How does Stanley's attitude towards Blanche change in Scene Two and what specific things evoke that change?
In Scene One, when Stanley first meets Blanche, he is very casual with her and engages in small talk. Although they have just met, he soon changes in front of her, which offends her modesty. He also asks about Blanche's previous husband, which obviously upsets her. The audience would sympathize towards Stanley because he is more down to earth and relatable. Blanche seems very self centered and stuck up. In Scene Two, Stanley learns about Blanche's lost estate, which leads him to think that her emotional instability is fake, and is just a cover. He is very angry and digs through Blanche's suitcase which shows he isn't respectful. He calls her out for it and through their conversations, Blanche quickly becomes more open and comfortable with Stanley- she even asks him to button her dress, but he denies. It becomes obvious that Stanley is unintelligent, disrespectful, and misogynic. They begin to argue very intensely and they are both rude and brutally honest to each other. Stanley doesn't like Blanche because he thinks that she is dishonest and that she thinks she's better than everyone else. Stanley reveals that he thinks he owns Stella, which shows what type of relationship they really have.
What is your impression of Stanley as you have observed him in Scene Two? Stella? Blanche?
Stanley first seems to be down to earth and loyal, but also brutally honest, disrespectful, and crude. He seems to only care about sex and power, and although he ostracizes Blanche for "being better than everyone", she seems to think this about himself. He thinks that he has total power over his wife along with the right to be rude to everyone. Stella seems very sweet, innocent, and loyal. She wants to help her sister, and she is very in love with Stanley. She seems to pity Blanche, and also seems very unaware of reality. Blanche appears to be very fake and wants other people to feel sorry for her. She lies about her drinking and tries to hide it from everyone. She seems insecure, and feels like she needs to please others, especially men. This is shown by her promiscuous attitude, and her nervousness about impressing Stanley when they meet.
In Scene One, when Stanley first meets Blanche, he is very casual with her and engages in small talk. Although they have just met, he soon changes in front of her, which offends her modesty. He also asks about Blanche's previous husband, which obviously upsets her. The audience would sympathize towards Stanley because he is more down to earth and relatable. Blanche seems very self centered and stuck up. In Scene Two, Stanley learns about Blanche's lost estate, which leads him to think that her emotional instability is fake, and is just a cover. He is very angry and digs through Blanche's suitcase which shows he isn't respectful. He calls her out for it and through their conversations, Blanche quickly becomes more open and comfortable with Stanley- she even asks him to button her dress, but he denies. It becomes obvious that Stanley is unintelligent, disrespectful, and misogynic. They begin to argue very intensely and they are both rude and brutally honest to each other. Stanley doesn't like Blanche because he thinks that she is dishonest and that she thinks she's better than everyone else. Stanley reveals that he thinks he owns Stella, which shows what type of relationship they really have.
What is your impression of Stanley as you have observed him in Scene Two? Stella? Blanche?
Stanley first seems to be down to earth and loyal, but also brutally honest, disrespectful, and crude. He seems to only care about sex and power, and although he ostracizes Blanche for "being better than everyone", she seems to think this about himself. He thinks that he has total power over his wife along with the right to be rude to everyone. Stella seems very sweet, innocent, and loyal. She wants to help her sister, and she is very in love with Stanley. She seems to pity Blanche, and also seems very unaware of reality. Blanche appears to be very fake and wants other people to feel sorry for her. She lies about her drinking and tries to hide it from everyone. She seems insecure, and feels like she needs to please others, especially men. This is shown by her promiscuous attitude, and her nervousness about impressing Stanley when they meet.
Recount your impression of the relationship that exists between Stella and Blanche at the end of Scene Four; also, discuss how one might characterize the relationship between Stella and Stanley.
Scene Three significantly changes the tone of Stella and Stanley's relationship, and shows Stanley’s true identity as a villain. Their relationship seems very primal and only on the surface. Stella calls him an “animal thing,” and other descriptions of their interactions are similar to animals as well. Stanley's abuse shows that Blanche has Stella's best interests in mind, although Blanche shows no initiative to step in. In Scene Four, Blanche is sickened by Stella's 'thrill' and added desire created by Stanley's violence. She tries to tell Stella that a marriage cannot live off of sheer desire, which continues into her metaphor about the streetcar. Blanche cares about Stella's happiness and safety and she wants what is best for her. This conversation seems to be Blanche trying to help Stella, but it also seems like Blanche is talking about herself and trying to figure out herself as well. Stanley's $10 apology to Stella continues to show that their relationship is very shallow and not emotional. Stanley doesn't actually care about Stella, and she does a good job of convincing herself and those around her that he does.
