Motifs and Symbols in A Streetcar Named Desire
Teacher recommended
?- Created by: dellalou
- Created on: 01-02-16 10:21
View mindmap
- Motifs and Symbols in A Streetcar Named Desire
- Light
- Throughout the play Blanche avoids appearing in direct bright, light, especially in front of Mitch
- She also refuses to reveal he age, and it's clear that she avoids the light in order to prevent him from seeing the reality of her fading beauty
- Blanche's inability to tolerate light means that her grasp on reality is also nearing it's end
- Light also symbolizes the reality of Blanche's past
- She is haunted by the ghosts of what she has lost: her first love, her purpose in life, her dignity and her status
- Bright light represents her youthful, sexual innocence, whereas poor light represents her sexual maturity
- Throughout the play Blanche avoids appearing in direct bright, light, especially in front of Mitch
- Bathing
- These baths represent Blanche's efforts to cleanse herself of her unpleasant history
- Stanley also turns to water to undo a misdeed when she showers after beating Stella
- The shower serves to soothe his violent temper; afterwards he leaves the bathroom feeling remorseful and calls out longingly for his wife
- Drunkenness
- Both Stanley and Blanche drink excessively at various points during the play
- Stanley's drinking is social: at poker games, at the bar, and to celebrate the birth of his first child
- However, Blanche's drinking is anti-social and she tries to hide it
- For both characters, drinking leads to destructive behavior: Stanley commits domestic violence, and Blanche deludes herself
- Stanley is able to rebound from his drunken escapades, whereas alcohol supplements Blanche's gradual departure from reality
- Both Stanley and Blanche drink excessively at various points during the play
- Shadows
- Discordant noises and jungle cries occur as Blanche descends into madness
- All of these effects combine to dramatize Blanche's final breakdown and departure from reality in the face of Stanley's physical threat
- The Varsouviana Polka
- This polka music plays at various points in the play, when Blanche is feeling remorse for Allan's death
- The polka and the movement it evokes represents Blanche's loss of innocence
- The suicide of her young husband was the event that triggered her mental decline
- Meat
- By hurling the meat at Stella in Scene 1, Stanley states the sexual ownership over Stella, and Stella's delight with catching the meat signifies her sexual infatuation with him
- Light
Similar English Literature resources:
Teacher recommended
Teacher recommended
Comments
No comments have yet been made