1500011334759100972820April 28

1500011334759100972820April 28, 2018
7340036300April 28, 2018
150001133475837008949055Sienna Pennuto
SACE: 287923HSchool: 925
734008000Sienna Pennuto
SACE: 287923HSchool: 925
150001133475455004864735A Streetcar named desireText Analysis: Short Answer Responses
7340036300A Streetcar named desireText Analysis: Short Answer Responses
4500339725center290090900
Analyse the cause(s) of the animosity between Blanche and Stanley.
Conflict and animosity are critical themes in Williams’ ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. The Blanche and Stanley relationship drives these themes in a storyline that is principally built on conflicts based on gender, race, class and desires. This animosity develops rapidly and ultimately stems from socio-economic, cultural and personal differences. Initially, there is something of an equilibrium but consider the disruption to Stanley and Stella’s relationship with the arrival of Blanche. Blanche’s arrival and in particular her values, challenge Stanley and Stella’s way of life and more particularly Stanley’s power as a dominant male character. Williams’ sculpts the hostility using techniques such as colour imagery and alliteration. Blanche is described as an elite aristocratic, being “daintily dressed in a white suit… white gloves and hat” whilst Stanley is portrayed as “strongly, compactly built…roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes”. Through this metaphor and blue denim symbolism, Williams manufactures the acrimony between Stanley and Blanche by suggesting on many levels, that Stanley’s masculinity is threatened by Blanche’s strength of character and obvious revulsion and opposition to her surroundings. The “common as dirt” Stanley only has his male dominant physicality as a platform from which he can overcome Blanche and impart his authority. Descriptions that emphasise dress, upbringing and their discolouration of the perception and reality of human nature and ‘personal worth’ are also evident and serve to drive the basest of human qualities (i.e jealousy) that ultimately fuel character animosity. This use of technique is evident in the description of Stanley and Blanche’s views on marriage and the distorted male female gender posturing within what should be a loving union. Williams also encourages tension to permeate the story and encourage character animosity via the use of foreshadowing as he talks of ‘broken innocence’ in an “atmosphere of decay” whilst utilising motifs such as the “blue piano”. Additionally, the animosity between Blanche and Stanley is consistent with characters that are egocentric and selfish foils of one another in almost every way. This analysis beggars the question, do both characters simply externalise the animosity that they feel inwardly towards themselves?
To what extent do you agree that both Blanche and Stella are victims of their own self-deception?
Self-deception is defined as “the act of hiding the truth from yourself” and Williams artfully uses Stella and Blanche to explore and portray this theme, both via their actions towards themselves and others. Blanche in particular, lies about simple things such as her age and her drinking but it is her self-loathing that enables and wills her desire to be covered by a fine veil of self-deception. She is victim and knows it, but like a drug addict her deception is almost all consuming as she fears her insecurities and imperfections being discovered for what they (she) really are (is). For example, Blanche’s self-deception is symbolised clearly by a paper lantern as she “can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than a rude remark or a vulgar action”. It appears beautiful, almost radiantly so, but cannot remain in that state with any sense of longevity as its very existence is balanced on a knifes edge. The lantern is designed as a metaphor, as it is likely to burn and disintegrate at any moment, a thin layer of paper substituted for a thin layer of falsehoods that fail dismally in their representation of reality. As a victim, Blanche lies to others about her pitifully sad existence to convince herself that her false reality is ‘reality’ – the untruths, self-pity and self-loathing are evident everywhere. In Blanche’s skewed world, she “love(s) to be waited on” and would have us believe that she is “prim and proper” – alliteration that demonstrates obvious delusions of grandeur. As Blanches’ lies are uncovered in the play, her charade and thus her appearance as a victim become more visible. An example is, the powerful symbolism as Stella spills coke “right on (Blanche’s) pretty white skirt” staining what was once pure and good. Stella too is a victim of her inability to confront reality and favours the world viewed through rose coloured glasses. There is no meaningful acknowledgement of Stanley’s harm and she sees nothing wrong with worshipping “the ground he walks on!”. Metaphors such as “her eyes go blind with tenderness,” reveal the extent to which Stella is oblivious to her imperfect Stanley. Where Stella sees “drive” in Stanley, non-victims consider the terminology as a statement steeped in irony. Williams engages different characters to try shaking Stella out of her self-deception to no avail. Evidence is seen in statements telling Stella to “pull (herself) together and face the facts”. However, Stella ultimately remains a victim of her own self-deceit. She is delusional and that makes her vulnerable to both her own and the frailties of others such as Stanley
Analyse the ways in which Williams conveys to his audience the moral, or ethical lessons in A Streetcar Named Desire and discuss how these still have relevance in 2018.
According to White Ribbon Australia, “on average, one woman is killed every week by a current of former partner”. This statistic alone demonstrates the relevance of inequality and domestic violence in 2018. Williams conveys to his audience moral and ethical lessons through openly discussing once taboo topics. In the play, rape and domestic violence are two of the very key unmentionable themes discussed. Stanley is consistently portrayed with animalistic features such as having “the power and pride of a richly feathered male bird among hens”. The playwright skilfully uses personification to demonstrate the inequality and power that Stanley believes he holds over women. So much so, that “he sizes women up at a glance, with sexual classifications,” foreshadowing his vulgar actions towards Blanche. Williams conveys the “rough-house” with Blanche that occurs on Stanley’s terms, by using forceful terms such as “strikes”, and “protrudes”. The choice of emotive language demonstrates to the audience the moral and ethical issues in which exist in Stanley’s actions throughout the play but especially during the rape. The audience is made to feel uncomfortable and exhibit sympathy when “Stanley charges after Stella,” followed by “the sound of a blow”. The sound imagery used by the author further illustrates the degree to which domestic violence is not acceptable in any circumstances. In 1947 when Williams wrote the play, rape, domestic abuse, and gender inequality were very much relevant issues, however, they had yet to be discussed openly in society. Through the play, Williams strived to open conversation surrounding these issues and these topics are still very relevant in 2018.