley in 1940s America, Blanches flirtation were clearly sent to him, that she's a woman who committed taboos. Throughout the play he is pressured of the information he gathered about her past. This emphasis Idea that the past creates a person's future
Scene 3
The reality is further explored in this scene as Blanche masks her age in a shadow, and her own darkness in the light. She translates her name for Mitch as "white woods, like an orchard in spring", despite the fact that she is well past her springtime. She is still holding on to her past youth which she still think she has but knows is fading therefore prefers to stay and in the past and believe that her time is not yet over
Scene 9
The death of her late husband is constantly reminded to Blanche through the Varsouviana polka music which reminds her of her past, the polka music interferes and adds tension to the scene
Scene 4
Blanche explains why she dislikes Stanley, the present 'New America" her description of Stanley as animalistic.
Scene 5
Blanche's deceptions begin to crumble as Stanley begins to reveal her past. Blanches past has been foreshadowed since early in the play, but not we begin to see the truth in the background.
Scene 6
Blanch breaks character, her illusions and her past life is revealed to Mitch. The speech about Allan and the gunshot with the hallucinations which represents her guilt and obsession, and her inability to escape the past, the hallucination further emphasises the disintegration of Blanche's reality
Scene 7 and 8
Everyone now knows the truth about Blanche she can no longer hide in the past and the only thing that is left now is confrontation.
Scene 10
The present truth takes over,Stanleys truth no has all the power, its the end of Blanche she can no longer hide in her past
William through the structure of the play links her character with the past as gradually there is an increase in flashbacks
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