Describe Blanche's relationship with Stanley in Scene Five. How does this latest conflict end? What seems to be the course of their conflicts? What is the true cause of this conflict?
Stanley and Blanche's relationship continue to worsen in scene 5. Stanley gains more information about Blanche through town gossip, which upsets Blanche. Blanche clearly doesn't want information revealed about her past. The course of their conflict seems to be about Stanley's dislike towards Blanche, and about Stanley wanting to win Stella completely. The true cause of this conflict stems from class differences, and how Stanley feels below Blanche. Stanley is angered at how simplistic and average he is seen by Blanche and wants to prove that he has the power to destroy her in order to restore his pride. Blanche is disgusted by his personality and how he treats everyone, especially Stella.
In Scene Six Blanch describes her experience with love in terms of light imagery, yet Scene Six takes place mostly in the dark. What is the effect of this on the viewer? Why might Blanche prefer dim light? Where else have references to light and dark appeared in the play?
The darkness illustrates how depressing and mysterious Blanche's past is, especially her love life. It keeps things hidden, just as Blanche keeps many secrets. Blanche avoids the light, just as she avoids reality and truth. She is embarrassed about her appearance, particularly her age, so she avoids people seeing her clearly. She puts on a show in order to disguise her true past and self, which is symbolized by her paper lanterns covering the light. The light is referenced when she tells Mitch her story of Alan. She described her love towards Alan as a "blinding light." Since his death, she only surrounds herself with dim lights and candles. The darkness hides her from facing reality.
Discuss the shifting dynamics in the play at this point.
The play at this point shows the characters starting to side against Blanche. Stella chooses Stanley over Blanche, even thought she is her sister. Stanley becomes harsher than ever, and it becomes obvious that he is not only trying to get rid of Blanche, but to destroy her. Once the truth about Blanche is revealed to Mitch, he loses interest and no longer wants to marry her. This causes him to side with Stanley as well. Blanche's future becomes very dim.
What does Blanche mean when she says "I don't want realism. I want magic. I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don't tell truth, I tell what ought to be truth."
This quote puts in words the symbolism of light and darkness in the play. Blanche avoids reality because of the pain and suffering created by her tragic past. She creates her own allusion of reality in order to escape this. Life has not treated Blanche well, so she makes believe and tries to cover her pain with a vivacious mask. She makes up lies in attempt to bring others happiness, although this usually doesn't end up being successful.
How might someone explain Blanche's many "intimacies with strangers"?
Blanche's intimacies with strangers are her attempt to fill the emptiness left in her from Alan's death. She always felt somewhat responsible for his death, which lead to her lonely life of sadness. She tried to heal this by her flings with many different men, but none of them fulfilled how Alan made her feel. She was never able to recreate these feelings, but that is also because Blanche never gave anyone a fair chance; it was always just a game to her.
How Significant and symbolic is the appearance of the Mexican woman selling flowers for the dead in Scene Nine?
In this play, flowers symbolize death and desire, two key themes. Desire is shown when Mitch brings Blanche roses. He is trying to impress and win over her heart. The flowers symbolize death in the scene with the Mexican woman. Blanche sees the woman right after Mitch finds out the truth about her past and ends their relationship. Blanche's language becomes mumbled and doesn't make sense, just as the Mexican woman's foreign language. This shows that Blanche is no longer understood, and is basically a foreigner; not belonging in Stella's world. The flowers for the dead symbolically foreshadow Blanche's death. Blanche knows that there is no longer any hope and that it is all over.
