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A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE - Coggle Diagram
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
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Structure
Greek tragedy with Scene 10 being the climax of the story, the falling action/dénouement of the play is where Blanche is sent off, ideally leaving the audience feeling a sense of cathartic.
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Conext
Southern-gothic genre, early 19th century. Has themes of desire, horror, grotesque characters.
Links to the the past of the south in terms of slavery, racism and the patriarchy. All within Blanches past.
"Blanche would find the "intermingling of races" quite alienating as she comes from he South where they utilized slavery.
Plastic theatre which Williams created to demonstrate how characters are feeling and to create feeling within the audience through lighting, objects, music.
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Southern Belle's are an archetype that are in Southern literature where the character presents themselves as innocent and kind.
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Shep Huntleigh is a Southern Gentleman, rich, cultured.
With WWII, many lives were lost through it and the Great Depression but the people who survived wanted to settle with the traditional family values with their family. This links to Stanley's values as he realises that Stella cannot leave him as she is pregnant with his child.
The play being originally called 'The Moth' highlights how Blanche's desire to be hidden is ironic if the title of the play was called that.
William's sister had a history of mental health with schizophrenia and had a lobotomy which Williams regretted doing. This history could have been inspiration for the protagonist.
Der Rosenkavalier was a play about a man called Octavian who falls in love with a girl called Sophie where they eventually get together at the end of the play.
Napoleonic code alludes to how everything that belongs to Stella belongs to Stanley, highlighting his deep-rooted desperation to control Stella.
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Motifs
Light is a motif in the play with Blanche, symbolising the truth, specifically her truth in terms of her past and what she did.
Bathing is a motif for essentially cleansing away of the sins. Blanche does this in a way of trying not to reveal her past with Alan Grey and what happened at the Flamingo Hotel.
The Blue Piano in the play represents the New Orleans as a town as it is there at most mournful times, for example when Blanche tells Stella about Belle reve, it gets louder.
"It's Only a Paper Moon" reveals Blanche's reliance on illusion to stay safe within New Orleans, essentially exposing her as the alien in New Orleans as the song "But it wouldn't be make-believe If you believe in me!".
The Varsouviana Polka is Blanche's past trying to catch up with her. The past with her now dead homosexual husband is being revealed.
Plastic Theatre
Use of the locomotive to symbolise the fast changes due to the American Civil War that changes the South so dramatically.
Use of the meat in scene 1 to represent the rawness of Stanley and Stella's relationship, highlighting how it is a symbol of their sex drive which keeps them together.
The use of Van Gogh's 'Night Café' demonstrates the clash of bright, contrasting colours to be symbolic and foreshadow the end of the scene with Stella being hit. The use of drunk people too alludes to Blanche and Stanley's drinking problem.
The paper lantern that Mitch puts up highlights how he is allowing Blanche to hide her true identity.
Characters
Blanche
'I, I, I took the blows in my face and my body' - Epizeuxis to express her isolation from Stella, alluding to her alienation from society created a sense of negative independence.
'Where were you! In your bed with you--Polack!' - Her racist undertones with the derogatory epithet 'Polack' highlight her Southern Values.
"she is shaking all over and panting for breath" - Highlights her desperation and need to calm down, links to Williams' father's alcohol abuse.
Stanley
"Stanley Kowalski-survivor of the stone age!" - Zoomorphic imagery, alludes to how he has not evolved as a person, ape-like.
"Tiger—tiger! Drop the bottle top! Drop it! We’ve had this date with each other from the beginning!" - Zoomorphic imagery, Blanche is Stanley's prey, it is like it was premeditated by Stanley.
Sense of destiny.
"Stell-lahhhh!.. I want my baby down here. Stella, Stella!" - Highlights his atavistic attitude towards Stella, almost like she is a piece of meat.
Stella
"her eyes are glistening with tears and her hair is loose about her shoulders." - Her tears representing her desperation for security of a homelife,
"low, animal noises" - zoomorphic auditory imagery highlighting the combination of Stanley's animalistic attributes and the "low" tone allude to Stella's innocence and contrasting submissive attitude to Stanley.
Mitch
"I have never known anyone like you." - Honest character, Blanche's outburst of laughter afterwards makes the audience feel sympathetic towards him as a character.
"I weigh two hundred and seven pounds and I’m six feet one and one half inches tall in my bare feet" - Demonstrates his comfortability with Blanche, yet, she does not return this gesture by hiding who she really is.
"You need somebody. And I need somebody, too. Could it be—you and me, Blanche?" - Almost a proposal type of question, how they are lost souls who have found one another.
"Dancing bear" a foil of Stanley, zoomorphism acting as a moment of comedic relief for the play.
"My Rosenkavalier" - Highlights Blanches idealization of them getting together as she hopes Mitch is her Octavian.
Eunice
"You whelp of a polack you!" - Derogatory epithet highlights her disgust in Stanley. Invective tone alludes to her desperation to get him away from Stella.
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Scenes Summaries
Scene 1 - Blanche's arrival, her racism towards Stanley highlighting her backwards ways. Death speach.
Scene 2 - Blanche is taking a bath while Stanley goes through her possessions. Stanley reveals that Stella is pregnant after finding out about no fortune.
Scene 3 - Men are playing poker, Mitch puts up the paper lantern for Blanche, Stella gets hit.
Scene 4 - Asking Shep Huntleigh for money, symbolic of a Southern Gentleman.
Scene 6 - Mitch and Blanche go back to Stella's, they talk about each other and how they need one another.
Scene 5 - Steve and Eunice get into a fight, Blanche is scared about the Shaw stuff.
Scene 7 - Stanley gives Stella a ticket back to Laurel, Stanley tells Stella of her past.
Scene 8 - At her birthday dinner, Blanche is upset about Mitch not coming and Stanley gets mad, giving her ticket back to Laurel.
Scene 9 - Mitch confronts Blanche and rips down her lantern and Blanche tells the truth but throws him out too.
Scene 10 - Stanley comes home drunk, they argue and fight, Stanley rapes her.
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