Lecture notes
A Streetcar Named Desire Scene 10 notes
- Module
- A Streetcar Named Desire
- Institution
- OCR
A Streetcar Named Desire Scene 10 notes
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Scene 10:1. The main characters in the scene and what we learn about them in that scene:
Blanche - her mental state is deteriorating, she continues to drink (courage? Escaping reality?),
she continues to lie & convince herself that her lies are true. She’s mentally vulnerable & yearns
for a different reality/the past (dressing up). She’s obsessed w/ her appearance & can’t stand to
see herself aging.
Stanley - he knows how mentally unstable Blanche but enjoys frightening her (remaining in
power). For him, violence & sexual desire belong together. Stanley knows about Blanche’s lies
long before Stella & therefore feels like he is power over Blanche mentally & now, after this
scene, physically.
2. 3 significant things that happen in the scene:
Blanche dresses up & pretends she is in an alternate reality.
Blanche continues to lie (telegram from Shep Huntleigh & Mitch returning w/ roses) & Stanley
plays along.
Stanley reveals that he knows that Blanche is lying.
Blanche begins to see “lurid reflections” & hear “inhuman voices like cries in a jungle” while she
tries to phone Shep Huntleigh for help.
Stanley, wearing his silk pyjamas, stands in the way between Blanche & the doorway.
Blanche tries to defend herself against Stanley w/ a broken bottle but she gives up & Stanley
carries her to the bed.
3. The things that have significantly changed at the end of the scene from how they were at
the beginning:
The scene begins w/ Blanche pretending she is in an alternate reality where she wears fancy
dresses & is surrounded by “spectral admirers.” However, by the end Stanley has exposed her
lies & therefore broken down her imaginary world that she built up when she was on her own
drinking. Blanche, although alone, seems quite in control of her alternate reality but by the end
of the scene she is completely overpowered by Stanley. Stanley, at the beginning, seems
joyous about his baby coming & plays along w/ Blanche lies. By the end of the scene, he is far
more animalistic as he physically overpowers Blanche & it’s implied that he rapes Blanche
which is crossing a whole new line of cruelty. By Blanche acting out an alternate reality, she is
almost seen as hopeful that she still may be able to achieve this sort of lifestyle, but by the end,
she completely surrenders to Stanley (perhaps implying that she’s given up).
Lexical features:
- Terms of address: “Tiger” - Stanley addresses Blanche in animalistic terms, drawing her
under his domination & into his violent, physical world. Blanche doesn’t seem human &
is defending herself like prey against its predator. Ironically, adult tigers don’t have any
predators but are often victims of human hunters (Stanley).
- Sociolect & idiolect: “Shall we bury the hatchet and make it a loving-cup?” - Stanley
means that they should put their differences aside & be friends. “Hatchet” seems violent
& therefore Stanley could be implying that they should put the cruelty that they both wish
upon each other to one side (Stanley is just slightly drunk & on a high because he’s
about to be a father). “Loving-cup” implies that there is alcohol involved, something that
surrounds Stanley (male). Stanley doesn’t simply say, let's put our differences aside and
, be friends, which perhaps shows that he isn’t being sincere (playing along w/ Blanche’s
lies).
- Personal pronouns: “you got” - repeated use of second person pronouns & verbs shows
that Stanley is analysing Blanche when he arrives home & she’s dressed up. It seems
accusatory - Stanley is playing along w/ Blanche’s lies & therefore is making her seem
like she has the class & influence she believes she has. She’s “got” what she wants.
- Word classes: “drinking fairly steadily” - Blanche is drinking to escape her reality &
adverb “fairly” shows that Blanche isn’t fully in control w/ the rate she drinks at (partly).
Adverb “steadily” implies that Blanche does know how to somewhat pace herself so she
can happily stay in her alternate reality - shows that she may often use alcohol as a way
of escaping. “Flowery dresses thrown across it” - juxtaposition between the delicate
image of “flowery dresses” & dynamic past tense verb “thrown”. Idea that the dresses
have been “thrown” relates to scene 2 where Stanley “jerks out an armful of dresses”.
Blanche is now living so much in her alternate reality that she no longer sees her true
surroundings. “Thrown” implies desperation. “Mood of hysterical exhilaration” - adjective
“hysterical” has previously been used to describe Blanche throughout the play showing
that she has “hysterical outbursts” throughout the play. “Hysterical” shows a lack of
control over emotions (hysteria), Blanche is slowly losing control. Noun “exhilaration”
shows how much joy Blanche gets out of her alternate reality (she seems excited about
leaving Elysian Fields when, in reality, it’s her final stop in her journey). “Exhilaration”
also shows Blanche as acting somewhat manic in her “packing.” “soiled and crumpled
white satin evening gown and a pair of scuffed silver slippers.” - Previously when Stella
spilled soda on Blanche’s skirt, she cried out & hoped that it wouldn’t stain, now Blanche
doesn’t seem to care about the “soiled” dress as if, in her imaginary world, it is stain free.
This shows her deteriorating mental state as she cares less about reality & more about
her lies & facade. Adjective “crumpled” also shows that Blanche has little care about
reality & believes that what she tells herself is true. The alliteration of “scuffed silver
slippers” almost imitates the sound of Blanche herself scuffing the shoes. The adjective
“scuffed” again shows that Blanche is completely in her alternate reality where the
“admirers” will only see that her slippers are “silver.” “Tremblingly” - adverb implies that
Blanche knows what she is about to see in the mirror however she wants to believe in
the reality where she is younger & not staying at Elysian Fields. The trembling could also
be due to her drinking the alcohol. By Blanche looking in the mirror, she is facing reality
which causes her to “slam” the mirror down (destroying reality). “Grinning amiably” -
verb & adverb completely contrast w/ how Stanley has spoken & reacted to seeing
Blanche (perhaps because he is only thinking about the baby coming). “Grinning” seems
over exaggerated & may come across as Stanley showing his power as he is pleased &
happy w/ his reality however Blanche isn’t. “Old admirer of mine” & “old beau of mine” -
adjective “old” shows that, because the “admirer” has invited her to go away w/ him, that
Blanche believes that she is still of the status & age she was when she met Shep. Again,
Blanche is holding onto the past. “Admirer” implies that Blanche believes she was once
someone people looked up to & were in awe of (she believes that Shep still admires
her). “Of mine” seems possessive as if Shep belonged to the many that admired
Blanche. “Gold spouts out of the ground!” - unrealistic metaphor shows that Blanche
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