“The setting of New Orleans in “A Streetcar Named Desire” is fundamental to the plot. Through analysis of the dramatic methods used in the play, and drawing on relevant contextual information, show to what extent you agree with this statement.”
This is an essay for A Level English Litera...
Essay Plan- the “Old South” in “A Streetcar Named Desire”
Flashcards- “A Streetcar Named Desire” (Part 5)
Flashcards- “A Streetcar Named Desire” (Part 4)
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English Literature
Unit AS 1 - The Study of Drama
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The setting of New Orleans in “A Streetcar Named Desire” is fundamental to
the plot. Through analysis of the dramatic methods used in the play, and
drawing on relevant contextual information, show to what extent you agree
with this statement.
The setting of New Orleans is essential to the plot in “A Streetcar
Named Desire” as it directly contributes to the mental collapse of Blanche
throughout the play. Therefore, the city is a driving force for the events
described. Williams’ achieves this by portraying New Orleans as a hostile
environment to the audience.
From the opening scene, Williams foreshadows Blanche’s personal
destruction through the elements of New Orleans. This is seen by the
audience in Williams’ choice of names, such as “Elysian Fields”, which is an
allusion to the afterlife for heroes in Greek mythology. This implies to the
audience that New Orleans will destroy Blanche’s nobility, making it integral to
the plot.
Furthermore, Blanche was instructed to take “a streetcar named Desire,
then transfer to one called Cemeteries”. The symbolism demonstrates to the
audience how New Orleans will carry Blanche to her metaphoric death. This
sense is heightened as all of the names exist in real-world New Orleans,
garnered from Williams’ experience living in the city. This indicates to the
audience that New Orleans contributes to the collapse of Blanche’s identity.
New Orleans is the antithesis of Blanche’s life in Laurel, and is key in
demonstrating the collapse of her antebellum past. This is seen in “weathered
grey, with rickety outside stairs… atmosphere of decay”. Williams creates a
semantic field of degeneration, so as to allow New Orleans to embody the
destruction of Blanche’s “Old South”. This highlights the conflict between past
and future throughout the plot. The adjectives “weathered… rickety” imply to
the audience that New Orleans has surpassed the grandeur of its French
Colonial heritage, conveying how Southern society has abandoned Blanche’s
luxurious values. This is fundamental in foreshadowing how the city will strip
Blanche of her gentility. The setting is incongruous with Blanche, who looks
“as if she were arriving at a summer tea”. The simile emphasises how Blanche
is out of place in the industrial city to the audience, creating an inhospitable
setting which will contribute to her demise.
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