Essay Presentations 19/11/15

Essays

Setting:

• It was set in 1947, the same year it was written.
• The environment is very busy and there is lots of background noise.
• It is set mainly in the house which makes it very intimate and dark,oppressive.
• This means that when the tension builds, there is nowhere for it go.
• This is reflected in the rape scene where Blanche cannot escape Stanley because of the tight space.
• It also symbolises entrapment in the domestic sphere.
• The summer is very hot and creates a suffocating atmosphere.
• It helps create a sexual tension between Stanley and Blanche because Stanley takes his top off.
• Also, the heat has a connotation to animals in heat.

Lights, Music, Action:

• Elysian Fields- Heaven in Greek mythology,
• Streetcar Named Desire- Blanche's desire was what drove her to Elysian Fields in the first place which inevitably destroys her,
• External music- Blues music which was modern at the time.
• Second music- Polka European music (it is old fashioned and only Blanche hears it).
• Polka music is what Blanche dances to with her husband before he shoots himself- which is where she loses her innocence.
• Sound of trains- allows Stanley to eavesdrop on Stella and Blanche.
• It is also heard when Stanley rapes Blanche and is then overwhelmed by blues music.
• Bright light- antithesis of fantasy
• Blanche uses light as a metaphor when Alan Gray killed himself
• Blanche has a white dress at the start but in Scene Five coke is spilled over her skirt and it is crumpled. This symbolises how her past has caught up to her and her innocence is ruined.

Gender, Language and Culture:

• Sociolinguistics theory in 1970's.
• Expletives- Blanche avoids them "What in Heaven are you thinking of?".
• Stanley drops his pleases and thank yous.
• Empty adjectives- Blanche uses them "That's a pretty, pretty little case there".
• Lexical hedges- Blanche uses a lot of hedges which shows she is uncertain but also does not want the blame to be linked back to her. "I guess that is what it is meant to be in love" and "I guess you're hoping I'll say I'll put up at a hotel".
• Super polite forms- "If you'll excuse me I'm just about to drop" and at the end "Please don't get up I'm just passing through".
• Blanche and Stanley are trapped in the gender stereotypes thrust upon them and what language they are supposed to use.
• Blanche is described as wearing a white dress while Stanley wears bold colours.
• In the play, lower class people are represented by bold colours whereas higher class is represented by dull colours.
• Blanche says she likes bold colours which suggests she is either growing more accustomed to a lower class environment or she is just pretending to be