Essay
Examine the significance of the unseen characters Allan Grey and Shep Huntleigh in A Streetcar Named Desire.
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- AQA
Essay notes on exam question from A StreetCar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.
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Examine the significance of the unseen characters Allan Grey and Shep Huntleigh in A StreetcarNamed Desire. (25 marks)
INTRODUCTION
There is much evidence to support the view that the unseen characters Allan Grey and Shep
Huntleigh are significant in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Allan Grey is B’s ex husband.
Shep is a product of her illusory, self-destructive world
Blanche epitomises Tennessee Williams himself in character form and she reflects Williams’
troubled personal life.
POINT 1
Allan Grey is very significant unseen character.
The only gay character, Allan Grey, doesn’t appear for long – is more of an omnipresent
character and part of Blanche’s back-story rather than an actual character.
J.M. Clum: “invisible homosexuals […] in Williams’ plays […] always die a grotesque death
[…] as a victim of rejection by those closest to them.”=Blanche betrays her loyalty to Allan by
exposing his homosexuality.
Blanche’s alcoholism and insecurities all stem from the death of her young husbands-"there
is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes. that suggests a
moth". Moth is a fragile and frivolous creature which can be readily dazzled into destruction.
Blanche is daintily dressed throughout the play and her appearance sets her apart 'from the
rest. Moths are quick to be attracted by the light source and then get burnt by the heat
around the light. So their destruction lies in their attraction which is irresistible to the moth.
Similarly for Blanche, her need for protection or shelter drives her to the Stanley’s of the
world who will ultimately destroy them.
[The music of polka rises up, faint in the distance and she continues to say...] “The boy dies-
the boy died. [she sinks back down] I’m afraid I’m-going to be sick!”[Her head falls on her
arms] Plastic theatre-The polka and the blue piano-serves as a reminder of B’s past always
playing In moments of high tension where she appears distressed-it links to the last time she
danced with her husband-ironic that polka is a very upbeat tune yet B can only associate it
with times of sadness and vulnerability.
AO3: After the end of a 14-year-long relationship with Frank Merlo, after which he died of
lung cancer, Williams became depressed and depended on drugs, leading to many
hospitalisation and commitments to mental health facilities
POINT 2
Shep Huntleigh is very significant unseen character.
This Texas oil millionaire Blanche used to date in college does not exist.
Blanche believes that she is to go on a Caribbean cruise with him and that he will save her
from the New Orleans trap in which she currently lives.
This man is a gentlemen as he respects me [Improvising feverishly] What he wants is my
companionship’=she is desperate.
Shep represents everything that Blanche wants and cannot have.
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