Essay Plan- the “Old South” in “A Streetcar Named Desire”
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Course
Unit AS 1 - The Study of Drama
Institution
CCEA
Book
Tennessee Williams\'s A Streetcar Named Desire
This is a structure of how to plan and develop your essay points, outlining a seven-point structure for your argument. This structure can be applied to any literature essay.
In the play (“A Streetcar Named Desire”), the Old South is more appealing than the New World of New Orleans.
Happ...
In the play (“A Streetcar Named Desire”), the Old South is more
appealing than the New World of New Orleans.
Williams’ use of Blanche’s memories of grandeur provides an idealistic
recount of the Old South, ignoring the period’s flaws to instead portray a
nostalgic image of its sophistication and culture.
After seeing the violence of New Orleans’ “poker night”, Blanche is
pushed to further romanticise the “poetry and music… new light” of the Old
South.
Blanche recalls that “kinds of new light have come into the world… That
we have got to make grow! And cling to, and hold as our flag!”. Williams
employs the metaphor of light to associate enlightenment with the southern
culture mourned by Blanche, portraying the Old South as a symbol of
sophistication. Additionally, Williams conveys the passion of the monologue
through exclamatory language.
Ultimately, the “New World” of New Orleans crushes the culture which
Blanche attempts to transplant, signified by the “perpetual blue piano” which
taints all aspects of the city.
Stanley enters Elysian Fields, “leaving the door open on the perpetual
blue piano”. The leitmotif serves as a symbol of New Orleans, reminding the
audience of the birth of modern jazz. Stanley invites this new world to invade
Blanche’s haven.
Having grown up in the American South, Williams had a deep
appreciation for the area’s unique culture. Therefore, he resented the
destruction of the art of the South as a result of the onslaught of
industrialisation, leading Williams to mourn the South of his youth through
Blanche.
By demonstrating Blanche’s yearning for her past, Williams portrays the
South as a desirable, appealing place, as opposed to the invasive and hostile
setting of New Orleans. However her unreliable romanticisation provokes
doubt in modern audiences educated in the racist, misogynistic core of
Southern America.
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