by Richard Francais

Blanche's Long Baths

nkelley9621 — 2015-03-25 18:05:16 UTC

Blanche takes long bathes because she says it calms her nerves. The purpose of a bath is to cleanse you, so my take on why her baths are so long might be that she is trying to cleanse her mind and body emotional and not just physically. Blanche has a dark past and her only way to live with it is to constantly bathe and keep herself looking as prestine as possible.

The naked light bulb

nkelley9621 — 2015-03-25 18:10:03 UTC

Blanche is so afraid of naked light because she feel that it will reveal who she really is as well as her age. She is very self conscious about her looks and has no desire for anyone to know how worn out she is.

The Blue Piano

nkelley9621 — 2015-03-30 17:16:02 UTC

The blue piano in the play Streetcar named desire represents the loneliness and isolation of the characters. It just so happens to play whenever something dramatic happens. "This 'blue piano' expresses the spirit of the life which goes on here." (Pg 3).

Poker Games

RichardFrancais — 2015-03-30 17:17:40 UTC

The poker games represent masculinity for the men as well as it shows them in their most primitive state. In scene 3, Mitch states that "Poker shouldn't be played in a house with women." This is because he understands that men don't act how they should and things always take a wrong turn. During the first poker game, Stanley hits Stella; during the second poker game Blanche is taken away by a matron and doctor to a mental institute.

Blanche's Wardrobe

RichardFrancais — 2015-03-30 17:21:49 UTC

Blanche's wardrobe plays a significant role in her characterization in the play. Everything she wears is meticulously planned and ornate, a sign that she is trying very hard to give an appearance of royalty in comparison to Stanley. In addition,

Varsouviana

RichardFrancais — 2015-03-30 17:25:43 UTC

The Varsouviana is the last song Blanche and her husband danced to before her husband killed himself. Whenever this song plays during the play, Blanche feels remorse for her husband's suicide because she wasn't supportive of his life choices. The Varsouviana plays faintly throughout the entirety of scene Eleven, representing deep retrospective thought that someone has before they pass away.

Paper Lantern

RichardFrancais — 2015-03-30 17:27:23 UTC

Blanche uses the paper lantern to mask the lamp in Stella's flat. Blanche has shown throughout the play that she is fearful of direct light because she worries that everyone will see her true age and wear.

Polka Music

nkelley9621 — 2015-03-30 17:48:17 UTC

In A Streetcar named Desire the Polka music that Blanche hears is a result of her slowly losing her sanity. Whenever the music is playing, it makes her think back to her young husband who shot himself in the head. Her replaying of this event loosens her grip of reality and in the process slowly drives her mad.

The Locomotive

nkelley9621 — 2015-03-30 17:50:23 UTC

In scene 4 of A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche and Stella are having a conversation of the following night when Stanley enters the house. He was able to go inside without being heard due to the loud noise of the train outside. He fails to announce himself and overhears Blanche's spiel on how he and his friends are animals and possible even "sub-human". After hearing this, another train passes and Stanley walks outside until it is gone. Once the train is out of sight, he re-enters the house and announces his presence. He goes to hug his wife and grins at Blanche knowing what she had said. If it weren't for the trains, Stanley wouldn't have been able to overhear the conversation between Blanche and Stella.

Lurid shapes and shadows on the wall

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-01 18:16:27 UTC

When the phrase, "Lurid reflections appear on the wall... inhuman voices like cries from the jungle" is in the stage directions, it is typically accompanied by a significant event. It is mentioned twice in the play, both of which times are a result of Blanche's slipping out of reality. The first time is right before Stanley has his way with her; she is speaking on the phone and is scared out of her mind. The second time is when Blanche realizes who's at the door in the last scene. She notices that there is a doctor and what is about to happen to her so she loses her grasp of reality.

Question 2:

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-02 16:52:51 UTC

The setting of New Orleans adds an air of lightheartedness to serious events like domestic violence and rape. With the insistent piano playing, nothing the characters do seem really serious or impactful, life just goes on. A good example of this is at the end of the book, right after Blanche just got dragged away to a mental hospital kicking and screaming; Steve begins to play poker again just like nothing even happened.

Question 3:

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-02 17:16:40 UTC

Question 4:

nkelley9621 — 2015-04-03 17:39:45 UTC

The characters' inability to separate fantasy from reality. Stanley and Stella's relationship isn't going to be how they think it is when Blanche leaves; Blanche constantly slips out of reality into her past.

“There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes, that suggests a moth”

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-06 03:48:15 UTC

Tennessee Williams uses this quote as foreshadowing not only for Stanley's attitude towards Blanche but also her secret past that she tried to hide.

“all the burden descended on my shoulders”

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-06 03:50:18 UTC

This quote sets the tone of Blanche towards Stella regarding Belle Reve throughout the whole play. Blanche plays the victim, while Stella went off and abandoned her to strike it out on her own in New Orleans.

“Poker shouldn’t be played in a house with women."

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-06 03:52:41 UTC

Just after the explosive breakup of the poker game, Mitch contributes the presence of women as the cause of all the commotion. I think this quote contributes to the unique New Orleans vibe that the story has, something as severe as domestic violence and excessive drinking is contributed to the presence of women.

“I am not in anything I want to get out of.”

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-06 03:57:02 UTC

With this phrase, Stella begins to take Stanley's side in the extended fight between Stanley and Blanche. I think this is the beginning of the end for Blanche, as she has begun to wear on even Stella, her only relative.

“Don’t-don’t hang back with the brutes!”

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-06 03:59:27 UTC

I think this quote shows how out of touch Blanche really is. She goes on a fiery rant about Stanley and his kind, with this superiority like she and Stella are of a different caste than Stanley. In actuality, Blanche is straight up delusional, she is in no position to criticize anyone considering that she is homeless.

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-06 04:03:55 UTC

The final line Blanche says in the whole play really cements her descent into madness. As she is forcibly shipped to a mental hospital, she still plays it off like someone she isnt.

“This game is seven-card stud”

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-06 04:07:00 UTC

The significance of this line as the last line of the play is not to be overlooked. Life just goes on for everyone besides Stella and Blanche, no one really understood Blanche, for as crazy as she was. The ending once again adds an air of lightheartedness a tramatic scene.

Question 1:

RichardFrancais — 2015-04-06 04:10:56 UTC