Final essay:
https://docs.google.com/a/ecasd.us/document/d/1RrQRLAUSZgV3S9oRHD_-quQ4UQlMpVPqLYkeV65HKYg/edit
Scene Three significantly changes the tone of Stella and Stanley's relationship, and shows Stanley’s true identity as a villain. Their relationship seems very primal and only on the surface. Stella calls him an “animal thing,” and other descriptions of their interactions are similar to animals as well. Stanley's abuse shows that Blanche has Stella's best interests in mind, although Blanche shows no initiative to step in. In Scene Four, Blanche is sickened by Stella's 'thrill' and added desire created by Stanley's violence. She tries to tell Stella that a marriage cannot live off of sheer desire, which continues into her metaphor about the streetcar. Blanche cares about Stella's happiness and safety and she wants what is best for her. This conversation seems to be Blanche trying to help Stella, but it also seems like Blanche is talking about herself and trying to figure out herself as well. Stanley's $10 apology to Stella continues to show that their relationship is very shallow and not emotional. Stanley doesn't actually care about Stella, and she does a good job of convincing herself and those around her that he does.
Describe Blanche's relationship with Stanley in Scene Five. How does this latest conflict end? What seems to be the course of their conflicts? What is the true cause of this conflict?
Stanley and Blanche's relationship continue to worsen in scene 5. Stanley gains more information about Blanche through town gossip, which upsets Blanche. Blanche clearly doesn't want information revealed about her past. The course of their conflict seems to be about Stanley's dislike towards Blanche, and about Stanley wanting to win Stella completely. The true cause of this conflict stems from class differences, and how Stanley feels below Blanche. Stanley is angered at how simplistic and average he is seen by Blanche and wants to prove that he has the power to destroy her in order to restore his pride. Blanche is disgusted by his personality and how he treats everyone, especially Stella.
In Scene Six Blanch describes her experience with love in terms of light imagery, yet Scene Six takes place mostly in the dark. What is the effect of this on the viewer? Why might Blanche prefer dim light? Where else have references to light and dark appeared in the play?
The darkness illustrates how depressing and mysterious Blanche's past is, especially her love life. It keeps things hidden, just as Blanche keeps many secrets. Blanche avoids the light, just as she avoids reality and truth. She is embarrassed about her appearance, particularly her age, so she avoids people seeing her clearly. She puts on a show in order to disguise her true past and self, which is symbolized by her paper lanterns covering the light. The light is referenced when she tells Mitch her story of Alan. She described her love towards Alan as a "blinding light." Since his death, she only surrounds herself with dim lights and candles. The darkness hides her from facing reality.
Discuss the shifting dynamics in the play at this point.
The play at this point shows the characters starting to side against Blanche. Stella chooses Stanley over Blanche, even thought she is her sister. Stanley becomes harsher than ever, and it becomes obvious that he is not only trying to get rid of Blanche, but to destroy her. Once the truth about Blanche is revealed to Mitch, he loses interest and no longer wants to marry her. This causes him to side with Stanley as well. Blanche's future becomes very dim.
What does Blanche mean when she says "I don't want realism. I want magic. I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don't tell truth, I tell what ought to be truth."
This quote puts in words the symbolism of light and darkness in the play. Blanche avoids reality because of the pain and suffering created by her tragic past. She creates her own allusion of reality in order to escape this. Life has not treated Blanche well, so she makes believe and tries to cover her pain with a vivacious mask. She makes up lies in attempt to bring others happiness, although this usually doesn't end up being successful.
How might someone explain Blanche's many "intimacies with strangers"?
Blanche's intimacies with strangers are her attempt to fill the emptiness left in her from Alan's death. She always felt somewhat responsible for his death, which lead to her lonely life of sadness. She tried to heal this by her flings with many different men, but none of them fulfilled how Alan made her feel. She was never able to recreate these feelings, but that is also because Blanche never gave anyone a fair chance; it was always just a game to her.
How Significant and symbolic is the appearance of the Mexican woman selling flowers for the dead in Scene Nine?
In this play, flowers symbolize death and desire, two key themes. Desire is shown when Mitch brings Blanche roses. He is trying to impress and win over her heart. The flowers symbolize death in the scene with the Mexican woman. Blanche sees the woman right after Mitch finds out the truth about her past and ends their relationship. Blanche's language becomes mumbled and doesn't make sense, just as the Mexican woman's foreign language. This shows that Blanche is no longer understood, and is basically a foreigner; not belonging in Stella's world. The flowers for the dead symbolically foreshadow Blanche's death. Blanche knows that there is no longer any hope and that it is all over.
Final essay:
https://docs.google.com/a/ecasd.us/document/d/1RrQRLAUSZgV3S9oRHD_-quQ4UQlMpVPqLYkeV65HKYg/edit