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“A Streetcar Named Desire” By Tennessee Williams

“A Streetcar Named Desire” By Tennessee Williams . “I don't tell what's true, I tell what ought to be true.” -Blanche. Tennessee Williams ( Thomas Lanier Williams) first published “A Streetcar” in 1947.

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“A Streetcar Named Desire” By Tennessee Williams

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  1. “A Streetcar Named Desire”By Tennessee Williams “I don't tell what's true, I tell what ought to be true.” -Blanche

  2. Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams) first published “A Streetcar” in 1947. • Tragedy: depicts the downfall of a hero or heroine. Tragic plots tend to stress order and process. Stresses what is past and what is real. • Set in New Orleans in the French Quarter. • Williams won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 for this play. • Made into a movie in 1951. Background:

  3. Lost her fortune and her status in society. • She lost her young husband to suicide and has a bad drinking problem. • Panics about her fading beauty and is basically a dried up Southern belle. • Blanche depends on male sexual admiration for her sense of self-esteem. • Trying to find a husband to fix her reputation • Lies to cover up her unhappiness • Bathes to “cleanse” her body and her past Blanche

  4. He is from Poland and claims he is more American than Blanche because she represents old America and not the “new” America populated and maintained by immigrants. • He hates Blanche because he sees immediately that she is lying to make it seem like she is better than everyone else. • He also hates Blanche because she represents upper class while he has been lower class all his life. • Appears to be a family man and seems to love Stella very much, until he beats her. Stanley

  5. Acts as a foil to Blanche and Stanley and also tries to keep the balance between the two. • Stanley and Blanche are almost battling for her soul and loyalty. • Stella loves Stanley even though he beats her. Their relationship relies on violence to maintain the intense physical attraction. • Stella loves Blanche even though she causes her relationship with Stanley to waver and brings unwanted “baggage’ to her life. Stella

  6. “They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and transfer to one called Cemeteries, and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields!” – Blanche • “Whoever you are…I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” – Blanche • “I am not a Polack. People from Poland are Poles, not Polacks. But what I am is a one hundred percent American, born and raised in the greatest country on Earth and proud as hell of it, so don’t ever call me a Polack.” – Stanley Quotes!

  7. Fantasy can never overcome reality. • Old vs. new • Refinement vs. animalism • Relationship between sex and death • The fallacy of a male-dominated society Theme(s):

  8. Focus on: • Blanche’s lies and her dependence on men • how Blanche manipulates everyone around her to believe what she wants them to believe • the outward appearance (like Blanche) vs. the true nature of a character (like Stanley) • the difference between social classes • gender roles…how should men and women “behave”?

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